Over the last decades, most EU countries have profoundly reshaped their public research funding systems by shifting from traditional institutional block-funding towards more project-based mechanisms. The main rationale underlying this evolution builds on the assumption that project funding would foster research performance through the introduction…

Far from allowing a governance of universities by the invisible hand of market forces, research performance assessments do not just measure differences in research quality, but yield themselves visible symptoms in terms of a stratification and standardization of disciplines. The article illustrates this with a case study of UK history departments…

One of the most difficult problems involved in funding research is that of providing for the unexpected. The Biomedical Research Support Grants program of the National Institutes of Health has provided this type of funding but the amount has dwindled to two percent. (MLW)

With the goal of providing professional development resources for enhancing faculty research productivity, Washburn University (Kansas), which employs about 250 full-time faculty, developed a program that allocates institutional funds through a peer review process. The fund's peer review process has involved two committees, a Faculty Research…

While the model of peer evaluation has limits in its use in research resource allocation, it is vital for the equilibrium of the science structure and the university's mission, as evidenced in the University of Quebec at Trois Rivieres's pilot exercise in research evaluation. (Author/MSE)

The problems of finding a balance between efficiency in research funding through merit grants and the costs of awarding such grants are discussed as they relate to development of university policy. A 1980 study of the University of Queensland is the basis for discussion. (MSE)

The current funding of research in Australia's universities is examined, including the recent forces that have changed the research system and resource allocation, allocations by field, expenditures per researcher by field, and measures of and emphasis on productivity. Prospects for research in the late 1980s are discussed. (MSE)

The distribution pattern of a Canadian research fellowship award is examined in light of application patterns, patterns of research funding in U.S. institutions, and the peer review system. The need to encourage participation through competition is discussed. (MSE)

There are many excellent scientists in the natural and human sciences in Canada's small universities. If the institutions implement internal procedures to encourage and foster a research climate and if research councils consider alternative strategies for research funding, research productivity could expand greatly in quality and scope. (MSE)

A study in England and Australia suggests that in science and engineering, where researchers within a research unit of any size re-form themselves into smaller groups (5-12), communication is efficient and productivity optimal, with little economy of scale for larger groups. In less tightly-organized disciplines such as mathematics and social…

The origins, history, and impact of Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council university fellowship program, designed to stimulate research activity among young faculty, are discussed. (MSE)

Lessons learned by the University of Arizona through participation in two major scientific projects, construction of an astronomical observatory and a super cyclotron, are discussed. Four criteria for institutional participation in such projects are outlined, including consistency with institutional mission, adequate resources, leadership, and…

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has begun funding longer research award terms, limiting the number of projects to be funded. A model was developed to assess alternative research funding policies that might allow NHLBI to support more competing awards. Findings and implications for research stability are reported. (Author/MSE)

It is proposed that universities fund all research prospectively, one project at a time, as publishers do, and require faculty whose research has not been funded to fill his work schedule with teaching, effecting significant savings and the understanding that time off for research is not automatic. (MSE)

The public sector in Sweden is under pressure to augment its productivity and cut costs, and the education sector is faced with the same demands. Most people believe that adequately proportioned, efficiently operating schools are essential to Sweden's long-term economic development, but this is seldom mentioned in connection with spending cuts. In…