New 'national interest' test for research

-

Australian researchers seeking federal government grants will soon be subjected to a test determining whether their project is in the national interest.

Education Minister Dan Tehan says the change to the grants application process, administered by the Australian Research Council, will give the public more confidence in research conducted using their money.

"If you're asking the Australian taxpayer to fund your research you should be able to articulate how that research will advance the national interest," he said on Wednesday.

The change will apply to the $3 billion in grants that the ARC is set to distribute over the next four years.

Such grants currently range in size from $30,000 to $8 million per year.

The ARC will also review Australia's science and research priorities, which were last developed in 2015, in collaboration with a small panel of experts.

The steps come after it was revealed in a Senate estimates hearing last week that former education minister Simon Birmingham had vetoed 11 humanities research projects that had been approved by the ARC.

Labor research spokesman Kim Carr said the grant rejections came without explanation and were an example "political correctness gone mad".

Mr Tehan said under the changes to the grants process it will also be clearer when a minister - who has the final sign-off on research grants after they are approved by the ARC - has knocked a project back.

"I can guarantee the sector that I will be transparent in reporting ARC grant funding decisions," he said.

He also stressed that government money is only one source of funding for research, with projects able to be funded directly by universities or from the private sector.

But Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the changes to the grants system are a smokescreen for political interference.

"If the minister wanted to act for the national interest he would allow academics to continue the centuries-old tried and tested process of peer review," she said.

Australian Associated Press



https://ift.tt/2zh2S3i

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Well-liked Medicare plan vs. higher-ranked providers - ChicagoNow

-
Image
Medicare Open Enrollment ends December 7. The easy choice is to stay with all-in-one Medicare Advantage instead of switching to Traditional Medicare plus a supplement and drug plan. The hard one is whether to switch between Medicare Advantage plans, from a well-liked one to one accepted at a so-called top-10 hospital. Humana Gold Plus, a Medicare Advantage HMO, has served me well for five years. Hearing aids cost me only $10 after its $2,000 allowance. Routine doctor and dentist appointments and my medication cost nothing. But Humana Gold Plus is not accepted by Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the nearby hospital that US News & World Report ranks as the tenth best in the country, or by Northwestern Medicine physicians. My primary care physician is in an Advocate Medical Group. If I were hospitalized, it would be at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. If I had a serious illness, I’d see specialists in Advocate’s network. Illinois Masonic is not a second-rate hospital, and...
Read more

Minnesota veterans blame 3M's 'defective' ear plugs for hearing damage - KSTP

-
Image
3M did not admit any wrongdoing as part of that settlement. Read 3M's full statement on the ear plugs here. "We deny this product was defectively designed," a company spokesperson said in a statement to 5 INVESTIGATES, adding they will "defend against the allegations in these lawsuits." More than 630 lawsuits have been filed and will be heard in a federal court in Florida. An attorney involved with the multi-district litigation says roughly 30 have been filed by veterans who live in Minnesota. Constant ringing Sarah Kay Carlson, an Army veteran from St. Paul, filed her lawsuit in April, claiming 3M exposed her and thousands of other Marines and soldiers to "extremely dangerous and disabling noise." 3M Earplug Complaint (Sarah Kay Carlson) Ramsey County (Filed) (PDF) 3M Earplug Complaint (Sarah Kay Carlson) Ramsey County (Filed) (Text) Carlson, who was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the late 2000s, provided security to convoys t...
Read more

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD): Practice Essentials, Background, Genetics

-
Image
hemophilia c factor 11 :: Article Creator Regeneron Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2023 Financial And Operating Results Fourth quarter 2023 revenues increased 1% to $3.43 billion versus fourth quarter 2022; excluding RonapreveTM(a)(b), revenuesincreased 14% Full year 2023 revenues increased 8% to $13.12 billion versus full year 2022;excluding Ronapreve(a), revenuesincreased 12% Fourth quarter 2023 Dupixent®global net sales(recorded by Sanofi) increased 31% to $3.22 billion versus fourth quarter 2022; full year 2023 Dupixent global net sales increased 33% to $11.59 billion versus 2022 Fourth quarter 2023 U.S. Net sales for EYLEA®HD and EYLEA®were $1.46 billion, including $123 million from EYLEA HD; full year 2023 U.S. Net sales for EYLEA HD and EYLEA were $5.89 billion, including $166 million from EYLEA HD following its August 2023 FDA approval Fourth quarter 2023 Libtayo®global n...
Read more