Fears for French basic science

The French government's long-awaited blueprint for reforming the country's research system, unveiled last week, has sparked fears that it will result in less money being available for basic research.The impending reorganization has already prompted numerous protests in recent months, and roughly 5000 scientists took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Friday (May 20) to voice their opposition to government plans to reform the system for evaluating and funding research. Some scientists fear the shakeup could lead to established research organizations such as the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) being eclipsed by the new national grant agency, the National Research Agency (NRA).The NRA, which came into operation in April this year, will have an annual budget of €350 million (USD $441 million) to finance both basic and applied research projects chosen on merit by an international peer review system. However, some scientists fear the new body will in practice lean towards applied research. "I am afraid the NRA will emphasize applied research and short-term results," Jean Kister, joint secretary general of the National Union of Scientific Research Workers, told The Scientist. "The government says that an independent committee of experts will evaluate the projects, but in our experience, these committees are not independent, but subject to pressure from the government and industry."Minister of Education, François Fillon, denied in an article in Le Monde that the government favored applied research. "It has never been the objective of the government to leave fundamental research to the side. The objective of the government is to move forward in such a way that the all the elements of our system of research make progress together," Fillion said.Jacques Fossey, secretary of the National Union of Scientific Researchers (SNCS) accused the government of seeking to gain more control over research in France by shifting power and resources to the NRA. "Until now, CNRS and INSERM, for example, have played a key role in the system of evaluating research in France," Fossey told The Scientist. "They have steered research and structured the field of research around priorities set by scientists. Now the government wants to steer the research system directly through this new national grant agency, whose priorities have been set by the government."Fossey criticized plans to reform the system of evaluating researchers. Under the new system, the structures of research, that is, laboratories, are to be evaluated separately from the work of researchers themselves. "We think that it is better to evaluate the research structure—the lab and so on—and the people together because then you can more deeply appreciate the contribution made by an individual researcher," he said.Philippe Pouletty, president of the industry group France Biotech, welcomed the arrival of the NRA, saying the agency would help create a "culture of grants for best projects," and so keep France's science and economy competitive internationally. "The government has been too shy to reform the universities and CNRS. In this new law, it is trying to please everyone," he said.He noted that the government has promised 3000 new permanent positions in the public sector next year. "But the future of France's science will not be secured by increasing the number of permanent positions, but by drastically increasing the budget of NRA so that a culture of grants for the best projects become the new standard," Pouletty told The Scientist. He called on the budget of the NRA to be increased to €1 billion (USD $1.26 billion) a year. Legislation to enact the reform is expected to go before Parliament in June and to come into effect in January of next year.

Fears for French basic science

Government plans to reorganize science funding and evaluation leave researchers worried

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