Don't deprioritize curiosity-driven research

"Last month, the United Kingdom's research community discovered that major changes to scientific research grants are under way. The country's national science-funding agency, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has paused existing grant programmes for research in the medical, biological and physical sciences while its leadership works out how its future funding decisions can, among other things, align more closely with the government's goals. This is a serious and potentially career-ending blow for people coming to the end of a short-term contract and for those poised to obtain or renew their grant."

"The UK development is but the latest in a pattern emerging in parts of the world: governments demanding more input into which types of research are funded. Political influence on public research funding has always existed, and some degree of alignment between funding and broader national priorities is necessary. That said, governments should understand what they risk by interfering in research funding to a greater extent than they have in previous years. In particular, they should be careful not to deprioritize the kind of curiosity-driven, investigator-led research that has a strong track record in advancing humanity's knowledge, producing the types of innovation that prosperity and well-being depend on."

UK Research and Innovation paused major grant programmes in medical, biological and physical sciences while it redesigns funding priorities to align more closely with government goals. The pause leaves researchers on short-term contracts and applicants facing career-threatening uncertainty. Governments worldwide are increasingly demanding input on which research types receive funding, and some alignment with national priorities is reasonable. Greater interference, however, risks sidelining curiosity-driven, investigator-led research. Such investigator-led work has historically produced foundational knowledge and unexpected innovations that underlie long-term prosperity, health and wellbeing, and deprioritizing it could harm future discovery.

Read at Nature