Minister advised by fiercest critics on seed and incentive grants

What about the start-up and incentive grants that Minister Dijkgraaf has set up for scientists? He also seeks advice from his most severe detractors.

Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf wanted to create peace and space in science. One of his proposals: to grant new assistant professors (UD) on permanent contracts a start-up grant of 300,000 euros.

In addition, there will also be incentive grants of varying amounts for other scientists. The Minister has earmarked an amount of 300 million euros for these subsidies.

Even if the minister can count on a lot of sympathy among the scientists, the plans were quickly criticized. A committee with some of these critics can now give him some advice: how should stock markets proceed?

The chairman of this committee will come as no surprise to those concerned. It is the professor from Utrecht Bert Weckhuysen, who, on behalf of the scientific society KNAW tips wrote about the importance of “working capital” for scientists. The Dijkgraaf grants are inspired by this.

WOinAction

Other names are more surprising. For example, one of the committee members is Remco Breuker from WOinActie. This action group sees little in the plans and suggested in favor of a simple distribution of the money between all the scientists, which amounts to approximately 25,000 euros per year and per scientist.

Another member is Thijs Bol, vice-president of the Young Academy. This association of high-level young scientists also expressed reservations. The members to fear that the shows will offer a new competition, “with associated workload”.

The universities themselves are also affected. Why does each assistant professor receive the same amount, regardless of discipline? Doesn’t it hurt your eyes when new assistant professors get money and their colleagues don’t? Some faculties prefer to distribute the available money among the teams.

Thus, a director of human resources (Mariska Brzözek from the Eindhoven University of Technology) will contribute ideas, as will the rector Magnificus Pamela Habibović (Maastricht University), Pancras Hogendoorn (vice-president of the Leiden hospital LUMC ) and Mladen Popović (dean of theology of Groningen).

Two DUs

There are also two university professors on the committee who are not afraid to speak their minds. One is Femke Nijboer from the University of Twente, who is also a columnist for the university magazine U-Today. The other is Ceren Pekdemir from Maastricht University. In September, she led the “True Opening” of the academic year, a protest rally against the many temporary contracts in the scientific field.

The first recommendations are expected at the end of March, but the committee will remain in place for at least two years. At the same time, a committee of the NWO Research Funder is reviewing how these new Seed Grants and Incentive Grants relate to current research funding.

The committee was set up in consultation with various interest groups and action groups: the university association UNL, the association of university hospitals NFU, the research funder NWO, the scientific society KNAW, De Jonge Akademie, the AOb Syndicate and WOinActie.