Sir, - The recent allocation of an extra £0.5m to the Forbairt Basic Research Fund Board is warmly welcomed by university researchers as a further expression of the commitment of Minister for Science and Technology Mr Noel Treacy, TD, to promote research in our universities. It also demonstrates his willingness to listen to, and respond to, the concerns of the research community.
Controversy had resulted from an announcement last April that the Board did not have the finances to fund new projects this year. This was despite the fact that it had already approved projects following an application and evaluation process which had commenced last Autumn. The announcement seemed to contradict the stated Government policy of increasing funding for research in our universities. It was particularly distressing for researchers who have suffered years of frustration in trying to interact with government departments and agencies who appear to have ad hoc and disjointed policies on research and its funding.
As subsequent events have now shown, the controversy which, unfortunately, clouded the historic announcement by Minister Noel Treacy of an extra £5m for research in higher education, need not have arisen had there been communication and co-ordination between the Government departments and agencies involved. A keener appreciation by them of the dynamics that drive research in our universities would also have helped.
The Government, through its agencies, is urging the universities to adopt a more strategic view of the direction and management of their research effort. It would be helpful, therefore, if the agencies themselves would adopt similar principles, and take a strategic view of how the research effort of the universities should be supported in the long-term. Thankfully, there are now clear signs that this is happening, particularly following the helpful intervention of Minister Treacy. - Yours etc., Dr Conor Long,
Chairman, Deans and
Vice-Presidents of Research,
Conference of Heads of
Irish Universities, Dublin City University,
Dublin 9.
