We are all mad scientists (mad about funding)

Hamilton Weather Forecast
Current conditions as of 14 January, 11:32 am NZST

Fine
Pressure: 1020 hPa
Humidity: 67 %
Rainfall: 0 mm (last hr)
Wind: NNE 2 kph
Sunrise: 6:10 am
Sunset: 8:44 pm 20°High: 27° Low: 10°
Today

Fine
High: 27°
Low: 10°
Curtesey to Yahoo weather.

The weather is exceptionally good today. Erin, Kelly and I went for a walk after lunch. We talked about how everyone is after coming back to work in 2008. We are doing new experiments, especially for Erin and Kelly as they are working on something completely new now. We talk about how we shouldn't worry about funding from the government because we have enought to worry about when we are doing our experiments. New Zealand government funds organisation in a funny way, when you write a fancy report about what you are going to do for the next five years, you will get funding; but if you don't know how to write a fancy report to say how much money you will be able to make for the government, then you are out of the game this year: you won't get a cent! Scientists are taking on the responsibility of writing these funding applications, painstakingly making up pages and pages of documents that are read by people who doesn't understand science. These people divide up the big pie and decide who should have funding for their research, and who shouldn't. Science is moving towards commercialization, and people who have good skills are pushed over the edge every year to compete for money here in New Zealand. Experienced workers are forced to leave New Zealand if they don't get funding and turned away by the funders because their proposal is not pretty enough for the funders. You have to wonder how we are going to do good research if all you care about is making money and not quality science. The government, and also the funding agencies, have to understand that fundamental science will give you the tool to make a new product, and people developing the products have to help the scientists to develop the product, not hindering their work by dismissing their proposal for funding. Yes, it is about the quality of research that we are doing, and the quality of research is sometimes not directly linked with how good our research proposal is. Scientific results are often not easy to interpretate or clear cut, they also take time to generate. If the status quo doesn't change, we will lose capability in New Zealand to other countries to do reserach simply because the scientists and technicians have no money for their projects. They can't do what they are trained to do if someone doesn't help them to get materials and equipments. Ultimately, the funders have to spot the group of people who have written up a proposal for the future that is NOT beneficial for the New Zealand general public, NOT beneficial for scientific advancement, or NOT going to help New Zealand to develop in the agricultural sector. The funders have to find the people who sugarcoated their proposal and don't really do quality work. If they are successful, then perhaps the people who are doing quality research will get funding and won't have to feel insecure for another year.