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Issues concerning the funding of science research in South Africa are discussed. All scientific research must have a social or commercial use. Some observers point out South Africa needs to invest in research along with creating a jobs and houses for the black population.

Hard Times at NIH THIS HAS NOT BEEN A GOOD YEAR to apply for a grant from the National Institutes of Health for cancer-related research. In fact, it has been [...]

Oxford University, England, has set up a company called Oxagen which has been given a license to develop asthma products by researchers into the condition at the university. Spin-offs are maintaining strong links with universities that gave birth to them. Oxford has a number of business incubators, though not all British universities are as fortunate, and the US is far ahead in the field of business incubation. The private sector and universities have set up 80 business incubators, in Britain, with 20 more planned.

A concordat announced by the UK's university vice-chancellors and research funding councils in 1996 is slowly being realized in practice. The concordat aims to underpin the provision of employment rights and support for postdoctoral and other contract researchers. The concordat does not address pay scales as its focus is on maternity leaves, salaries that reflect experience and seniority, adequate training and conscientious monitoring of progress and career advice. Although the concordat was actively promoted by the UK government, postdoctoral researchers in universities are still getting a better deal than government researchers.

ON THE FACE OF IT THE U.S. geological Survey is an unlikely political football. A federal bureau ensconced in the Department of the Interior, it employs 9,000 people, has offices [...]

Controversy in the US over academics' access to human gene sequences highlights the inability of academic institutions to accept their members' industrial activities and research dealings with commercial companies. The institutions jeopardize their objective of providing effective academic training by stifling their members' involvement in commercially beneficial research. Academics should be encouraged to remain committed to their work.

A survey by the Association of University Technology Managers reveals that 98 research universities earned $172 million from licensing their inventions in the fiscal year 1992. This represents a 30% increase in income from commercial licensing of inventions compared to 1991, but amounts to only 1.5% of the entire expenditure for research. The survey gives information on royal income, patent filings, staffing levels at institutes and money spent on legal fees, and is the first record of incomes earned by universities which commercialize research.

The US President might establish a National Science and Technology Council which will decide on the goals of scientific research and allocate funds on a priority basis, depending on the relevance of the goal to society. Basic research will be accorded high priority in funding, besides advanced manufacturing. Major research agencies and institutions will be represented in the proposed council.

The German government has demanded a reduction in the expenses and an increase in the accountability of national research centers. The Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin will be the first to stop its nuclear physics and electronics research activities. The German government is faced with financial difficulties due to the re-unification, and its consequent allocation of less funds to research institutes will result in these institutes losing a large number of their staff.

A report prepared by Segal Quince Wicksteed of Cambridge and circulated by the UK Office of Science and Technology (OST) avers that hosting international scientific facilities can be economically gainful for the host country. Britain's Treasury has been disinclined to cater to such facilities in Britain and OST officials hope to urge the Treasury to provide the needed infrastructures and incentives. The analysis shows that between 40 to 70 percent of the money to run the facility was plowed to the host country.

The relationship between basic research and the creation of wealth in a country is discussed. Basic research enables industry and commerce to set their programs for progress. Research councils, with their funds, play a part both by providing a specific direction to research, or by supporting research directions specified by the country's gifted minds. Research councils' spending for basic research must also be integrated with those of certain government departments that have science budgets. The disadvantages of the establishment of the Office of Science and Technology in the UK are discussed.

It has long been believed in the UK that no university teaching is much good unless it is supported by good research, and during the late 60's and early 70's large amounts of money were spent on this so-called dual support system. Towards the end of the 70's such funding to universities began to encounter competition from outside and the dual support system virtually fell apart. Something needs to be done and graduate schools are suggested as a way forward. They should operate as cost centres and be directed by a top quality research manager whose overriding aim is excellence of research. The problem of differentiation between teaching and research staff would need to be addressed.

The National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, also known as the Institute of Medicine, has requested that the National Institute of Health (NIH) invest more funds in training and building new, or reconstructing old, research facilities. This request, outlined in a report entitled 'Funding Health Sciences Research', has been challenged by groups that oppose the transfer of funds from research grants. The institute is requesting a 40 percent increase in training over the next 10 years, with $182 million a year coming from the biomedical grants program. The Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology, which represents 30,000 scientists from seven biomedical scientific societies, formed an eight-member panel to assess the Institute of Medicine's report. If the Institute's recommendations are carried out, the number of research grants would decrease by 2,000, a reduction of 10 percent of the present number of NIH grants. It was also argued that 84 percent of academic research facilities are usable for research, or require only limited repair. In addition, most scientists tend to be trained on the job, and are employed by grant-funded investigators. Hence, grants are central to the system of research and training. The Institute's report is still under review by the NIH and remains an issue over which there is considerable debate. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)