Britain鈥檚 science bureaucrats may be asked to justify their existence. The
National Audit Office is looking into how the research councils manage their
grants to scientists.
The cost of administering these grants runs to 拢8.2 million a year, but
the figures vary between the councils. According to the newsletter Research
Fortnight, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)
spends 拢1092 to process each application and 拢891 on the
administration of each grant it awards. The equivalent figures for the Natural
Environment Research Council are just 拢255 and 拢77.
Ken Pounds, the PPARC鈥檚 chief executive, says the comparison is unfair, as
his council awards larger grants that are harder to administer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a
different scale,鈥� he says.
Advertisement