Since last year, researchers can only submit applications for Veni and Vidi funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) if they have a so-called ‘embedding guarantee’ from a university, i.e. the promise that they can start working at the institution after receiving the grant. The measure aims to reduce the number of applications and to increase the chance of success. It worked: NWO received one fourth fewer research applications during the latest application rounds for Vidi funding.

Negative effects

But critics warn against negative effects. They say the measure could be to the detriment of young scientists because universities might prefer to give this guarantee to researchers who already have a contract. GroenLinks parliamentarian Zihni Özdil also fears for “bureau-politics in academia.” It could be quite difficult to get such a guarantee if you happen to disagree with your dean, he believes.

Özdil’s motion to make sure that the embedding guarantee leaves room for scientific freedom and independence received support in parliament. But mister Van Engelshoven of the liberal-democratic party D66 has no intention to act. In response to questions from parliament, she has repeated that NWO’s demands do not pose a threat to the independence of researchers. When they can’t get a guarantee from their own institution, why not ask another university? The minister tried to calm things down by stating that the NWO will also thoroughly evaluate the measure.

Weak

But Özdil refuses to accept that. “The minister doesn’t answer the crucial question as to why she refuses to carry out the motion. He finds her argument that the NWO will evaluate the measure weak. “That means you basically say: there is a risk that the process might be unfair, but if things go wrong, we’ll see what we can do afterwards. You have to make sure nothing can go wrong right from the start.”

If it were up to him, institutions should make their criteria for selection public in advance. He also thinks embedding guarantees awarded to researchers need to be checked by an independent party. “As long as that doesn’t happen, this guarantee is nothing more than a cheap spending cut used to cosmetically reduce the number of research applications,” Özdil says. He wants to put the matter on the agenda for next month’s debate on education policy in parliament.