Bidding for scientific grants: a flawed concept from the outset

VietNamNet Bridge – Professor Hoang Tuy spoke to the Thoi bao Kinh te Sai Gon (Sai Gon Economic Times) about the difficulty scientists are experiencing when trying to win Government grants for their proposals.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to let the Ministry of Science and Technology come up with 95 research topics and then invite interested researchers to bid on the projects.

To build a factory or a highway, the basic technology required in the construction is universal, but the quality and the cost depend very much on the contractor’s proposal.

This analogy is the same for scientific work, except when it comes to comparing the respective goals of a construction worker and a researcher.

Scientists or academics use their creativity to gain more knowledge, and though they have an idea of what might be achieved, often there is no definite goal before the research begins. This is unlike a worker that promises a building at the end of a contract.

Researchers do not know whether their hypotheses are right and so the end result(s) of their work may be radically different than planned.

That’s why funding organisations in developed countries don’t ask researchers to bid in order to receive money. In order to get a grant, scientists and academics don’t promise results, instead, they explain what the research is about, its significance and what they hope to achieve.

I can say governments offering grants for research are not a new phenomena, nor is the competitive nature of bidding or writing proposals to get the funding. What worries me is whether the bidding process will be transparent and fair.

If that was the case, a level playing field must be given to all researchers, be they young or old.

In my opinion, the Ministry should create a special board to carefully study the proposals submitted. Each member of the panel will give their score based on a common set of criteria. The whole process must be conducted openly and carefully recorded.

We all recognise that scientific research plays an important role in the economic, cultural and political life of every nation. Research activities are often conducted by universities or research institutes that specialise in certain areas.

Their research must have funding, sometimes large sums of money donated by the institutes as well as from the government.

In my opinion, if we want to get results from our research then the Government should list some areas of interest and let the experts in those fields decide what research topic they are most suited for.

What I mean is the government will act like a project supervisor and look at how its money should be invested, allowing experts to propose what research should be conducted.

There are many examples of government trying to control this process that have gained few results.

Looking at this strategy, I wonder if this is the best way to fund academic and scientific research. I also wonder if this kind of competitive environment will promote scientific and technological advancement in Vietnam.