KEY POINTS:
A begging letter from nearly 500 senior scientists, seeking greater taxpayer funding of "blue skies" research, has been portrayed by the Government as a routine precursor to the coming budget round.
The 460 scientists want funding at least trebled for the Government's Marsden Fund which provides grants to researchers doing science not specifically tied to an economic application.
They have presented an open letter to Science Minister Pete Hodgson calling for the big boost for science for the sake of knowledge.
The letter was written by Professor Jeff Tallon, of Victoria University, who Mr Hodgson presented with the nation's top science award, the Rutherford Medal, in 2002.
But asked about the letter, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today: "I have enormous support for our scientists. I am also aware we are in the run-up to make critical budget decisions and I expect many more such statements from many other sectors."
Prof Tallon said the Marsden Fund dispenses about $39 million each year to researchers across a wide spectrum, including chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, social sciences, biology, evolution, ecology, medical sciences and the humanities.
But he expressed deep concern "that the resources of the Marsden Fund are far too small to meet the needs of the New Zealand research community".
In recent years only about seven per cent of applicants had been successful, Prof Tallon said.
Highly ranked research proposals were rejected year after year simply because there was too little money available, he said.
That disappointed researchers and led to the lost of outstanding young people to more rewarding research environments overseas.
Prof Tallon said the equivalent research fund in the United States, the National Science Fund, was able to support about 26 per cent of applications.
Both the Democrat presidential candidates wanted that budget doubled over the next five years because innovation was seen as critical for economic growth and high-paying jobs.
Prof Tallon, a global pioneer of high-temperature superconductor research, said the basic science being funded was known as "blue skies research" because it was free to roam into new areas, without being burdened with having to provide a financial return within a short time span.
Over the past decade New Zealand's overall research funding per scientist had declined by 17 per cent.
"We are a nation with a low per-capita gross domestic product, that sits near the bottom of the OECD on many essential indicators and our productivity is in decline," Prof Tallon said.
"We need to wake up.
"The kind of drip feeding seen with the Marsden Fund reflects a failure to recognise that our future depends upon the evidence-based knowledge that only science and scientific research can generate".
- NZPA
