Below are posts associated with the “research funding” tag.
🔗 linkblog: The NSF just cut K-12 STEM Education research going forward
Appreciate Josh’s eye for detail here.
🔗 linkblog: New executive order puts all grants under political control
Here’s Jacques Ellul on state funding of research:
The state demands that anything scientific enter into the line of “normal” development, not only for the stake of the public interest but also because of its will to power. We have previously noted that this will to power has found in technique an extraordinary means of expression. The state quickly comes to demand that technique keep its promises and be an effective servant of state power. Everything not of direct interest to this drive for power appears valueless.
🔗 linkblog: Trump Seeks to Cut Basic Scientific Research by Roughly One-Third, Report Shows
Reading this through an Ellulian lens is interesting. In the 1950s, he was expressing concern about the valuing of (applied) technique over (basic) science. In this article, though, it’s clear how often that basic science is still described and defended in applied/technical terms. pushing the boundaries of knowledge seems to only be valuable if it “sow[s] practical spinoffs and breakthroughs” or helps the U.S. in its geopolitical competition.
🔗 linkblog: Uber paid academics six-figure sums for research to feed to the media'
Disappointing to see academics implicated in the Uber Files. It’s a compelling example of how research funding is contingent on public and private interests. Of course, public interests are generally less worrying than Uber funding research perceived to be positive and profitable, but there are still times I have questions about the NSF’s priorities.