Riportiamo il testo e il link della lettera del Circolo Giorgio Errera pubblicata su Euroscientist.
Astonishment is the only possible reaction at reading the latest call for funding of MIUR http://www.anvur.it/attachments/article/1204/Avviso_pubblico_Procedura~.pdf.
Italian researchers based on Italian universities can apply for an individual fund of 3000 euro in order to support their basic research activity. The idea of supporting basic research activity by funding less than half of the 35.363 associate professors and researchers with a sum of 3000 euros, after a time consuming and centralized selection process, sheds light on the tragic state of funding for our Universities. The idea of supporting their basic activity by individual budgets of 3000 euros reveals the inconsistency of the analysis of standard cost (if any has been done) for most of the experimental research activities carried out in our institutions.
This action is apparently based on a complete ignorance of the budget available for each individual researcher as well as on the ignorance on the complex organization system of researchers teams. The amount of money made available to the applicants humiliates once again the professional figure of Italian researchers and represents a clear mistrust on the University autonomy and financial independency. This action raises once again very serious questions regarding the level of awareness of the Italian policy makers on the financial framework in which researchers and teachers operate in the Italian Universities. Nevertheless, this action has the merit to confirm a widespread feeling that basic activity of researchers and teachers in our universities
is going to die. The cost of such death will be dramatically paid by future generations that, in the absence of any good and internationally competitive university education, will even miss the outmost possibility of the brain drain.
Prof Silvana Borutti, Coordinator Circolo Universitario Giorgio Errera
Co-authors of the Circolo Giorgio Errera – University of Pavia- Italy: Cristina Barbieri, Vittorio Bellotti, Carlo Cinquini, Bice Conti, Ersilia De Lorenzi, Giuseppe De Nicolao, Antonella Forlino, Silvia Garagna, Sofia Giorgetti, Elena Giulotto, Clelia Martignoni, Annalisa Marzuoli, Piercarlo Mustarelli, Stefano Ramat, Daniela Rando, Antonio Rossi, Mauro Torti, Luca Vanzago