Proposed US funding rules would let political appointees override peer review and cancel grants at will
By
John Timmer
Master baker tier. Every paragraph earns its place on the tray.
Summary
The article discusses proposed changes to US government grant funding rules under the Trump administration, which would shift decision-making power from peer reviewers and subject-matter experts to political appointees. This fundamentally alters the traditional system where scientific quality and feasibility determined grant awards, replacing it with a system where political staff can screen grants for forbidden topics and cancel grants at any time. The proposed rules threaten the peer review process that made the US a scientific superpower.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledUnder the proposed rules, political appointees would have the final say, and they were s
Last August, the Trump administration issued an executive order intended to fundamentally alter how grant funding is handled by the US government.
Under the system that had made the US a scientific superpower, peer reviewers rated the scientific quality and feasibility of grant applications, and subject-matter experts within the funding agencies used these ratings to determine which grants got funded.
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