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| Signatures including commentsRefine your search Show all comments (sorted by date) Show all comments (sorted by length) Show regional comments: Comments from United Kingdom267 comments. (Note: Some comments are not made public accessible.) 22 Feb 12:49 United Kingdom 2MD Regeneration Julian Mellor It seems that more and more of the funds are used to finance the administrative institutions of State, and less and less to fund the activities that the money was intended for. 18 Feb 13:12 United Kingdom Aberystwyth University Emyr Reynolds The bureaucratic nature of these projects results in less time spent on actual research and more on administration. The amount of administrative resource supporting these projects is disproportionate to the financial return 18 Feb 13:12 United Kingdom Aberystwyth University Timothy Williams Administrative process should exist to aid and demonstrate the honesty of a project, not to protect the bureaucrat. 18 Feb 13:46 United Kingdom Aberystwyth University Peter Wyn-Jones Priorities in the administration of research should be defined better. The tail should not wag the dog.... 1 Apr 19:59 United Kingdom Ability Europe Limited Mounib MEKHILEF It would be nice to think it would have some effect 3 Mar 16:12 United Kingdom AlphaGalileo Foundation Peter Green Complex procedures exclude small organisations playing their part in European research. 4 Mar 10:53 United Kingdom AML Robert Santilli We have experienced the problems associated with this incredibly complicated system, which is especially NOT suitable for SMEs that can not afford a full time EC expert on their payroll. In fact we are having to waste much time and money, ours and the tax payers to go to court to sort out the situation! 18 Feb 10:28 United Kingdom Bangor University Philip Hollington I have coordinated in FP4 and currently coordinate in FP6, and have applied for other FP programmes and research funding in DG Development, always with developing country partners. The administrative burden and delays, while difficult enough for EU-based organisations, are even worse for our southern partners. Compulsory web-based questionnaires and databases. These have badly written, even incomprehensible, on-line instructions and sometimes condescending responses from helpdesks. This is the case both for FP projects and also with the PADOR database which is obligatory for projects funded by DG development. Many southern partners have neither experience in such systems nor continuous internet connections, and are effectively discriminated against. Payment delays. Developing Country partners need money up front to carry out activities. We have reached the limit of our ability to subsidise them, so their work has effectively ceased 2 months before the end of the project. Inconsistency in the application of the financial rules. These can be changed mid-project or later at the whim of a new Manager who requires additional evidence of expenditure for items already passed by his or her predecessor. 18 Feb 11:20 United Kingdom Bangor University Cornelia Thomas Bangor University fully support this declaration. Many of the current administrative and financial rules create considerable additional cost for participants with no equivalent benefits for the programme. A harmonisation of the rules and procedures across all types of projects and all parts of the programme would create efficiencies for multiple applicants. Simplification of the financial accountability requirements would increase clarity of the rules, and avoid costly misunderstandings for participants. 18 Feb 11:23 United Kingdom Bangor University Briony Williams The administrative burden of EU research funding makes it less attractive to researchers, and also has a seriously detrimental effect on the amount and type of research that can be conducted. 18 Feb 11:24 United Kingdom Bangor University Donna Pierz-Fennell The excessive administrative burdens act as a disincentive to academic participation, and the benefits to the EU of high calibre research partners are significantly diminished. 19 Feb 13:04 United Kingdom Bangor University Einir Young I have had fantastic experiences in collaborating with European and African partners on the scientific side of research projects. However, the administrative burden, financial regulation and sheer pettiness associated with the funding has been equally memorable but for the wrong reasons. Signing this list feels like joining a victim support group of those who have suffered “administrative nightmares and absurd requests from administration in Brussels...”. Is there a competition with a prize for the one who can come up with the worse anecdote? I feel I’m in with a chance here! I welcome the initiative to reform this situation based on mutual trust. Hopefully there will be an open discussion on how things may be improved. 23 Mar 15:16 United Kingdom Bournemouth University Adrian Newton I have been a significant beneficiary of EU research funding over the past 20 years, but in each round of funding the administrative burden has become heavier, to the extent that it is now not always cost-effective to bid for such funds. This burden has become a major disincentive to engage in EU-funded projects, particularly for researchers in developing countries. 5 Mar 18:30 United Kingdom Bristol University Andrew Newby Financial probity is paramount but we have enough checks locally. 4 May 12:39 United Kingdom Bristol University Varinder Aggarwal Please can we focus on the important issues, which must be the science. 11 Mar 08:06 United Kingdom British Geological Survey Richard Ogilvy The administrative loading is excessive and seriously impacts on the funding needed to do quality science. The paperwork may even deter promising researchers from applying ...leaving the field open to only large bureaucratic organisations. The selection procedures in competitions are also less than transparent in my view ...but that perhaps is another issue. 15 Mar 09:53 United Kingdom British Geological Survey Oliver Kuras Administration and auditing of research funding (national as well as transnational) is necessary and as researchers we should all be very familiar with the basic procedures and requirements. EU Framework funding however tends to be associated with a disproportionately high administrative burden, resulting in a serious imbalance between the time spent on the essentials of the research and that dedicated to satisfying the formal requirements imposed by the Framework. 18 Feb 12:00 United Kingdom Brunel University suzanne leroy I fully support this letter. There often is more work with administration than with the research to be delivered. 19 Mar 11:28 United Kingdom Cambridge University Martin Korth Give young researchers a chance; dont let just fossils (people and/or institutions?) decide that they will anyway keep it in the family ... ;-) 3 Mar 18:55 United Kingdom Cancer Research UK Barry Thompson My recent FP7 grant required too much administrative work. It is also a bad idea to give grants to consortia. Grants to individuals is best. 24 Mar 11:40 United Kingdom Cancer Research UK David Ish-Horowicz Scientific research is the study of the unknown and, hence, cannot be micromanaged. It needs to be judged by the outcome, and not by daily work plans and the ability to complete endless forms that measure nothing. 18 Feb 13:49 United Kingdom CARDIFF UNIVERSITY WENDY LEWIS THE WHOLE PROCESS IS FAR TOO COMPLICATED AND SPECIALISED. 12 Mar 10:01 United Kingdom Cardiff University George Kirov I find the current arrangements as prohibitive and do not try to apply for money from the EC. You can follow the new Wellcome Trust initiative that funds researchers, rather than specific projects, as projects will change quickly. 15 Mar 10:38 United Kingdom Cardiff University Michael ODonovan For last application, I spent about 5 times longer on trying to get financial and administative matters sorted than on the science. 17 Mar 20:51 United Kingdom Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Inst. for Stem Cell Research, University of Edinburgh Alexander Medvinsky Current bureaucratic arrangments are extremely extensive and take huge amount of time that scientists could use productively. I believe these contribute to current economic problems: huge spending of funding on the maintenance of bureaucracy instead of using it for productive research which would be beneficial for society. The problem is that bureaucracy is interested in maintaining itself and will not give up its current positions voluntarily. 24 Feb 13:42 United Kingdom Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford Franck Duvell EU research funding opportunities are greatly appreciated. However, administrative requirements are out of proportion and require a too high proportion of the total budget and time for non-scientific activities. Colleagues are increasingly deterred from participating in EU-funded projects or indeed drop out from research consortia because of unrealistic requirements and/or over-bureaucratic procedures. 20 Apr 17:09 United Kingdom CFR university of cambridge h statham so much time spent on admin that could have been better spent doing the research - if id wanted to be an accountant id have trained for it ... and been much better paid 30 Jul 12:32 United Kingdom Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral Leonie Seliger As a first time participant in a EU funded research project, the very high administrative load , the bewilderingly complicated way information is gathered by the EU, and the archane language used by the commission required an unexpectedly high input of time (time lost to the actual research process) and created stress factors that were extremely counterproductive. It has made me seriously question my willingness to participate in another project. 18 Feb 11:03 United Kingdom College of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor Univeristy Louise Shelley Please move towards the simplification of financial and administrative procedures related to the Framework Programme and other European funding streams. 17 May 09:47 United Kingdom Coupland299@hotmail.com Paul Coupland Research in the area of the non-round cylinder has come to a standstill. This engineering facility could be explained by this inventor if liberal facilitiies were to become apparent and the dividends not occluded by the complicated process of funding. 17 Feb 22:41 United Kingdom Department of Education, University of Oxford Geoff Hayward It is crucial tor edcue the bureaucracy in making research bids to encourage more high quality research proposals to be brought forward for European funding. 18 Feb 12:22 United Kingdom Department of Education, University of Oxford David Griffiths The Department of Education at the University of Oxford fully supports this declaration. 7 Apr 12:27 United Kingdom Douglas Instruments Ltd Patrick Shaw Stewart Most of the Framework projects are highly artificial, consisting of a bunch of people doing their own research independently. Also, the calls for proposals are inconsistent and arbitrary. Targets keep on changing because the bureaucrats seem to be overly influenced by individual scientists and politicians 4 Mar 14:17 United Kingdom Encon Instruments Ltd John Golder For some years now SMEs have had to struggle to get any assistance in funding for research purposes. On occasions funding has been refused on purely political grounds and not on the creditability of their proposed projects. 25 Apr 13:24 United Kingdom European Process Safety Centre Richard Gowland The amount of bureacracy in: a) Form filling at proposal stage b) Data provision and reporting throughout projects Is grossly out of proportion with the overall objective. Smaller organisations do not have the infrastructure to cope. Industry rejects most opportunities because of the burden. It is astonishing that this degree of complexity has resulted in organisations coming into existence simply to offer the service of navigating the minefield of bureaucracy for a share of the financial outcomes! Furthermore, the various types of projects is bewidering. e.g. JTIs and shared cost etc.... I despair! Inevitably, the funds go to those projects presented by the organisations most able to deal with the bureaucracy and not necessarily to those projects with the greatest merit. 18 Feb 14:05 United Kingdom Faculty of Education University of Cambridge David Carter The complexity of the application process is a strong deterrent 14 Mar 19:03 United Kingdom GENCOA LTD Victor Bellido-Gonzalez Simplification is needed and this is why I endorse this petition. However I hope this is also an opportunity to start a good review at the funding and evaluation process which is borderline of becoming completely irrelevant for a fast moving world. 21 Feb 11:20 United Kingdom Glasgow Caledonian University Colin Combe If it takes longer to administer the project than to deliver a quality output then the systems needs changing. 19 Mar 12:52 United Kingdom Glasgow Caledonian University Ole Pahl The INTERREG auditing requirements are a lamentable duplication (to say the least) of national and international effort, and imply that all researchers are not to be trusted. I hope that some more common sense can be inserted into the mechanisms. 15 Mar 23:16 United Kingdom Glycanex Nick Dunlop-Jones Cut out the value-destroying steps and improve our competitiveness 21 May 21:07 United Kingdom IALS Helen Xanthaki The bureaucracy involved in EU funding and the financial conditions for funding is such that only private organisations can actually apply. Universities can offer exceptional research but they can only match the Commissions funds via what is now contributions in kind, ie time of qualified staff and facilities: yet contributions in kind do not count. So public bodies, like Universities, are asked to pay 30% towards the project at a period of time where state funding is being curtailed. The result is obvious: a handful of Universities conduct research for the Commission. What a waste of human dynamic! 21 May 22:09 United Kingdom IALS Constantin Stefanou It took years of campaigning for the European Commission to convinve member states that the regulatory burden of administration on SMEs was a serious problem. Funny how the Commission cannot see how its very own regulations are a burden to the small administrations of Universities. 10 May 11:11 United Kingdom ICR richard houlston The whole funding p[rocess needs to be straightforward. Also the calls can be too restrictive. Less manahement speak more science. 10 Mar 14:39 United Kingdom Imperial College Julia Polak Simplification and transparency are important factors 18 Feb 13:11 United Kingdom Insitute for Animal Health Xin Wang We always spent long time and great efforts in preparing EU financial report. It always takes very long time for EU to check the reprot and give us some feedback. Some form C can be difficult to filled in. Different projects have different requirement and standards. 18 Feb 18:49 United Kingdom Institute for science, innovation & society, University of Oxford Rafael Ramirez The % of public money that is spent on research administration & control has to go down to ensure return on research investment is enhanced. 3 Mar 18:36 United Kingdom Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester Gindo Tampubolon Good idea. 10 May 12:10 United Kingdom Institute of Cancer Research Martin Leach It is important in Europe to have a large proportino of collaborative research. This can result in relatively small grants to each participant, but with administrative requirements that are disproportional to the size of the award to each institution. The responsibilities of coordinating centres are excessive, with unrealistic financial obligations, making coordination unreasonably onerous. 10 May 17:04 United Kingdom Institute of Cancer Research Daniel Catovsky I fully agree with the proposal 18 May 13:26 United Kingdom Institute of Cancer Research Ian Rivens I support the declaration. Compared to UK research council funding, EU funding is expensive for the host intitution because of the level of beaurocracy. This discourages centres of excellence from applying for such funding. 18 Feb 15:34 United Kingdom Institute of Education Adrian Oberc Application process and subsequent administering EC funds involves a great amount of bureaucracy and regulations. This adds additional unnecessary work to the whole process which could certainly be avoided for the benefit of both parties. Regards, Adrian 12 Mar 12:52 United Kingdom Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London Peter McGuffin I have led on 3 projects, 2 under FP3 and one under FP6. The level of complex bureaucracy surrounding FP6 would, despite the scientific success of the project, make me think twice about ever being a scientific coordinator under such a scheme again. 24 Mar 11:25 United Kingdom Interaction Design Ltd Frank Wilson Continued growth and peaceful collaboration in Europe requires continued sharing of knowledge and energy addressing shared problems and concerns. Forward together or chaos separately. A simple choice. 4 Mar 15:08 United Kingdom InvaSens Ken Evans The adminisative load can often be a very significant proportion of the research effort, often due to unclear directives. 19 Feb 13:14 United Kingdom K-Now limited Sam Chapman Complex financial arrangements are prohibitive of SME EU project involvement. Small innovative companies linked to cutting edge research are ideal bodies to be involved in EU projects but these same companies frequently avoid involvement in EU projects due to the complications of the existing systems. 24 Feb 11:37 United Kingdom Kendra Foundation Daniel Harris If the EU wants to attract SMEs to participate in research then it needs to ensure that cash flow is positive at all times. One shouldnt expect SMEs to take large financial risks for doing research that is beneficial to all. Reducing paperwork and bureaucracy will also help. 18 Feb 11:27 United Kingdom kings college london NIKOLAOS MAVROMATOS It is imperative that fundamental basic research becomes a top priority of EU funding. 10 Mar 13:49 United Kingdom Kings College London Juliet Ellis If we spend all our time filling out unnecessary forms, how are we supposed to find the time to do the research the EU funded us to do in the first place? 12 Mar 14:33 United Kingdom Kings College London Rudolf Uher The complex procedures take a lot of our time that we could dedicate to research. The delays in obtainign awarded funding have repeatedly led to major upsets around meeting deadlines and keepign commitments in collaborative projects. 5 Jul 16:59 United Kingdom Kings College London Ron Irwin Having managed the EU’s application process since 1987 at both Imperial College and now here at King’s College London, and seeing how the ‘simplification’ has developed over time it has always struck me as perverse that even though possibly as much as 80% of the research for the EU is carried out by Universities and Research Organisations there seems to be no understanding in, or regard paid by, the Commission as to how academics actually carry out research and manage their time. The on-going insistence of the Commission and the Court of Auditors to compel academic researchers to adopt an industrial/commercial approach to research has served only to alienate almost the entire academic community – as the number of signatures here testifies. It is true that the use of public funds needs accountability but is it necessary to thrust commercial practices such as personal hourly time-keeping on to researchers who, because of their deep interest in their subject, do not adhere to the normal ‘rules’ of hours of employment? How many of the world’s advances in science and technology would have come about if researchers had clocked in at nine and went home at five? The level of time accountability being required by the Commission is one that is used by industry to compare its costs with its expenses and ensure profitability. University researchers are not concerned with profitability but with producing results that advance their area of expertise. These differences in aim need to be recognised and the methods and practices of the group that is the main actor in these research programmes , the academics, should be the main motivation – not the other way round. There needs to more measurement of and weight given to what is actually produced rather than to investigating and proving the detail of the costs of producing those results. The amount of public money that goes into private accounting firms when auditing the costs of the research activity in FP programmes is enormous and could be better spent finding ways to help researcher take the results of their projects further along the development process. The application procedure on all EU programmes – FP, IMI, Public Health, Interreg, Justice, LLL, Erasmus – needs to be the same. The internal divisions and conflicts at the Commission between the DGs and sections that manage these programmes need to be addressed and consensus reached as to how we apply. It should be possible to have a ‘one-model- fits-all’ application procedure because in each case the same things are being requested - how we will approach the problem, what we think we will produce and how much that will cost. This lamentable practice of the EU for each of its sections (even within the Framework Programmes) to think it has ‘special’ requirements that mean it needs a ‘special’ application procedure, makes it almost impossible to persuade academics that the benefits of receiving a grant outweigh the stresses of applying. A two-stage process should be the norm – whereby there is much less input required at stage 1 and only those applicants going forward being required to draft a detailed specification at stage 2. This has been welcomed by researchers. Real effort, on the part of the Commission as a whole, needs to be applied to improve its procedures. These represent my personal views, not necessarily the view of the College. 8 Mar 11:24 United Kingdom Kings College London School of Medicine Michael Rose I am a work package leader in a very successful Framework 6 project and we are grateful for the funding for our network that would not have come any other way. However the administrative burden of this project is such that my project stalls for weeks at a time while we complete reports. My institution finance department still cannot grasp the complexities of the funding stream and as a result my principle research adminsitrator is inappropriately deemed to be funded for just 6 months at time necessitating temporary contracts and re-applications for her own post. I am not sure that I would ever be allowed by my institution to particpate in any future EU grant funded project. Another member of my institution who led another FP6 program has expressed his view as never again! 1 May 11:21 United Kingdom Kingston University Peter Hooda I agree completely, particularly the requirement of some much paperwork. It will be helpful if this could be simplified. 17 Feb 12:25 United Kingdom Lancaster University Francois Taiani The current level of reporting for EU projects is terrible, and in sharp contrast to that of UK national projects founded by the UK research councils. I dont think it makes EU-funded research any better than UK-funded one. Quite the contrary. EU rules lead to paying senior researchers to tick boxes in excel sheets, sieve through clumsy deliverables, and ticker with WP efforts to fulfill rigid contractual obligations. Is this research? Knowledge it not like coal, steel or wheat: It cannot be forced out of a production line like some manufactured product out of an assembly chain. 17 Feb 18:38 United Kingdom Lancaster University Nelly Bencomo I think that certainly there are better more efficient ways to deal with the administrative issues about timesheets and deliverables). It is so frustrating when you some days expend more time dealing with administrative issues than real work. 18 Feb 18:49 United Kingdom Liverpool John Moores University Emil Levi It is time to take the administrative burden off the research community. 19 Feb 13:06 United Kingdom Liverpool John Moores University Allan HAckett Pan European research is vital for many reasons but I find the procedures to be confusing and far too complex which takes far too much resource which should be devoted to research and academic activity. 28 Feb 19:18 United Kingdom Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Michael Lehane The level of financial reporting we are now being asked to do is seriously compromising time spent on the actual resaerch. I have definitely decided to look elsewhare for funding (and I can confirm this is also the case for many other scientists I speak to). 19 Mar 09:56 United Kingdom London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK Stephen West The rewards of gaining EU funding for scientific research are tempered by the administrative burden placed on grant holders. Research programs should not be considered as contracts as due to the nature of scientific research any predictable milestones are unlikely to be very interesting. It is the unpredictable observations that lead to progress. 4 Mar 18:10 United Kingdom London School of Hybiene and Tropical Medicine Anthony Bryceson the financial and administrative procedures related to the Framework Programmes have become unnecessarily complex 17 May 13:57 United Kingdom London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine David Baker Simplification of the procedure, especially for coordinators would be great! 9 Mar 12:12 United Kingdom London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Isabel Mauricio There is an enormous amount of repetition and little reports that must be filled. This includes useless online reports, then repetition between Management and Activities reports. The degree of detail requested for expenses is just too high. Another cause for complications on reports is the demand that all expenses are VAT free. 5 Mar 13:02 United Kingdom Loughborough University Sasha Alexandrov Procedures and standards of EPSRC (UK) could be literally implemented for the whole Europe 8 Mar 10:15 United Kingdom M4 Technologies Ltd Laurence Archibald I support the endeavours to reduce the levels of bureaucracy associated with the financial management of EC-funded research programmes. 18 Feb 15:16 United Kingdom Manchester Institute of Innovation Research Deborah Cox The requirement for academics to fill in timesheets for all their activity is far too time consuming and wastes valuable resources. The financial requlations are often ambiguous and open to intreptation. The balance between the activity and research and the resource required to administer the project and its reporting requirements needs addressing. 1 Jun 12:56 United Kingdom Manchester Institute of Innovation Research Ian Miles The burdens are hard for us and must be unbearable for small businesses and lone reseqarchers 11 Mar 21:15 United Kingdom Manchester Metropolitan University Bruce Edmonds The management reporting of projects is (1) onerous and (2) utterly ineffective. Projects should be funded based on (a) initial seed money and (b) after that based on past success. 20 May 14:22 United Kingdom Medical Research Council David Moore Bureacracy is taking a major and increasing amount of time of researchers away from science. Much of it could be reduced, primarily by working with other organisations to reduce duplication in the completion of information 20 May 10:18 United Kingdom Natural History Museum Vincent Smith EU research funding is world of administration, bureaucracy, liability, and accountability. It is unforgiving, and clashes with the very culture of science. This damages the goals of the research programs they are intended to protect. 20 May 10:26 United Kingdom Natural History Museum, London Graham Higley I run several EU projects and the cost of administration is very high compared to other grants, such as NSF in the USA and UK foundations. 24 Mar 09:20 United Kingdom Newcastle University Colin Harwood EU funded research has transformed research activity in my field and been of direct benefit to the European companies with which we collaborate. However, increasing amounts of time are spent administering grants. In my case this is done by my university as well as the EU. Why does the EU not authorize certain EU institutions to administer is funds on its behalf? The EU could then focus on the scientific outcomes of the research. 29 Mar 19:07 United Kingdom Newcastle University James Bathurst In my last project the EC finance officer would not accept submissions containing discrepancies of 1 cent. The cost in staff time for locating the source of this discrepancy was out of all proportion to the discrepancy itself. This is too pedantic. A less demanding accounting procedure would be very welcome. 23 Mar 23:19 United Kingdom Newcastle Univesity Kenn Gerdes It is highly important the the complicated and alienating administration related to the FP programmes and to the ERC as well, be simplified. Both the application and the auditing procedures are highly bureaucratic and takes away focus and efforts from what is central to the highly demanding tasks to which we are committed: to generate new knowledge and to exploit that knowledge to the benefit of society. Adminstration in it self is worthless and has no benefit to society but alas, is cumbersome to many. The rules of the EC research programmes basically reflect mistrust to researchers that have already, via their merits, proven to be productive, ambitious and creative. Lets all petition that the procedures be significantly simplified thus to allow us focussing on productive and competitive work. Kenn Gerdes, Professor, Newcastle University. 24 Feb 12:05 United Kingdom Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development, University of Leeds Nancy Gerein The regulations are extraordinarily time-consuming to understand and comply with, and are subject to unpredictable and time-consuming additional interpretations, leading to requests for ever more information, just when you think you have supplied all the information required. They are particularly difficult for partners in developing countries, leading to long delays in receiving funds (years, in our experience), which is difficult for resource-constrained institutions to deal with. They do not do anything to advance research. 18 Feb 13:20 United Kingdom oxford university peter dobson The procedure for applying for EU grants is now a huge barrier, and it is putting Europe in an uncompetitive situation in comparison with the rest of the world. 18 Feb 14:34 United Kingdom Oxford University Ken Kahn Ive participated in 3 European projects. As a researcher much of the admin burden was taken up by others. But when we wanted to propose a follow up to one of the projects everyone wanted to participate but no one wanted to be the PI. 18 Feb 23:05 United Kingdom Oxford University Todd Huffman The red tape and hoops that are created in the name of oversight actually fail to accomplish that goal and instead decrease the effectiveness of the research purchased. So in the name of oversight money is wasted and researchers demoralized. We did not take poorly paid University jobs because we are trying to get rich quick off the public roles. We took these jobs because we want to do research. We do not want to rob you! We want to help you! PLEASE ALLOW US TO DO SO! 18 Feb 23:33 United Kingdom Oxford University Christopher Hays I have tried multiple times to bring in the most promising young researchers from other countries under the European Framework Programme. While the candidates were initially excited to join our research group, the bureaucracy was so onerous that they inevitably gave up and ended up at top US institutions instead. I no longer consider any of these funding schemes viable for attracting top candidates in my field. 19 Feb 01:40 United Kingdom Oxford University Andrew Boothroyd A more efficient application and administration procedure would free up time to carry out more research. It makes sense. 19 Feb 10:31 United Kingdom Oxford University Henry Snaith A disproportionaltely large cost, in both time and money, of the European Framework Programs is speant on non-reasercher based administration and reporting. A signifinact increase in value for money would be achieved by creating a leaner, more streamlined process. 19 Feb 10:37 United Kingdom Oxford University James Binney Time and money spent on administration is time and money taken from research and teaching. Universities flourish with minimal administrative apparatus because their front-line workers are dedicated to teaching and research and work in a fiercely competitive international environment. Brussels should avoid holding us back. 3 Mar 16:40 United Kingdom Oxford University George Smith The present situation is a tragedy for European Science - and a bigger tragedy for the future prosperity of European society. Our global competitors have no problem about pushing forward with their research and development, while we handicap ourselves with vast amounts of useless and counter-productive officialdom and paperwork. 5 Mar 15:14 United Kingdom Oxford University John Fox Having coordinated a number of successful EU funded projects d have benefited greatly from the resources, opportunities for collaboration and for commercial exploitation of EU reseach projects. Despite the benefits, however, the personal and professional demands of managing these projects are so considerable that I am now very reluctant to pursue further funding of this type. I believe that a lighter adminstrative burden could be achieved with no reduction in quality of results, and indeed potentially greater output and opportunities for exploitation. 18 Feb 13:13 United Kingdom Oxford University Computing Services Lou Burnard We have had to withdraw from at least one proposed research project because of the difficulties of organizing and funding administrative support 15 Mar 12:42 United Kingdom Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology David Cope I congratulate Euroscience in taking this initiative. Obviously, public expenditure must be regulated scrupulously. But, I think that the EC system has become (always been) unnecessarily complex, labyrinthine and counterproductive to engagement of new partners, both from within, and outside of the EC. I make this statement in a personal capacity. 15 Mar 10:52 United Kingdom Peppers Ghost Productions Limited Carl Goodman The intention and execution of EU Framework projects is good and commendable, but because of the high burden of administration a disproportionate amount of project budget ends up being spent on paperwork. Whilst the Commission is undoubtedly behaving responsibly in keeping track of taxpayers money, the process is a little circular in that it in fact increases effort and so ends up wasting the Euros it seeks to protect. The intention is honourable, its just the balance is somewhat incorrect. 14 Apr 19:07 United Kingdom PIXELearning Ltd Richard Smith Totally agree with this petition, it is holding back small businesses in Europe. 18 May 17:13 United Kingdom Pontydsygu Graham Attwell Financial accountability and transparency are important. But it is frustrating how much of our time is presently taken with filling in forms which ultimately seem to contribute little to this. 18 May 15:07 United Kingdom Precision Acoustics Ltd Terri Gill As an SME we no longer work with consortiums applying for EU funding as we do not have the resources to complete the complicated paperwork either during the application process or post grant period. We are pleased to be involved in the science but simplification of the Bureaucracy is essential if EU grants are to include the participation of SMEs 15 Mar 11:35 United Kingdom PWCE Peter Ward Work programmes are too prescriptive and are generally guided by the big industrial players. There is little or no room for innovative ideas coming from SMEs or Universities to be funded. 7 Apr 11:17 United Kingdom Queen Mary and Westfield Colleg, University of London Tanya Szendeffy A qualification is really needed just to begin to get to grips with the various grant types and their administrative procedures. Once they have been mastered, then new rules and regulations are introduced. Furthermore, only PIs with dedicated staff have the time and resources to put an application together and chance not winning a grant. Non established researchers, especially young researchers tend not to apply for grants other than the most accessible such as Marie Curie Fellowhips. 4 Jun 16:36 United Kingdom RGT Freelance Ltd Roger Trengove Financial Reporting is extemely important and clearly must be auditable but it must also be fit for purpose as so much time is spent providing minute detailed information. In addtion rigid formats for technical reporting can often loose the the message. 16 Mar 11:18 United Kingdom Rolls-Royce plc Philip Pickering Essentially the EU wants companies to establish a separate costing system just for them, different to the system used for statutory accounts and as agreed with other major funding bodies, i.e. in the UK the TSB and MoD and in the USA the DoD. The additional cost of working with the EU is becoming prohibitive. 1 Mar 13:00 United Kingdom Royal Holloway, University of London Kostas Stathis I wish to support the possibility of simplifying the administrative burden in Framework Programme projects. 4 Mar 22:47 United Kingdom School of Education, University of Manchester Julian Williams I have always avoided seeking EU funding because I understood there is more bureaucracy -work than real scientific work that follows from being funded - Id like to see this change and thats why I am signing up ... 29 Apr 18:52 United Kingdom School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds Alan Watson I rarely agreed with Mrs Thatcher but she was totally correct about the bureuacracy in Brussels. I have experienced this both in writing applications and managing one grant. Too much money is spent on monitoring and reviewing in very fine detail. 11 Mar 10:30 United Kingdom Scottish Association for Marine Science Tracy Shimmield The mechanisim for recovery of funding is in efficient and at best obstructive and overly expensive especially with respect to EDF funding but also applies to INTERREG and FP7 funding. This results in the requirement of further administration and results in more of the funding being spent on administration of awarded grants. There needs to be a mechanisim of accountability for the European officals dealing with these problems. Presently accountability is minimal or non existent and you arwe continualy referred back to the delegation where the problem lies. 12 Mar 20:05 United Kingdom Scottish Association for Marine Science Lois Calder EU funding carries an ever increasing burden of beaurocracy, administartion and micro- management. It is a self fuelling machine, requiring an excessive amount of staff time and energy simply to fullfill the administartive requirements , detracting significantly from the intnded purpose of the funding. Whilst there are undoubtedly risks involved with research funding that should be mitigated, the level of adminstration should reflect the nature and purpose of the activity. Too often it seems that the reasons for funding are entirely subsummed in complex reporting, burdonsom and petty beaurocracy and mountianous requirments for paper trails and evidence. This is source of huge frustration and serves only to increase risk. 18 Mar 10:11 United Kingdom Scottish Association for Marine Science Clive Fox I have been involved in several EU projects since Framework V and each has seen an increase in the associated administrative burden. More effort seems now to be spent in compiling time sheets and auditing spending than in actually doing the work! In addition the co-funding rules can make it difficult for non-governmental institutes such as ourselves to fully engage with EU research. 24 Mar 20:00 United Kingdom Scottish Association for Marine Science Kenny Black Unreasonable lack of trust is wasting public money on trivial paperwork and seriously reducing productivity. 22 Mar 13:40 United Kingdom Scottish Association for Marine Science Fran McCloskey The EU programmes have lost sight of what they are trying to achieve and have totally failed to identify policies and procedures targeted at the overall objectives. There will come a point where researchers, and their supporting organisations, will need to seriously consider their involvement at EU programme level and that can only hurt the science. 18 Feb 12:44 United Kingdom Security Innovation and Technology Consortium Ltd Paul Osborne As a not for profit membership organisation supporting consortia to bid for applied research funding we would welcome any simplification in the administration of EU research funding. We recognise that the EU must have adequate audit and monitoring safeguards against fraud, but they must be proportionate to the risks and not burden SME participants excessively. 18 Feb 16:03 United Kingdom SimuGen Quin Wills As a South African ex-pat, its always amazed me as to how well the UK really punches above its weight in basic and industrial medical research. Ive now pulled out twice from EU funded projects because they damage such precious innovation that is so good here in the UK. 8 Mar 13:27 United Kingdom Spinal Research Unit, University of Huddersfield Kim Burton For sure the processes can and should be simplified in order that scientists can concentrate on science rather than beaurocracy: transparency and reasonable control can still be achieved, just more simply. 6 Jul 20:10 United Kingdom St Georges, University of London Dorothy Bennett I fully agree that the procedures should be simplified. Our experience with EC funding has included mountains of unnecessary and time-wasting paperwork. 17 May 13:25 United Kingdom St. Georges Hospital Medical School Sanjeev Krishna The regulatory framework is so burdensome that it is itself a major hurdle to scientific advances, which depend on applying resources swiftly and efficiently to new challenges that arise every working day. 18 Mar 17:35 United Kingdom Swansea University Karol Kalna I strongly support a significant reduction of administrative burden in EU projects. 18 Feb 11:34 United Kingdom Teesside University Dave Pratt Simplify and align all EU funding regulations. 10 May 11:11 United Kingdom The Institution of Cancer Research Ian Judson The bureacracy surrounding clinical research is stifling innovation, has hugely increased the cost of doing research and makes it almost impossible to conduct investigator initiated translational studies in cancer. 19 Mar 13:05 United Kingdom The University Court of the University of Aberdeen Crystal Anderson In my role as European liaison officer, I have found that there are two main things that stop researchers from applying for European funding. The first is the fact that it takes months of researcher time to write a competitive proposal that is unlikely to be funded due to low success rates, and the second is the amount of bureaucracy and repetition/redundancy of information that needs to be entered into the various electronic reporting tools (e.g., the section on explanation on the use of resources in SESAM). I can confirm that both of these factors are causing seasoned EU PIs to seriously re-think applying for EU funding as a coordinator. Although the ability to hire an administrator to the project alleviates some of the work from the PI, it is not a proper solution to the excessive administrative load. 3 Mar 17:58 United Kingdom The University of Edinburgh Michael Zaiser Research needs to be assessed on outcomes, not on paperweight production (who reads the 500-1000 pages of deliverable reports, final report etc. of the average European project?). On the selection side the problem is similar - the refereeing standards for proposals are sometimes abysmal, presumably because few serious scientists fancy reading through multiple proposals consisting of 50-80 pages EuroLingo. 19 Feb 14:14 United Kingdom The University of Manchester Janine Flanagan The grants awarded by the EU do not provide sufficient funding to cover the project cost. The administrative demands made on researchers and administrators are disproportionate to the income. Ironically, universities will have to consider carefully whether they can afford to run EU grants. 3 Mar 21:26 United Kingdom The University of Manchester Mauro Degli Esposti Godd initiative, as any for reducing the ever increasing red tape! 19 Feb 10:18 United Kingdom The University of Nottingham Nicola Dawson I have administered EC research project since Framework 4. The complexity and red tape seems to be getting worse and takes far more time to administer than any other funding source I have come across. 9 Jun 15:42 United Kingdom The University of Reading Andrew Fromant Onerous and protracted 18 Mar 12:37 United Kingdom The University of Sheffield Patrick Fairclough The application and reporting of EU grants seems to be designed to waste money. I know that many people do not apply for Eu funding because the paperwork is so time consuming. Employing someone to do it for you, does not treat the root cause. I also wonder if it is a good use of EU tax payers money to employ all the people in the EU offices to read reams of paper, if of course it is actually read. 18 Feb 18:39 United Kingdom UCL patricia woo as an active researcher in the academic and hospital setting, the bureaucracy required to initiate clinical research, especially in the case of medicinal products, has the effect of severely inhiiting any pilot or innovative studies. The number of man hours needed to jump through all the hoops should be less, especially for phase one studies. Otherwise we will leave all medicinal interventions to pharma, who have agendas different from the doctors and the academia, i.e. profits and costs. Moreover, if we are to apply for grant funding from charities or government agencies, the costs required for administration of the study usually lifts the cost of the whole study beyond the limits set by the grant giving bodies in UK. I have done one such study and will not advise anyone to repeat this experience. 9 Jun 00:29 United Kingdom UCL Katrin Skoruppa I totally agree - a lot of money is wasted on making the European Dream become a bureaucratic nightmare Katrin (who received a positive evaluation for a Marie Curie fellowship in November, an invitation to negociate in December and is still waiting for her contract...) 1 Mar 19:40 United Kingdom UCL Institute of Neurology John Hardy Unless we do this in medical research, all work related to human disease, will be moved to countries with less cumbersome processes for dealing with animal work and clinical trials. The pharmaceutical industry is already beginning to make this move. 18 Feb 18:51 United Kingdom UCL Institute of Ophthalmology Imre Lengyel I fully support this declaration. 18 Feb 19:23 United Kingdom UCL Institute of Ophthalmology Maria Balda I strongly agree with the simplification of financial and administrative procedures related to the Framework Programme and other European funding streams. 3 Mar 17:57 United Kingdom Univeristy of Bristol James Marshall Currently I would not wish to head a EU grant, given the notorious administrative overheads. Scientists should spend their time doing science; a light-touch process would be entirely appropriate for future FP calls. 20 Mar 15:37 United Kingdom Universidade de Lisboa Maria Amélia Martins-Louçao There is a need of simplification although I entirely agree with accountability 23 Feb 10:55 United Kingdom Universit of Edinburgh Rick Maizels Compliance with administrative rules is increasingly diverting energy and resources away from the core scientific agenda. The financing system is far too complicated and the overall administrative cost is not only excessive in real terms but condemns scientific co-ordinators to devote their time to too many pointless exercises. The system needs to be drastically streamlined, converted to lump-sum grants rather than contracts, and all repetitive and non- essential tasks eliminated. 18 Feb 11:02 United Kingdom University College London Paul Carter-Bowman Who on Earth designs the EC Frameworks?!! 18 Feb 15:37 United Kingdom University College London Pamela Manfield It seems an awful shame that so much valuable scientific and administrative time is wasted jumping through unnecessary hoops before, during and after EU funding. Money and time are scarce for all of us; if the EC could simplify instructions and organisation eveyone would benefit and we would have more good science outcomes. 23 Feb 10:23 United Kingdom University College London Graham Rook While we understand the need for close monitoring to stop fraud, the fact remains that the current system is unwieldy, and too much funding is wasted on the resulting administrative costs. Moreover the audits are carried out by people with no understanding of the continuity of research, resulting in deductions that could almost certainly be reversed in a court of law. But life is too shirt, and academics have better things to do than challenge obtuse bureaucracy so injustices go uncorrected. 25 Feb 17:47 United Kingdom University College London Matteo Carandini All EU funding should follow the lead of the European Research Council. It already embodies the principles of this declaration. 7 Mar 07:02 United Kingdom University College London Andrew Todd-Pokropek The whole process could be much more efficient in terms of generating scientific output and facilitating the careers of in particualr the junior participants. 15 Mar 18:07 United Kingdom University College London Keith Ball I drafted the scientific case for an EU funded training network. Instead of merely assessing the quality of the proposal and participants, and then trusting the distinguished scientists involved to design the project, the liaison officer insisted on micromanaging details of the network that she was completely unqualified to assess. This necessitated an enormous amount of bureaucratic effort on the part of participants that served no discernible scientific goal. If you irritate and waste the time of Europes best scientists, you will end up receiving proposals only from weak scientific groups whose members have time on their hands. 22 Mar 18:35 United Kingdom University College London Andrew Clegg Researchers do not record every days activities to half-hour resolution, and to ask them to do so would cause a ridiculous quantity of paperwork. Therefore, asking them to report these at the end of a year, for every working day over that year, is pointless, and just leads to inaccurate figures and tell-them-what-they-want-to-hear syndrome. Furthermore, the spreadsheets provided for this purpose frequently do match up with the organisational structure of the projects they are used in (work package naming conventions etc.). 4 May 13:29 United Kingdom University College London Geraldine Cambridge I have recently finalised plans to coordinate clinical research with 2 simila centers in Portugal and Madrid. None of us have the time to negotiate the horrendous application EU application forms so we are back to trying to get small grants from our respective countries. What a waste! 19 Feb 11:48 United Kingdom University College London Institute of Ophthalmology John Greenwood It is time to reverse the increasingly crippling burden of bureaucracy that impairs our ability to perform and be competitive. 4 Mar 13:54 United Kingdom University od Strathclyde Thorsten Ackemann Scientific and financial reporting should be simplified. Daily time sheets are a significant and unnecessary burden of little value. 17 Feb 11:30 United Kingdom University of Aberdeen Adam Price I have been a partner in FP5 and FP6 projects. The administrative burden is terrible when compared to UK-based research funding, and it has got progressively worse in the last 4 years. It is a major disincentive to get involved with EU funding. 17 Feb 12:02 United Kingdom University of Aberdeen Paul Fowler The level, obscurity and difficulty of EC administration associated with FW7 is farcical and an utter waste of time, money, staff and resources. We should be doing RESEARCH not writing ridiculously long reports and submitting the same information repeatedly to the commission. 25 Feb 15:24 United Kingdom University of Aberdeen Gillian Hewison Why do we need to manually replicate finance information on Management reports? Cant they be joined electronically by the EU before they are sent on? Why do we will need to breakdown Other directs, cant the EU simply trust the researchers to deliver the science for an appropriate cost? 26 Feb 11:25 United Kingdom University of Aberdeen Claire Wallace I realise there is a need for some regulatory control, but some of the reporting requirements (for example time sheets under FP7) are both onerous and absurd. They lead to researchers becoming adept at manipulating the system rather than doing good research. 26 Feb 12:06 United Kingdom University of Aberdeen Blair Annandale Interreg and NPP especially are a nightmare. 7 Mar 20:30 United Kingdom University of Aberdeen Ioannis Theodossiou The paperwork and form filling, the badly designed, cumbersome and inflexible web sites to upload reports, the inflexibility of the procedures is so time consuming and bureaucratic that harms the potential research output and derail the research as researchers have to spend more time in the management of the ever expanding bureaucratic procedures than promoting the scientific objectives of the funded research. 18 Feb 14:42 United Kingdom University of Bath Mark Ricketts Maintaining accountability is important, but I see so much effort and cost currently focused on administrative aspects it is a threat to quality research 31 May 10:27 United Kingdom University of Bath William Megill The level of detail required in the current reporting system is a heavy workload, and if it is to be done properly and on time, then it requires that every grant employ an individual dedicated solely to the task. If the system were simplified, the funds currently being deployed on the reporting tasks could be diverted into more productive research, for the benefit of all. 31 May 11:03 United Kingdom University of Bath Julian Padget For me, the administrative burden is a major dis-incentive to seeking EU FP7 funding. The models employed by EPSRC (UK), the Royal Society and the various bilateral exchange schemes (such as those run by the British Council, DAAD, CSIC etc.) are much more appropriate for research activities, particularly given the relatively small amounts of money involved. 1 Jun 10:38 United Kingdom University of Bath Peter Hall Occams razor is found to be effective in all areas of human activity: it should be applied to funding by reducing rules to the minimal necessary set. The benefits will be seen in improved research quality feeding through to the wider economy. 8 Mar 10:58 United Kingdom University of Birmingham Marco Ercolani The paradox is that although the paperwork is meant to make the funding process more transparent it probably achieves the exact opposite. Success seems to be measured according to how many boxes have been filled before, during and after the funding is received. I admire the Principal Investigators on my projects but I am not sure I would ever wish to take their place. 21 May 12:46 United Kingdom University of Birmingham Jan-Ulrich Kreft Many thanks for your initiative - less time for admin means more time for research output. 19 Feb 17:04 United Kingdom University of Bolton Kondal Reddy Kandadi The administration and documentation burden of the projects, in many cases, hinders the actual value provision from them. 23 Feb 13:02 United Kingdom University of Bolton Dennis Price The scientific and technical aspects are the priority of the project. Currently, the financial and administrative duties are time consumming and the frustrations which can arise therefrom distact from the the main task of the work. 4 May 12:00 United Kingdom University of Bristol Paul Pringle This is long overdue. 4 May 12:09 United Kingdom University of Bristol Jeremy Harvey Though it is harder to use implicit controls to enforce financial probity across a wide area such as Europe compared to the situation in a smaller country, it should nevertheless still be possible - and lightening the burden of administrative checks is definitely very desirable. Also, funding should be aimed primarily at supporting excellence in European research - not at furthering political goals linked to structuring the European research area. 4 May 12:17 United Kingdom University of Bristol Paul May Red-tape is killing research, and demotivating scientists. Something needs to be done. 4 May 12:58 United Kingdom University of Bristol Russell Cox The administrative burdens related to the application for funds, the administration of the grant and the post-project reporting are far out of proportion. Additionally, financial mismatches between the EU and the host organisation and severe lack of flexibility are positive disincentives to apply for EU funding. 4 May 15:50 United Kingdom University of Bristol Christopher Russell The current approach means scientific excellence plays a secondary role compared to spin. 20 Feb 00:32 United Kingdom University of Cambridge Siddharth Saxena Over regulation is the final nail in coffin of European creativity and innovation. 9 Mar 16:54 United Kingdom University of Cambridge Samantha Bennett I fully support this petition for simplification and clarification of research funding practices across Europe. 19 Mar 10:52 United Kingdom University of Cambridge Michael Payne There needs to be an independent review of whether funding is going to the very best researchers in Europe, as assessed by their number of publications, citations, h-factors and other internationally recognised criteria. We need to understand that only the very best research leads to the paradigm shifts that generate new industries and hence new employment opportunities and acknowledge that, ultimately, creating employment is crucial for ensuring cohesion across Europe. 22 Mar 09:52 United Kingdom University of Cambridge Chris Jiggins European funding is notorious for the bureaucracy involved, which generally just ends up detracting from the scientific output of the research. I therefore support all efforts to streamline the process of awarding and administering these funds, for the benefit of taxpayers and scientists alike. 22 Apr 17:46 United Kingdom University of Cambridge Giles Yeo I am the coordinator of FP7- HEALTH- 2009- 241592 EurOCHIP, from the Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge. I have read and fully support this declaration. Yours Giles Yeo 17 May 13:10 United Kingdom university of cambridge Neil Mercer I strongly support request for procedures to be improved. 18 Feb 12:00 United Kingdom UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING) LYNDA RICHARDS There needs to be an element of trust bought into the whole operation. We are in danger of an administrative ideal overtaking the actual research work. 5 Mar 17:45 United Kingdom University of Dundee Alastair Munro Never in the field of human endeavour has been so much been asked of so many and to so little purpose 18 Mar 14:23 United Kingdom University of Dundee Jean-Christophe Bourdon European grant Application are time-consuming and the award does not often worth the time spent. It is very difficult to innovate and to create new industry based on biotechnology in Europe too. There is obviously a lack of trust of the European administration in the scientific community as if scientists were theft and dangerous criminals wanting to destroy the world!! Where will be the european population without the scientific progress (HIV, flu viruses, starvation, tuberculosis, ...). would the european population enjoy the longest life-expectancy ? 18 Mar 20:54 United Kingdom University of Dundee David Grahame Hardie I do understand that checks are necessary to ensure that money provided by European funding is properly accounted for, and was spent furthering the aims of the agreed project. However, based on my experience as co-ordinator of an FP6 project, I believe that the Commission tried to micromanage the projects far too much. While I can understand the need for perhaps one interim report and one set of interim accounts during a 5 year project, I feel that the provision of detailed reports each year, together with lists of Deliverables for the following year, was burdensome and counter-productive. Scientists should be judged on their previous track record, and trusted to get on with fulfilling the aims of the project without so much interference during the project. 18 Feb 13:12 United Kingdom University of East Anglia Karen Heywood Simplification of the administrative burden is essential to maintain and improve the competitiveness of European research. 25 Feb 21:03 United Kingdom University of Edinburgh Judith Allen The enormous administrative load associated with every aspect of EC funding is completely counterproductive. 4 Mar 10:25 United Kingdom University of Edinburgh Graeme Ackland The investment EU funding brings to training and mobility feeds directly to better and more efficient research. It promotes genuine international collaboration and understanding, making it one of the great political successes of the EU. But it is impossible for active researchers to manage the paperwork - funding goes to places with the most efficient non-scientific bureaucracy - scientific outputs are safe (i.e. often dull), and generally inferior to those of projects funded by national governments. Projects should be assessed on their scientific achievement, not on whether they met targets set many years in the past which may now be obsolete. 4 Mar 13:45 United Kingdom University of Edinburgh John Greenhough Communication of science to a spectrum of audiences is an essential deliverable of any project, but the repetitiveness of EU reports causes much confusion among its scientific authors and the administrative staff who try to explain what is required. 22 Apr 19:10 United Kingdom University of Edinburgh Gareth Leng The administrative burden associated with applications for European Research Funding is a serious disincentive particularly for the very best laboratories. If you want the involvement of the very best scientists, it is important that their as much of their time is actually spent on science rather than on administration or on administratively overcomplex application processes. It is particularly important to recognise that cutting edge science follows a discovery-led path that does not readily conform to pre-established protocols; overspecification of research protocols at contract stage does not necessarily make for good science and effective use of public money. 5 Jun 18:42 United Kingdom University of Edinburgh Paul Kelly I have benefited from FP5 and FP6 funding, for which I am grateful to the EC. It does seem at times that some of the rules are designed for CAP and merely adapted for FP. 6 May 13:16 United Kingdom University of Essex Martin Fleury The cost of running an EU project because of the bureaucratic overload has prevented my university from initiating any bids (it only supports joining pre-existing proposals). 6 May 14:10 United Kingdom University of Essex Mohammed Ghanbari Eu support for research is vital, but unfortunately available resources are not sufficient and more funding is needed 16 Mar 11:23 United Kingdom University of Glamorgan Denis Murphy the EC research funding system is now so bureaucratic and long winded that it is a positive disincentive for busy researchers to engage in this lottery-like process. 18 Feb 12:37 United Kingdom University Of Glasgow Daniel McNulty Far too complex and time consuming. Aministrative costs can be reduced considerably using simpler structures 3 Mar 09:40 United Kingdom University of Glasgow John R.M. Annand Overcoming FP6 and 7 bureaucratic hurdles is indeed frustrating and time consuming. Its represents a severe disincentive to applying for EU funding, especially as the potential rewards shrink. There is a balance to be struck between ease of administration and checking that rules are being respected. Currently the weighting is overwhelmingly on the latter. 3 Mar 18:31 United Kingdom University of Glasgow Ralf Kaiser Every day not spent on administration is a day spent doing research. 18 Feb 12:01 United Kingdom University of huddersfield, UK Liam Blunt Excessive administration discourages researchers in developing collaborative research 18 Feb 12:11 United Kingdom University of Kent David Coombe There must be a balance between the necessity to account properly for public funding and the importance of ensuring that good research is not impeded. That balance does not exist at present. Current financial regulations impose an unnecessary and unproductive burden on researchers and should be reviewed to ensure they are proportional, material and above all effective and transparent. 17 Feb 10:38 United Kingdom University of Leeds Philip Rees At Leeds we are partners in an ESPON 2013 Programme project called DEMIFER which has been in progress since mid-2008. We have submitted all requested financial and activity reports but these have yet to be approved by the Co-ordination Office. We anticipate further difficulties and will probably have submitted the Final Report draft by 30 April 2010, without any payment to our institutions. In effect, our research institutions will have loaned the European Commission the working capital for the project at zero interest rate for nearly two years. This is damaging to the conduct of research. Most other research funders, national and international, approve claims within the research period fairly promptly, making the final payment subject to satisfactory deliverables. 18 Feb 15:27 United Kingdom University of Leeds Pat Bourke With each framework there is more administration. Each Directorate has annoying slight difference and as for Marie Curie.... 19 Mar 12:42 United Kingdom University of Leeds Constanze Bonifer The amount of bureaucracy involved with coordinating an EU proposal is absolutely prohibitive. It basically ensures that only institutions and consortia who have specialized administrative support can lead such an application. Nobody else can even dream about it. It means that only certain groups can apply, and these are not always the ones that do the best science. The result is an inbreeding culture that locks out people who are not part of the breed. 29 Apr 16:41 United Kingdom University of Leeds Heather Cooper Too much red tape wastes money and time that could and should be put to better use doing actual research! 29 Apr 17:20 United Kingdom University of Leeds Paul Ogden Research is an essential support for any kind of progress. Why hamper the funding the applications for funding with meaningless red tape. 5 Jul 13:33 United Kingdom University of Leeds Neil Thomson Many high level research groups are put off applying for European funding due to the large administrative burden that is required. 3 Mar 14:25 United Kingdom University of Leicester Tim Pearce Reducing the administrative overhead on EU grants will mean less admin costs for the EU and also better science and research, a win-win situation! 4 Mar 16:27 United Kingdom University of Leicester Ian Eperon The most important requirement is to support basic curiosity-driven research, without asking research to meet strategic directives imposed by committees. Scientific research is like art: driven by personal insight and imagination, with the additional constraints of demonstrating that the results fit no other hypothesis. 5 Mar 09:27 United Kingdom University of Leicester Bernard Burke Lets make it simpler and cut bureaucracy 17 Mar 09:31 United Kingdom University of Leicester Paul Burton The heavy current bureaucracy and politicisation of the current process not only leads to perceptions of iniquity and unfair influence being applied, but in addition there is sometimes a total mismatch between the administrative/bureaucratic/strategic guidance handed out on how to address grant development from the perspective of the commission, and the process by which applications are then actually assessed by review panels. This is particularly so for applications that have a significant infrastructural element that may be vital but may appear to be pedestrian to outsiders. In the field of biobanking, for example, we are rapidly approaching a position where we have wonderful high tech solutions to a whole raft of exciting problems - and yet because of the way the funding system works, it is almost impossible to get access to the relatively small amount of funding required to ensure that basic phenotyping data are effectively harmonized between projects even though that is universally recognised as being at least as important. We need a funding system that is simple enough to avoid the perception of iniquity altogether, and thereby avoids the need to combat such a perception primarily by trying to pick supposedly non-conflicted panels. In the world of global science EVERYBODY is conflicted and to pretend otherwise is sophistry. 15 Mar 14:15 United Kingdom University of Liverpool Ben Makepeace The EC needs to realise that its ever-changing, ever-expanding financial reporting requirements are draining untold resources from the research it is funding, causing massive inefficiencies and damaging its reputation in the scientific community. Already for many young scientists, the EC is the funding body of last resort, as they fear their energy will be sapped by endless bureaucratic distractions. 16 Feb 11:22 United Kingdom University of Manchester Teresa Attwood If as much time as is currently being spent on reporting (deliverable reports, interim reports, AGM reports, financial reports, time-sheets, audits, etc.) was being spent on doing *research*, a great deal more might actually be delivered by EU research grants! 22 Feb 17:15 United Kingdom University of Manchester Martin Gallagher The administrative burden on participants and especially coordinators is insufficiently financed within EU project costs to make effective research worthwhile on average. Significant subsidising of EU projects using internal as well as other national funding resources is probably widespread and is gradually disincentivising effective research. This is a pity as the model is a good vehicle for initiating pan European collaboration. 25 Feb 22:11 United Kingdom University of Manchester Colin Sibley I strongl supprt this declaration 5 Mar 09:20 United Kingdom University of Manchester Geoff Wake In my experience a considerable proportion of the energy of the research team is expended in ensuring that bureaucratic measures are complied with when this effort could be redirected to genuine research. 10 Mar 01:20 United Kingdom University of Manchester Ralf Brand Please 5 May 14:22 United Kingdom University of Manchester Diana Chase As Research Manager for 2 EC-funded studies, I would welcome any simplification in the administration / reduction in the bureaucracy. 8 Jun 03:12 United Kingdom University of Manchester Karl Herholz Better algnement is also required with regard to the interaction and consistency of local university administration rules with EC/FP rules. I would like to appreciate the big help and enormous support we have been getting from the coordinating centre administrators of our project (DiMI) at Cologne university. 18 Feb 11:07 United Kingdom University of Nottingham Hazel Glover These grants involve too much admin time, which uses resources which should be directed to research. 18 Feb 11:22 United Kingdom University of Nottingham Lida Kaur simplification - to make less complex; make plainer or easier - Yes, please! thank you 19 Feb 12:00 United Kingdom University of Nottingham Sandra Jarvis Simplification of the Financial and Administrative processes linked to European Funding and Support for Research would save time, money, lessen stress and would help to promote even more goodwill amongst Eurpean Partners. 19 Feb 13:02 United Kingdom University of Nottingham Sean Mayes While the level of administration burden is a problem for European/Developed world projects, it is a catastrophe for projects involving developing world partners, especially African. 19 Feb 13:03 United Kingdom University of Nottingham Carl Stevenson My post-doctoral research was funded by a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship from the EU. I received notification that I was successful with my application for the fellowship in Dec 2003. However, it was not until Aug 2004 that I was able to take up the fellowship. This delay was due entirely to the bureaucracy associated with getting the contract through various departments in Brussels. 23 Feb 20:21 United Kingdom University of NOttingham Ramiro Alberio I agree with the proposal of simplifying funding procedures for european funds. 15 Feb 12:16 United Kingdom University of Oxford Aadya Shukla The complexity of regulatory framework is a very strong impediment, especially for younger researchers who wish to become more independent in their career. I have seen many instances where the research content of a proposal was very promising but a misinterpretation of the application rules contributed to the rejection of the proposal by the research councils. I strongly recommend a simplification of the rules. This will greatly help so that the researchers do not have to spend 80% of their time in polishing the proposal to fit the categories. The main role of the research councils should be to promote research and encourage innovative research directions rather than training people in becoming better at playing the funding game by trial and error over the years. 17 Feb 19:03 United Kingdom University of Oxford Linda Polik The red tape and audit requirements are excruciating. There are dozens of people involved just at Oxford doing nothing but filling in forms and providing letters, reports and declarations to the Commission and its agencies. This is NOT making best use of public funds. 17 Feb 19:20 United Kingdom University of Oxford Andrew Fairweather-Tall The current Commission financial and audit requirements for European projects pose a significant burden both on institutions and on the researchers who undertake research. The rhetoric from the Commission about simplifying the rules governing FP7 does not match the reality. 18 Feb 10:56 United Kingdom University of Oxford Peter Neary EU funding of research has made an enormous difference to the research climate in Europe, and done a great deal to bridge the gap between Europe and the US. However, more needs to be done and unfortunately the reporting requirements are a barrier to many good researchers. Streamlining them would leave more time for research and place more emphasis on the creativity and novelty of the research funded. 18 Feb 11:06 United Kingdom University of Oxford Phil Clare If something isnt done about this soon, we will be spending more on administering, auditing and correcting the paperwork than on the R&D itself. Perhaps we already do... 18 Feb 12:03 United Kingdom University of Oxford Matthew Smart The system is sensibly rigorous, but the awarding bodys internal administrative requirements and procedures seem often to be loaded unnecessarily onto institutions conducting the research. Bringing them back into the awarding body would help, indeed force, the awarding body to think more carefully about the burden, and about rationalising it. 18 Feb 12:04 United Kingdom University of Oxford Tequila Osborne The amount of paperwork still to be sent hard copy to the EC is not being reduced, yet we were told that once we go to reporting online this would cease. When will this happen we are suppose to be reducing paper to save the trees. 18 Feb 13:00 United Kingdom University of Oxford Shoumo Bhattacharya The burden of excessive administration means simply that less time is being spent on research. 18 Feb 13:18 United Kingdom University of Oxford Silke Schneider In my experience if something goes seriously wrong in a project, there are no consequences anyway. So I dont quite see what all the bureaucratic efforts are there for. 18 Feb 17:00 United Kingdom University of Oxford Martin Wynne Lowering the current administrative burden associated with European research projects would mean that we would participate in more collaborations with partners in other European countries. I would also like there to be more transparency and fairness in financial dealing with the European Commission. 18 Feb 17:21 United Kingdom University of Oxford Russell G Egdell Much more emphasis should be given to the core scientific case and achievemnets and much less to Eurospeak jargon in the assessment and reporting procedures surrounding EU grants. 18 Feb 20:24 United Kingdom University of Oxford Mason Porter The massive Eurocracy is very frustrating... 19 Feb 02:28 United Kingdom University of Oxford Subir Sarkar Whereas there has been some improvement in the procedures (e.g. the quality of the refereeing) in recent years, the strategic goals are increasingly being decided without reference to the real needs of the research community (e.g. the stress in FP7 on training early-stage researchers at the expense of experienced researchers). There ought to be more coordination with the EU national research agencies in determining priorities and good practice - the latter have collectively a great deal more experience of administering successful research so why does the EC try to reinvent the wheel? Where the EC has both an advantage and a special responsibility is in sponsoring transnational collaborations and interdisciplinary research - and to ensure progress it must *trust* the carefully selected researchers to forge new paths rather than weigh them down with mind-numbing bureaucracy. 19 Feb 09:39 United Kingdom University of Oxford Cigdem Issever My experience with the European funding schemes is that it is very complicated to apply for. It takes weeks (event months) just to understand the guidelines and the fineprints in the documents. Which is very demotivating and frustrating. The success rate is very low and it is most of the time not worth the effort to work on these applications for months year after year given the fact that it takes so long just to understand the application guidelines/rules. One basically has to become a bureaucrat in order to understand all the rules before even getting to write about ones research ideas. 19 Feb 10:57 United Kingdom University of Oxford Sebastian Heidenreich The time that one spent on administrative issues is to much. The balance between research and administration gets out of control. 19 Feb 11:17 United Kingdom University of Oxford Claire Vallance The EU are doing a great job of funding science throughout Europe, for which I would like to commend them, but the bureaucracy is unbelievable. To give just one example, requiring academics to fill in timesheets to demonstrate they are working on a research project serves absolutely no useful purpose, and simply wastes the time of everyone involved in the process, not to mention taking time away that could have been spent on research. Research should be judged on results, not on bean counting. In my instition, and I know in many others too, the sheer complexity of administering EU grants means that many departments are actively discouraging their members from applying, which I think is a huge shame. 19 Feb 11:36 United Kingdom University of Oxford Andrew Steane The funding needs to be set up to encourage those who are good at research above those who are merely good at form-filling. 19 Feb 13:07 United Kingdom University of Oxford Ben Gidley The research and related work funded by the European Union is incredibly valuable, but the bureaucracy means that it does not represent value for money for the European tax payers, and is a disincentive for scholars to apply, especially from smaller institutions. 19 Feb 16:59 United Kingdom University of Oxford Christian Brand I strongly support this petition. Long overdue. 19 Feb 21:58 United Kingdom University of Oxford Tom Snijders Collaboration in science and high quality of science are of utmost importance for Europe. EU procedures for assessment and governance of scientific collaboration must be simplified and oriented toward scientific output, education, and collaboration, and must become less bureaucratic. 22 Feb 13:55 United Kingdom University of Oxford Pierre Espinasse We need to accept that research is not an activity that can be managed through normal procurement rules. Universities have an obligation to be fully accountable for their research and the funding they receive but, equally, the European Commission and the European Parliament must be open to working with universities to introduce less burdensome mechanisms which are more compatible with the nature of research. 23 Feb 17:48 United Kingdom University of Oxford Victoria Kingsman A disproportianate amount of my time is spent on EC project administration compared to all other funding we receive from sponsors. It is a complicated and highly stressful part of my job and just seems to be getting worse. There needs to be more trust between the EC and those it funds, let us not forget the main aim is high quality research not an ocean of paperwork. 24 Feb 10:33 United Kingdom University of Oxford Patrick Irwin Funding for science research is critical for a countrys national development. My own research area in the UK is funded by STFC, which is having to severely restrict its funding. We are thus looking for alternative income streams and anything that can be done to streamline the EU system would be greatly appreciated and could play a key role in preserving European Science during the next few years of financial crisis. 3 Mar 13:07 United Kingdom University of Oxford Angela Vincent I have been involved in a number of EC projects, all of them clinically-orientated Although some of the earlier ones were effective in providing funds for valuable research, and the administration was not too unwieldy, more recent grants have been demanding administratively for the individual partners with little support for the actual work done. 9 Mar 10:51 United Kingdom University of Oxford Yorick Wilks Huge proposals and over-reporting are strangling EU science and technology: we must break the culture of total lack of trust in scientists by over-mightly bureaucrats or EU science is doomed. 16 Mar 18:24 United Kingdom University of Oxford Frank von Delft Internally, we have an unofficial agreement to avoid EU grants, for one reason only: the bureaucracy far outweighs the trouble of applying. It must urgently be cut down by 90%, so that the money supports real science. 15 May 00:07 United Kingdom University of Oxford Peter Read I agree with this declaration. Accountability needs to be balanced against excessive bureaucracy. 5 Mar 13:13 United Kingdom University of Oxford (VPH NoE and preDiCT FP7 projects) Katherine Fletcher Clearer, more concise guidance documents would already be a step in the right direction. 1 Mar 12:53 United Kingdom University of Plymouth Angelo Cangelosi I strongly support a simplification of the administrative burden in Framework Programme projects. 1 Mar 13:06 United Kingdom University of Plymouth Guido Bugmann I have seen many colleagues suffer from the administrative burden of being awarded an EU project. Please have a look at the UK system. It is also leaner and more transparent at the application stage. 1 Mar 15:39 United Kingdom University of Plymouth Tony Belpaeme Having experience with the streamlined administrative processes applied by UK research councils, the EC regulations and procedures seem unnecessarily convoluted. It must be possible to improve the negotiation stages, the auditing procedures and the yearly review process without compromising accountability. This would benefit all involved, from the grant holders to the EC itself. 10 Mar 16:03 United Kingdom University of Plymouth Elena DellAquila I strongly agree with a simplification of the administrative procedures on FP7 framework 18 Feb 17:41 United Kingdom University of Sheffield Mike Holcombe Grants should be awarded purely on the basis of the best scientific proposals and the best researchers and not on political criteria relating to the location of the researchers. 18 Feb 19:13 United Kingdom University of Sheffield Rod Smallwood The bureaucracy is a major disincentive to our top researchers, and we need them to engage in order to maximise the impact of European research. 2 Apr 23:25 United Kingdom University of Sheffield Roger Butlin As a participant in several EU research projects, and coordinator of two, I stronglu support this declaration. It is true that Framework 7 administration is less onerous than previous frameworks but the management burden is still unnecessarily high and takes significant time and resource away from research and training activities. 3 Mar 16:22 United Kingdom University of Strathclyde Stephen Barnett I have been fortunate to be an active member of European Networks since they were first instigated and have watched with dismay as the reporting and form-filling burden has grown. For me the breaking point came when I was asked to fill in time sheets breaking down ALL my work activities, and those of my group, backdated some 18 months to the beginning of the financial year in which the application went in. THIS IS MADNESS! 12 Mar 13:31 United Kingdom University of Strathclyde Nina Baker FP7 is even worse for post-final audits. They lost two complete sets of our documents and then sent brusque demands with 48 hour deadlines. 23 Mar 17:27 United Kingdom UNIVERSITY OF SURREY ANGELA DANIL DE NAMOR As Coordinator of several EU Contracts under various Framework Programs I am strongly of the view that the bureaucracy involved has a negative impact on the main objective of the Program which is related to research and technological developments. This situation is even worse particularly when during the course of a Contract , Administrative and Scientific Officers are changed and these changes are translated in delays, different interpretations of rules and regulations regarding the presentation of reports, ill manners in dealing with the Scientific Community and threatening statements. Supporting evidence can be provided. The paperwork involved is out of context and simplification is urgently required. 19 Mar 11:49 United Kingdom University of Sussex Alan Lehmann I have co-ordinated and participated in many EU consortia over the past 30 years. The bureaucratic nature of the forms and reports is a real hindrance. One has to repeat the same information many times in different ways. The one-size-fits-all nature of the applications and contracts are inappropriate. Carrying out basic research is not the same as building a machine. 20 Mar 18:28 United Kingdom University of Sussex Antony Carr Almost everying imaginable is wrong with the current system. 9 Apr 09:59 United Kingdom University of the West of England John Rushforth Universities have the capacity to fundamentally improve the quality of life of all of our citizens. Making things simpler will help us to deliver this potential 13 Apr 15:09 United Kingdom University of the West of England Robert Cuthbert Appropriate regulation is vital for effective and responsible research, but heavy-handed and bureaucratic controls absorb too much academic energy, deter the most responsible and do little to prevent irresponsible research activities. We need better regulation which relies more on expert peers able to use their judgement with appropriate powers, to identify and prevent proposed bad practice. 4 May 18:08 United Kingdom University of the West of England Hugo Gaggiotti I agree 7 May 15:04 United Kingdom University of the West of England Melvyn Smith Based on personal experience some simplification is needed. 10 May 10:57 United Kingdom University of the West of England Gary Atkinson I generally steer clear of EU funding as there is too much bureaucracy involved - real shame! 17 May 15:34 United Kingdom University of the West of England Graham Parkhurst Too many of the resources for research are being spent on administration. The budget forecast and audit processes emphasise excessive precision given the level of accuracy possible when undertaking risky activities such as ground-breaking research. 29 Mar 03:56 United Kingdom University of Wales, Newport Georgios Pierris Bring fun back to researching...! 25 Feb 16:20 United Kingdom University of Warwick Gordon Smith The cost of beaurocracy seriously hampers the amount of funds available for the front line research. What a waste since a number of the audit trails are counter productive to a company wanting to join any future projects. 3 Mar 16:03 United Kingdom University of Warwick Leon Danon EU grants require such a huge amount of work that I would much rather apply to other sources of funding. 3 Mar 17:16 United Kingdom University of Warwick Markus Kirkilionis This is a tricky issue as peer review of grant proposals of course cannot be abandoned. But the degree of bureaucracy of European grants (also after being awarded) is especially high and often unnecessary. 3 Mar 18:17 United Kingdom University of Warwick Business School Colin Crouch It is deeply sad that the extraordinary bureaucracy involved in European research funding is sapping the energies of European research effort and making the Commission an object of ridicule in activities for which it should instead be receiving praise. The fact that most of the procedures do absolutely nothing to exercise real control makes the situation only worse. A further sad feature is that the excellent staff who work in the research directorate have their considerable talents diverted into monitoring all this nonsense. I speak as a comparative European researcher of nearly 40 years experience and current co-ordinator of an FP7 project. 18 Feb 16:00 United Kingdom University of York Alistair Edwards The amount of petty bureaucracy involved almost puts me off applying for European funding all together. Does anyone really believe that one can measure effort to the nearest fraction of a person month and that it is worth all the time it takes to fill in those details? 19 Feb 18:08 United Kingdom University of York Tony Patman Whilst it is the case that the decrease in reliance on trust is in part due to the abuse of trust by some less-than-scrupulous participants in EU-funded projects in the past, the level of scrutiny and pedantry of project reviewing and reporting has now reached a level that is beyond reasonable. The blanket application of a single project management and financial model regardless of the type of work involved in the project leads to a great deal of wasted time and unnecessary difficulty in project planning and implementation. Many projects which involve scientific research are simply square pegs being crammed into round holes in this context: doing science is not like building a bridge, its tasks cannot be clearly compartmentalised and assigned specific, rigid effort quota in advance! 19 Feb 18:27 United Kingdom University of York Rex Godby I strongly support this initiative. As coordinator of 3 large European projects, I can confirm that the administrative burden (including reporting and financial administration) has increased dramatically in the latest Framework Programme, absorbing a large amount of time of European scientists that would be much better devoted to European science. 4 May 15:02 United Kingdom UWE Alan Tapp Lets cut the red tape and take the handbrake off EU funded research 25 Mar 12:06 United Kingdom UWIC Len Arthur Academic freedom and peer review are at the heart of the academic engine that has its own dymanic and beneficial impacts for our societies. 8 Mar 13:29 United Kingdom water window ltd Chris Mann The excessive adminstrative load has prevented us from actively particiapting in EU research programmes. Back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||