The return on research investment resulting from new breakthrough scientific discoveries may be decreasing over time due to the law of diminishing returns, the relative decrease of research funding in terms of purchasing power parity, and various activities gaming the system. By altering the grant-review process, the scientific community may…

Many previous time allocation studies treat work as a single activity and examine trade-offs between work and other activities. This paper investigates the at-work allocation of time among teaching, research, grant writing and service by science and engineering faculty at top US research universities. We focus on the relationship between tenure…

A request from the Ford Foundation prompted a fourth and final assessment of the demonstration phase of the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI), established by the Ford Foundation. Between 1994 to 2002, 24 community colleges answered the foundation's charge to improve access to higher education and to expand the economic development of their…

A survey investigated the Australian federal research grant process from the perspectives of unsuccessful 1991 applicants (n=222) from four universities. Findings include a number of limitations in the peer review process and information dissemination by the funding agency and raise questions about external evaluator selection. (Author/MSE)

Analysis of the role of research councils and the awarding of research grants suggests that they have become part of the reward system of the scientific community. It is proposed that research councils must become entrepreneurial, seeking both resources and a role in strategic networks, or face obsolescence. (MSE)