Science funding

Michael Cameron at Waikato has a great post up on the state of social science research, the government's Green Paper on research funding, and an old report I'd missed from Superu's David Preston. 

Probably the key thing that stands out from this report (aside from the fact that it is clearly a parting shot from Superu, which funded the report), is the highly political nature of social science funding. For example, Preston notes the problems associated with multi-sector research institutions that sit outside of core government services:

While this position outside of government proper gives the institution more independence, it also makes the entity more vulnerable to unfavourable reactions from the government of the day. This is especially so if it is providing advice or information on politically sensitive issues. The government cannot do without its core government departments, but it can do without particular advisory bodies or research institutions.

A related example is the closure of the Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, which had been set up and run by the Social Policy Agency, part of the Department of Social Welfare:

No official reason was ever given for the closure of the Journal. However, informal sources commented that an article about to be published included information which indicated that a statement made by a Minister was inaccurate. Publication of the issue was delayed until public interest in the topic died down and it was decided to cease publication of the Journal, apparently to avoid future difficulties with Ministers.

The development indicates the difficulties of maintaining the ability to publish research findings within a politically sensitive environment in a government department.

All of this suggests that social science research institutions are always in a precarious position, reliant on short-term funding sources and beholden to the political whims of government. Preston summarises the various reviews of social science research that have been undertaken since the 1970s (of which there have been many). One common theme across those reviews is the need for a social science research institution with a sufficient level of baseline funding to maintain core research activity. Preston uses the example of the Brookings Institution from the U.S., which admittedly is not funded by the government, but has had a lasting impact on policy development and is generally well respected.

I take as conclusion that the NZ Initiative should be about four times bigger than it is, and that Motu could be a little bit bigger too.