Paleonet: Please sign against Science Budget slash in Spain

[Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco]

Dear friend,
         You may be aware through recent publications in Nature and Science (see links below) that the Spanish research system is at a critical crossroads. The decision to cut the R&D budget again would probably mean the collapse of scientific research centres in Spain and the ensuing "brain drain".

www.nature.com/news/spanish-changes-are-scientific-suicide-1.10027?nc=1330833232440

http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2012_03_02/caredit.a1200025          

I invite you to consider adhering to the Open Letter in support of Science in Spain (www.investigaciondigna.es/wordpress/sign), for which this is the abstract:

"In the next few weeks, and contravening recommendation from the European Commission stating that public deficit control measures should not affect Research and Development (R&D) and innovation, the Spanish Government and Parliament could approve a State Budget for 2012 that would cause considerable long-term damage to the already weakened Spanish research system, contributing to its collapse. A reduction on R&D investment would imply supporting an obsolete economic model that is no longer competitive and is especially vulnerable to economic and political contingencies. Given the above, we ask the political representatives: 

-  To avoid a further reduction of investment in R&D. In the last few years, R&D investment has suffered consecutive cuts nationally, which have meant a cumulative reduction of 30% to the budgets of research centres. Likewise, R&D investment was 1.39% of GDP in 2010, and is estimated to have shrunk to 1.35% in 2011. In the mid-term, the aim should be to reach the mean EU-27 value of 2.3% and converge towards the European Council goal of 3%.

-  To include R&D and innovation among the “priority sectors” allowing hiring of researchers in public research organizations, universities and technological centres during the fiscal year 2012. This will avoid a “brain drain” that would take decades to reverse."


Please, feel free to pass it on to your colleagues. 

Best regards,

Juan Carlos

Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco
Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC-UCM)
Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas
José Antonio Novais 2
28040 Madrid, Spain
jcgrapto at geo.ucm.es
jc.gutierrez.marco at csic.es

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