Scientists say long-term funding makes it easier to pursue high-risk research. Credit: Weiquan Lin/Getty
China has selected its first group of young researchers to receive funding for up to 15 years, in one of the longest research grants on offer to scientists globally.
Most research funding is awarded in grants that last for five years or less, says Nicole White, a statistician at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. But short funding cycles favour projects that are able to deliver results quickly, which can disadvantage high-risk but potentially ground-breaking research and cut promising work short before its impact is fully realized, she says. “Some of the most impactful scientific discoveries have taken decades, not years, to achieve,” White adds.
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Dou Xiankang, president of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), described the agency’s latest initiative at aforum held by the New Cornerstone Science Foundation in Shenzhen on 19 September. He said that 44 researchers under the age of 35 (women under 38) had been chosen, including 9 from outside China, as part of the National Distinguished Young Scientists Fund. Their names and projects have not been released.
At the forum, Dou said the 15-year grants would work in a “five-plus-five-plus-five arrangement”. That means, recipients whose initial five-year grants were about to end could be considered for a second five years and after ten years, another portion would be selected for a third five years of funding.
“During those 15 years, we will not conduct any short-cycle, short-term target assessments. We will assess only one thing: whether you are there in the laboratory,” Dou told the forum.
The NSFC first announced plans to create 15-year grants in 2023, stating that initial five-year grants would be worth 4 million yuan (US $596,000), they would then double to 8 million yuan for the second five years, and then double again to 16 million yuan for the final five years.
The NSFC has been ramping up funding for young researchers. Earlier this year, it pledged to increase the number of grants it provides for early-career scientists by 50%, adding 12,000 projects through its Young Scientists Fund.