Budget increase met with suspicion by jaded Spanish researchers
Extra funding is welcomed by scientists but many believe bureaucracy will mean much of the money will never appear
The collective Spanish scientific community held its breath at the start of April. The government was all set to unveil its budget and, for the first time since the financial crisis a decade ago, it could herald increased R&D funding in real terms. And that’s exactly what happened. This year, the budget – if approved – will allocate an extra 8.3% to science (6.8% taking inflation into account). The vote to approve the budget is expected in May.
But even this good news has been met with scepticism by some researchers. Yes, it’s definitely good news, but not the end of the story, says Nazario Martín, a carbon nanostructure researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid and president of the Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies (COSCE).