The Royal Society Te Apārangi oversees the awarding of the prestigious Marsden grants. In its 2024 round, Marsden funding went to truly cutting-edge projects.
One research team was funded to interrogate racist narratives relating to outsize roadside objects like Ohakune’s ‘Big Carrot.’ Another, to investigate ways to link celestial spheres with end-of-life experiences. The latter project secured a cool $861k.
Important stuff, and well worth every dollar, I’m sure. A cynic might think projects focussing on, say, treating cancer or fusion energy should take higher priority. But these things are subjective.
The Royal Society oversees other grants as well. One is the Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship. That scheme funds early career researchers for four years. Twenty successful applicants each receive a salary of $82k per annum plus research expenses.
There were a couple of things about the way the Fellowships were awarded this year that might elevate your eyebrows if you think merit should be the main criterion. For one thing, at least 20% of the Fellowships had to go to Māori applicants, at least 10% to Pasifika, and at least 50% to women.
Female scholars, especially, need more support. After all, only 60% of New Zealand’s university graduates are women. By happy coincidence, women made up the same proportion of Fellowship applicants.
Affirmative action is nothing new. The Royal Society’s true innovation was to award the Fellowships at random. Almost at random, anyway. They did rigorously screen the 327 proposals for quality. Seven were ruthlessly culled.
The 320 proposals clearing this high bar went into a random draw – or for candidates belonging to all three favoured categories, a series of draws.
The first included only Māori applicants, to make up the obligatory 20%. Unsuccessful Māori who happened also to be Pasifika joined other Pasifika applicants in the second round. Unsuccessful women from the first two rounds were then entered in the third. Men of African, Asian or European ancestry had to wait for the final round for a single chance at whatever was left.
Important stuff, and well worth every dollar, I’m sure. A cynic might think projects focussing on, say, treating cancer or fusion energy should take higher priority. But these things are subjective.
The Royal Society oversees other grants as well. One is the Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship. That scheme funds early career researchers for four years. Twenty successful applicants each receive a salary of $82k per annum plus research expenses.
There were a couple of things about the way the Fellowships were awarded this year that might elevate your eyebrows if you think merit should be the main criterion. For one thing, at least 20% of the Fellowships had to go to Māori applicants, at least 10% to Pasifika, and at least 50% to women.
Female scholars, especially, need more support. After all, only 60% of New Zealand’s university graduates are women. By happy coincidence, women made up the same proportion of Fellowship applicants.
Affirmative action is nothing new. The Royal Society’s true innovation was to award the Fellowships at random. Almost at random, anyway. They did rigorously screen the 327 proposals for quality. Seven were ruthlessly culled.
The 320 proposals clearing this high bar went into a random draw – or for candidates belonging to all three favoured categories, a series of draws.
The first included only Māori applicants, to make up the obligatory 20%. Unsuccessful Māori who happened also to be Pasifika joined other Pasifika applicants in the second round. Unsuccessful women from the first two rounds were then entered in the third. Men of African, Asian or European ancestry had to wait for the final round for a single chance at whatever was left.
Allocating grants at random suggests that the Royal Society doesn’t back itself to pick winners. Perhaps they should simply outsource the 2025 round to the Lotteries Commission.
Dr Michael Johnston has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington for the past ten years. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. This article was published HERE
3 comments:
Some background information is required. Where does the money come from for the Marsden grants? Is it straight government expenditure or does it come from a trust fund? What conditions are placed on the grants by the donors, public or private? How are the racist people appointed who decide the grants? If it is government money, there is a very easy solution, but expecting Luxon to have any backbone (or part of the male anatomy I wont mention) is like expecting a hippopotamus to fly.
Defund it.
I suggest ignoring this stupidity and think of other activities beside new research until the idiocy ceases. As I have said before just get out into society and do something practical based on the large amounts of good research that has been done already but is just ignored.
In education there is conclusive evidence that systematic, explicit , cumulative learning is best, so start a homework group in the evenings in your garage to teach neighbouring children in any subject ; charging can be by koha. No subjects are being taught this way except for some structured literacy in a small percentage of schools. Buy a set of the new homework maths workbooks and give any children who wish to come instruction in these.. I anticipate many primary school teachers will struggle with year 7 and 8 workbooks so provide after school assistance for those who also have parents who can't do the arithmetic at this level.
Hardly anyone will read much of the research mentioned in this article but by doing something constructive like hands on teaching you will feel you have done something fulfilling in life. Don't think you need to attend a college of education. They actually teach trainees methods that are counterproductive to learning and throw in a whole lot of Marxist indoctrination with it.
I don't believe those who are being financed to pursue the bizarre topics, mentioned in Michael's article could honestly ever say they are dong much to help society or further real knowledge. Poor deluded fools.
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