Romania is firmly committed to contributing to the prestigious Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) nuclear physics project, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (www.eli-np.ro). As a director of university research grants — hence one of the many possible competitors of ELI for government funding — I support this commitment.
Started in 2013 and due to go live in 2018, ELI is already competing in budget size with the more than US$100 million that represents the annual total offered by the country's open-competition national grant schemes (see go.nature.com/raad8w).
Romania's national research budget has been notably stable over the past five years — and yet individual grants have been shrinking. Explanations have included the relative priorities of different fields or grant types, the international financial crisis, and ethical issues (see, for example, go.nature.com/j8slvh).
With the economic problems fading away and ELI advancing rapidly, an increase in the national research budget would seem logical — and would in fact have precedents. Alternatively, Romania's research ministry may wish to seek support from other ministries, such as those that specialize in infrastructure.
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Silaghi-Dumitrescu, R. Is a mega-project the ELI in the room?. Nature 520, 295 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/520295a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/520295a