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Editorial

Nature Neuroscience 11, 119 (1 February 2008) | doi:10.1038/nn0208-119

Rethinking grant review

The US government is re-examining how it funds science, but it remains to be seen whether the administration can overcome tradition and bureaucratic inertia and achieve a substantial renovation of the grants peer-review system. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of its grant review process. Director Elias Zerhouni challenged members of the NIH and the scientific community to find a way to “fund the best science, by the best scientists, with the least administrative burden.” The NIH has made a tremendous effort to obtain input from across the scientific community on how these goals might be accomplished.