paris

A controversial proposed reform of the French national biomedical agency INSERM has been quietly shelved. The government is reported to be drafting a new plan that takes greater account of the general need to improve the coordination of life sciences research in France.

The reform plan was intended to modify the statutes of the agency and streamline its internal decision-making (see Nature 391, 110; 1998 & Nature 392, 9; 1998). A final text of the reform decree was adopted by INSERM's board of directors in the spring after a series of concessions to trade unions.

The decree had been challenged by many scientists who claimed it was poorly thought through and likely to have little impact. It was also seen as threatening to damage INSERM's capacity to carry out fundamental research.

Françoise Cavaillé, the national secretary of the trade union of scientific researchers at INSERM, this week criticized what she described as the enormous time and effort that had been wasted by scientists at the agency in the long negotiations over the now aborted reform decree.

Cavaillé argues that much of this could have been avoided if the Ministry of National Education, Research and Technology had decided to carry out broader consultation on the reform before pressing forward unilaterally.

The unions complained that the decree would transfer considerable control over strategic decisions on research directions and funding from the agency's scientific bodies to boards made up largely of officials appointed by the ministry (see Nature 393, 506; 1998). The decree had already been emptied of its most controversial elements, such as the plan to split INSERM into five departments.

A spokesperson for INSERM says it is unclear what will happen next. But, according to one observer, the ministry now intends to review the structure of INSERM within a broader reform of the life sciences. Last month it set up a national coordinating committee for research in the life sciences, made up of representatives of the nine public research organizations with interests in the life sciences, and leading scientists (see Nature 395, 315; 1998).

The committee's task will be to propose and evaluate programmes coordinated between the different research agencies, and to advise the ministry on strategy. The ministry could not be reached for comment this week on its current thinking about INSERM's future.