123:"The Haldane principle means that decisions on individual research proposals are best taken by researchers themselves through peer review. This involves evaluating the quality, excellence and likely impact of science and research programmes. Prioritisation of an individual research council’s spending within its allocation is not a decision for Ministers...There are areas where Ministers should have no input: Ministers should not decide which individual projects should be funded nor which researchers should receive the money. This has been crucial to the international success of British science."
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In 1918 Haldane's committee produced the "Haldane Report". The report suggested that research required by government departments could be separated into that required by specific departments and that which was more general. It recommended that departments should oversee the specific research but the
83:, which would be free from political and administrative pressures that might discourage research in certain areas. The principle of the autonomy of the research councils is now referred to as the Haldane Principle. The first research council to be created as a result of the Haldane Report was the
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Willetts continued that overall strategic budget setting was the responsibility of government. "At the other end of the spectrum there are decisions that ultimately must be for
Ministers, albeit informed by external advice; these include the overall size of the funding for science and research and
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A major revision to the application of the
Haldane Principle in British research funding came in the early 1970s with the Rothschild Report of 1971, which suggested that research should have a customer and a corresponding contract. The report was implemented, and about its implementation which
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Willetts also gave a further definition of how this tactical implementation might be guided. "Overall, excellence is and must remain the driver of funding decisions, and it is only by funding excellent research that the maximum benefits will be secured for the nation."
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It has been noted that the principle has been adopted in other countries, including
Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. However, there have been claims that some governments are moving to bypass the principle in favour of national interests.
119:) further elaborated on the definition of the Haldane Principle. Broadly he defined the principle that the tactical implementation of government funding, i.e. which projects to fund should be a decision for academics using a process of peer review.
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The law did not use David
Willetts' definition that "Overall, excellence is and must remain the driver of funding decisions, and it is only by funding excellent research that the maximum benefits will be secured for the nation."
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In 2018, UKRI, the
Government Office for Science and the Institute for Government held a conference to mark the centenary of the report and its significance and look at the challenges for the next one hundred years.
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The “Haldane principle” is the principle that decisions on individual research proposals are best taken following an evaluation of the quality and likely impact of the proposals (such as a peer review process).
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transferred about 25% of the then
Research Council funds, and the decisions on the research to be funded with them, back to government departments, a move later undone by Margaret Thatcher's government.
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Putting
Science and Engineering at the Heart of Government Policy - Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee Contents: The Haldane Principle Today, accessed online at
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criticised it in 1971 for its artificial separation of basic and applied science, and the consequent elevation of the status of the former.
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is the idea that decisions about what to spend research funds on should be made by researchers rather than politicians. It is named after
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The principle has remained enshrined in
British Government policy, but has been criticised and altered over the years. In 1939
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Haldane’s idea arose in 1918 and was adhered to for several decades. However it was not formally defined until 1964 by
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its distribution between the research councils, the national academies and higher education research funding."
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argued that social good was more important than researchers' freedom in deciding the direction of research.
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Report of the
Machinery of Government Committee under the chairmanship of Viscount Haldane of Cloan
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In 2017, there was a debate about the extent to which the principle is still applied in practice.
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In a written ministerial statement on 10 December 2010 the
Minister for Universities and Science (
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UK government Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy: UKRI Framework Document
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International Researchers Shun Australia After Government Vetoing Of Grants, expert says
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68-78. (Available at JSTOR with subscription.) Duffy cites the following sources:
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Australian Research Council Amendment (Ensuring Research Independence) Bill 2018
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https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmdius/168/16807.htm
271:"House of Commons Hansard Ministerial Statements for 20 Dec 2010 (pt 0001)"
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BBC 24 02 2017: Minister to enshrine protection for research independence
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The 'Haldane Principle' and other invented traditions in science policy
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The Rothschild Experience: Health Science Policy and Society in Britain
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general research should be under the control of autonomous
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into the current higher education funding councils:
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A Framework for Government Research and Development
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460:United Kingdom Research and Innovation website
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194:, article by Shiv Malik, dated June 20, 2011
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212:The British Academy website, Chronology
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408:The Haldane Report (1918).
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394:Zuckerman, S. (1971).
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387:Bernal, J.D. (1939)
373:Duffy, M.P. (1986).
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