Goodbye to science funding bias in China? Graft-busters target the practice of ‘saying hello’
- The CCDI and a top funding body are trying to stop applicants from using personal connections to influence decision makers
- Two dozens forms of solicitation have been banned and new rules introduced into the review process
China’s science community could be saying goodbye to the practice of “saying hello” to funding reviewers if the country’s top graft-busters have their way.
“Saying hello” involves funding applicants trying to approach and influence funding reviewers through personal connections.
The foundation, which comes under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is a major domestic source of funding for basic research and uses a panel of reviewers to decide which projects to support.
The reviews are based on an applicant’s track record, rather than just on the value of the project, and some applicants seek out the reviewers to try to sway their decision.
According to a report by the foundation in July last year, over 70 per cent of reviewers surveyed in 2021 said they had been approached during a project review.