Support for Austrian Basic Research in Limbo. (April 30, 2009)

Three years ago Austria held fifth place among the EU's 27 nations with regard to its "research intensity". But when a change in government took place in December 2008 that coupled with the Global Financial Crisis prompted a letter from Christoph Kratky, the president of the FWF (Der Wissenshaftsfonds) the Austrian Science Fund, Austria's central funding organization for basic research, to the effect that no one will get a pay rise, and no new projects will be approved until the government makes its intentions clear -- it was being put about that coming year's science budget could be slashed by 40%.

Now Nature reports: "The Austrian government has retreated from its threat to cut the science budget by 40%...  approving instead a small rise that slows rather than reverses the country's plans for a big expansion in science."

While the FWF has taken an 18% hit in its funding, Professor Kratky told  Nature the "stability" of the new budget makes up for the shortfall allowing FWF to clear a backlog of 700 reviewed projects which had accumulated since November 2008.

Emphasising the stringency of the new funding the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which runs 33 research institutes, gets a 2% rise and the academy is now deciding how to wield the razor -- newly formed institutes which include the Centre for Molecular Medicine and the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology will be protected but the older institutes won't be so fortunate.