[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-595368-105":59,"doc-detail-595368-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","australian-universities-review-research-grants-problems-and-options","Australian Universities' Review - Research grants: problems and options","","Research grants schemes often trigger recurring criticism from applicants, administrators, and reformers, yet discussion is commonly constrained to narrow perspectives. This article analyzes perceived problems with grant allocation systems by classifying issues into bias, waste, discouragement, and orientation toward specific interests. It compares alternative funding-allocation mechanisms, showing how scheme structure shapes outcomes. Recent Australian higher-education research policy changes are then assessed within this broader framework, extending insights from peer review contexts.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/australian-universities-review-research-grants-problems-and-options/595368/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/australian-universities-review-research-grants-problems-and-options/595368.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Blitz","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-20","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How does the article define 'problems' with a research grant scheme?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Problems depend on the observer, so the focus is on perceived problems. Even widespread perceptions of a problem can become a problem in themselves.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the main categories of problems identified in the article?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The article groups problems into bias, waste, discouragement, and orientation to particular interests.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How can grant schemes create discouragement among researchers?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Unsuccessful applicants may be disheartened or resentful, which can reinforce beliefs that decisions are biased. Competition can also reduce intrinsic motivation and shift the goal toward winning rather than doing research.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},595368,1792423089,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":81,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},24464137899374,"https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nResearch grants: problems and options  \nBRIAN MARTIN  \nUniversity of Wollongong  \nIntroduction  \nResearchers often complain about research grant schemes, but usually within a narrow frame of reference. Looking more broadly, problems with grant schemes can be classified as bias, waste, discouragement and orientation to interests. There are various ways to allocate research funds, including administrative decision, peer review, performance-based allocation, equality and communitybased bids. Each has different sorts of problems and serves different interests. By looking at diverse systems for allocating research funds, some of the assumptions underlying usual discussions become more apparent. Recent changes in Australian government policy on higher education research are examined using the framework provided here .  \nAny research grants scheme is likely to generate a great deal of informal complaint. Not surprisingly, dissatisfaction is most common among unsuccessful applicants, with complaints about bias and wasted effort. Administrators worry about making the system work efficiently. Reformers seek methods of making better decisions, for example by changing selection criteria and peer review systems, and ensuring accountability.  \nHowever, most of the discussions about grant schemes deal only with minor changes within the same basic structure. Yet the structure of a scheme is often the primary determinant of the sorts of problems that it generates. This article aims to provide a broader perspective on this issue. I start by outlining several key types of problems with grant schemes and then lay out several types of methods for decision making. With this foundation, it is straightforward to note the sorts of problems most commonly or likely to be associated with decision-making systems. Finally, recent changes in Australian government policy on higher education research are assessed using the broad framework offered here. (Some of the sources cited below deal with peer review for journals, but their assessments are likely to apply to peer review for grants as well.)  \nProblems  \nWhat constitutes a problem with a grant scheme, of course, depends on the observer. Hence the focus needs to be on perceived problems, acknowledging that widespread perception of a problem may be a problem in itself, whatever the ‘facts’. Here, several different types of problem are outlined.  \n1. Bias  \nAmong applicants, especially unsuccessful ones, allegations of bias are commonplace. They include the following.  \n• Success-breeds-success bias: successful applicants are likely to become entrenched, using their grants to produce the outputs necessary to attract further funds, while others never have the chance to get started.  \n• Insider bias: decisions are made by cliques of insiders, who think highly of, and award most grants to, themselves and a small group of favourites.  \n• Dominant group bias: there is discrimination against groups such as women, ethnic minorities and lowerstatus institutions (Peters and Ceci, 1982; Wennerasand Wold, 1997) .  \n• Conventional approach bias: grants are much more likely to support tried-and-true approaches, while challenging, innovative or unorthodox proposals are seldom funded (Armstrong, 1996, 1997; Epstein, 1990; Horrobin 1990, 1996) .  \n• Personal bias: administrators or referees obstruct researchers or projects that they do not like (Horrobin, 1974) .  \nTo these possibilities can be added ‘random bias’ due to incompetence of administrators or referees.  \n2. Waste  \nAny grant scheme requires administrative overheads to assess applications. In addition, applicants may spend a large amount of time preparing applications. Even in an efficiently run operation, the cost associated with running the scheme and preparing applications can be a significant proportion of the money awarded in grants, especially if the grants are small and the success rate is low. I","cbCaiqxtyrj1qBjO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqxtyrj1qBjO","pdf",144491,"English","# Introduction\n# Problems\n## Bias\n## Waste\n## Discouragement\n## Orientation to interests","[{\"question\":\"How does the article define 'problems' with a research grant scheme?\",\"answer\":\"Problems depend on the observer, so the focus is on perceived problems. Even widespread perceptions of a problem can become a problem in themselves.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the main categories of problems identified in the article?\",\"answer\":\"The article groups problems into bias, waste, discouragement, and orientation to particular interests.\"},{\"question\":\"How can grant schemes create discouragement among researchers?\",\"answer\":\"Unsuccessful applicants may be disheartened or resentful, which can reinforce beliefs that decisions are biased. Competition can also reduce intrinsic motivation and shift the goal toward winning rather than doing research.\"}]","Australian Universities' Review - Research grants: problems and options | PDF",1792081004,15]