Last week, the federal National Research Foundation (NRF) announced that in order to cut costs, a leading grant program in the country will have its budget decreased. The incentive funding-based grant program provides money to researchers who are voluntarily rated, with more funds going to researchers with higher ratings. Although funding will be cut across all rating types, top-rated researchers, or A-rated researchers, will be hit the hardest, with some losing up to 90% of their grant money. The NRF announced that A-rated researchers’ grants will decline 50%, going from ZAR 100,000 ($7,280) per year over a five-year period to a single payment of ZAR 50,000 ($3,640) in the first year of their rating. Similarly, emerging young researchers, or Y-rated researchers, will receive ZAR 100,000 ($7,280) from the NRF over a two-year period, instead of the original payment of ZAR 40,000 ($2,912) each year over a five-year period. Beginning in 2019, only P-rated researchers, young researchers under the age of 35, will receive an annual payment of ZAR 50,000 ($3,640); researchers with other ratings will receive a single payment of ZAR 30,000 ($2,184), provided they maintain their rating.

Source: Nature