The current dogma says that the largest part of available research funds must be assigned only to the best scientists. This way, researchers, who also are often state employees, are put in competition with each other for the allocation of resources. Only a small fraction—between 5% and 20% depending on the circumstances—will be able to obtain the research funds needed to fully develop their own scientific projects. This is the idea behind so-called corporatisation of scientific research, the only cure against parasitism of the state organisation, according to Laurent Segalat, biologist, directeur of research at CNRS, in France.
francesco sylos labini 