Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • CORRESPONDENCE

The funding system needs fixing — but it’s not a ‘waste of time and money’

By
  1. Tom Stafford

    1. Research on Research Institute, London, UK.

In a Career column, Gerald Schweiger argues that one Horizon Europe funding call cost more in researcher and funder time than the total amount it awarded (see G. Schweiger Nature https://doi.org/qm5c; 2025). Schweiger suggests that such schemes are a drain on the scientific ecosystem.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 650, 792 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00498-9

Competing Interests

T.S. is employed by the Research on Research Institute, which works closely with and is funded by a number of research funders. RoRI does not receive funding from the European Commission, the funder of the Horizon call that was the topic of the original article.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links