What will happen to megagrandi?

At the end of 2012, the deadline for which the first 40 megagrators were issued. Nominally, this period is three years, although in fact the distribution of elephants occurred only in October 2010, and the first money, many laboratories, including mine, received only in April 2011.

What will happen to us now? They plan to extend a certain fraction of megagrators for another two years. According to rumors, Mon believes that 50-70 % of megagrators should be extended. This is generally reasonable. Unfortunately, the procedure for choosing worthy at the moment is schizoid.

On the one hand, all sorts of grants and international expert panels will be created, which, having studied our reports, will decide how good each of us is. On the other hand, according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation for No. 531 dated May 30, 2012, the condition for extending the megagran is the extraction of extrabudgetary money for the second year of the new term - the state will give no more for the first year than to get to the second.

I believe that this condition that seemed to be at the insistence of the Ministry of Finance is a mistake for the following reasons.

1. The topics of most megagrators are not applied. How do you order, for example, to extract extrabudgetary money to your humble servant, which produces a “phylogenetic analysis of complex selection in molecular evolution”? Of course, I accepted the invitation to talk about our work in some kind of businessmen club and in the end asked them about money, but so far I received nothing. I think that I won’t get it.

2. It may turn out that the Megagrata Ivanova will receive high grades of international experts, but not extra -budgetary money, but the Petrov Megagran, on the contrary. And then? Judging by the conversations among megagrand holders, almost no one hopes to get this money, and from Decree No. 531 it follows that there will be no extension without extra -budgetary money. If so, then why fence a garden with tips and panels?

3. From the letters sent by the Ministry of Education and Science, the impression is that it is more likely to get extra -budgetary money from universities in which megagran laboratories are found, and not from the megagraming holders themselves. If so, megagranes received by poor universities, as well as those who are not needed by the university authorities, will fly. One of the goals of the megagrand program was to start a transition to a normal system, in which the laboratory is a unit of financing and the money is distributed by Peer Review, not controlled by the university administration. Then we could expect that over time, a strong and independent laboratory would begin to pull its environment up. This goal will not be achieved if it turns out that rector and their financial capabilities decide again.

4. If, as a result of this attempt to save money, almost all megagrators will be cut off, a large scandal will occur. Which is even worse - already spent on each megaggrand 150 million rubles. They will be actually thrown to the wind. We are just starting to unfold - the devices earned less than a year ago. If in December my laboratory will be closed, then the employees will scatter, they will dig up, and the cost of 30 million Illumina Hiseq-2000 will become covered with dust, since its full operation with full load costs at least 20 million a year. Despite the fact that it works fine with us and has already begun a huge amount of data, not only for my group ... This situation is typical.

I see several possible scenarios for the development of events.

1. Almost no one will get extra -budgetary financing, and the megagrators program will actually be folded.

2. Extra -budget financing will receive some laboratories, and favorable expert conclusions - for the most part others. As a result, not the best megagrators will be extended, which will be very harmful.

3. At the very top, this nonsense will be canceled - after the petitions of Livanov, megagrate holders and the progressive public. Unfortunately, this process will be long. Even this year, my employees first received a salary on July 16 (sic!)-and it’s scary to think what will happen in 2013.

4. The problem will be solved by indirect way - how the problem of co -financing the source megagrators universities was solved (no money, it seems, no one). It would be better than the first scenario - but why a fool to fall?

5. Extra -budget financing (from universities, oligarchs or Martians) will receive almost all megagrators, and experts will take away the most worthy from them. Then budget money will be painlessly saved, and I will look like a fool. Would be glad to such a development of events ...

Soon we will see what will really happen.

Alexey Kondrashov,
Professor of the Institute of Biological Sciences
and departments of ecology and evolutionary biology
Michigan University of the United States,
winner of the first competition of megagrators of 2010,
Creator and head. laboratories of evolutionary genomics
Faculty of Bioinformatics and Bioenginery of Moscow State University

From the editors: As far as we know, this letter was also sent by the author to the Ministry of Education and Science. We are ready to publish a comment or another response of representatives of the ministry.