Premature satisfaction

Premature satisfaction 

One of the things that worry me in the current grants frenzy is the displacement of effort and satisfaction from actually doing the research to acquiring the funds for it. Especially with large sums and prestigious funding organisations, it seems that the main goal has become the getting of the grant itself. People work very hard to develop a convincing proposal, often anticipating too much, possibly already doing the research in their imagination, to convince everyone (and we are talking about various kinds of judges) that they are worth the chance. When the proposal is submitted, people may feel exhausted by the effort, even fed up with the subject. And if they're successful and manage to get the grant, the jubilation can be tremendous; it's as if the research is all done already and with resounding success. Actually doing the research and delivering the promise may become a secondary matter, an aftermath. After all, what most research organisations expect is results in practical, measurable terms: publications and money. The envisaged performance rarely ever counts. It's hard not to feel the anticlimax.