While glancing through one of our Conservative papers the other month, I chanced upon this.

Right climate for big bucks | Herald Sun

Now, I am not a big fan of the author, but I feel in this column he makes an interesting, albeit quite naive and surface-level, point.

For those not interested in reading it, the author makes the point that mentioning the words "climate change" in research grant applications seems to have a rare efficacy in terms of the success of said applications, regardless of the nature of the proposed research.

In any event, the article is the catalyst, rather than the substance, of the purpose of this thread.

It is my belief that the changing nature of funding research, at least in this country, in combination with how academic and research positions are employed, means that we are leaving ourselves wide open for the belittlement articles such as this (perhaps not underservingly) heap upon us. We chase the elusive funding dollar because we need to keep our jobs - even tenure is not "tenure" any more.

With promotion and job security directly linked to how much money you bring in to your Institution, how does the research industry maintain, or more pessimistically, claw back, its reputation as unbiased and objective? Does it matter? Is everyone so used to "following the money" nowadays that any results published are taken with a grain of salt? Was this always the case, and I am simply living in a "hallowed halls of academe" fantasy world?

What do you guys think?

James.