Cuts aimed at reducing Spain’s budget deficit from 11 per cent to 6 per cent of GDP by 2011 have hit science funding, with one estimate saying spending on R&D as a whole will fall by 8.37 per cent in 2011, compared to 2010.
The austerity measures announced this week translate into a 1.65 per cent cut in the budget of the Science and Innovation Ministry (MICINN). When R&D loans for companies are excluded from this, the cut in direct funding for scientific programmes and grants goes up to 4 per cent.
But all ministries are facing severe cuts, ranging from 8.2 per cent in health, to 30 per cent in public works. Since many ministries also fund R&D activities, Spain’s R&D expenditure will see an 8.37 per cent drop, according an analysis by the Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies (Confederación de Sociedades Científicas Españolas -COSCE).
To read the full, original article click on this link: Science|Business Budget cuts hit Spanish science
Author: Cristina Jiménez
