Government reduces budget scientific research
The next 4 years the government will reduce the budget for scientific research with 10 percent. In 2016 the Dutch government will spent 4,4 milliard euro’s on research. That’s a loss of 400 million in comparison with 2012 and a loss of 700 million in comparison with 2010.
This is written in an article in De Volkskrant. The research budget for universities on the other hand will increase slightly from 2,3 milliard to 2,4 milliard euro’s. According to the Rathenau Institute in The Hague, the fall is stronger than expected. They investigated and calculated all the research funds of the contemporary government, in preparation for the upcoming austerity discussion this spring. In 2020 the government aims to invest 2,5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in science. At the moment, this is only 0,7% of the GDP.
The top-sector policy of the government, which provides a 500 million euro tax advantage for companies which invest in innovation and research, does not compensate the financial decrease, concludes the Rathenau Insitute. The diminishing of the expenditure on scientific research is the result of a couple of economizations, for example the restructuring of ministries and the disappearance of gas benefits.
