Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper has suspended the approval of R&D financing applications because of budget restrictions. The Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor received a $680 million budget early this year, which has been eroded by inflation, but offset by the drop in the shekel-dollar exchange rate because the budget is denominated in shekels. As a result, the Chief Scientist has not approved funding for several projects, even though they met threshold terms and would have easily obtained funding approval last year.
Opper said that dozens of worthy projects had not, and would not, receive funding unless the Chief Scientist's budget was increased. All projects for which funding has already been committed will receive it.
The Chief Scientist's budget was slashed in 2004 and never restored to its previous size. Like all budget items, it faces a constant fight. Both the Ministry of Industry and technology companies claim that even the original budget is inadequate, and have asked for an increase of at least $100-200 million. Opper has also asked for designated budgets, such as $300 million for the biomedical fund.
The decision to suspend funding approval is partly due to reality and partly a demonstrative act by Opper to obtain more funding. At the very least, he hopes that the 2009 Chief Scientist's budget will not be cut.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 21, 2008
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