The Israel Science Foundation (ISF) today published the amount available to support research grants in Israel for the 2002 grant cycle: $53.3 million. The planning and budget committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel provided $51.6 million of the budget.
The ISF awarded 343 new personal research grants in the current grant cycle, compared with 307 in the previous cycle. 129 grants are in the exact science and technology, 123 in the life sciences and medicine, and 91 in the social sciences and humanities. The ISF also awarded 300 second-year personal research grants, 262 third-year and 84 fourth-year grants, for a total of 989.
The number of applications for new personal research grants also reached a new record this year, at 907, compared with 810 in the previous grant cycle.
While there was a record number of personal research grants this year, the ISF was forced to cut the average amount awarded for each grant. Chairman of the ISF Executive Board Prof. Joseph Klafter said the average award for research and equipment was insufficient. He proposed establishing a five-year plan, under which the ISF’s annual budget would reach $80 million. He said increased grants would provide Israeli researchers with the conditions comparable to those of researchers worldwide.
The ISF, is a non-profit-making institution founded by the Israel Academy of Sciences and the Humanities to support basic research in Israel. The ISF provides about two-thirds of all grants for basic research in Israel.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 24, 2002