https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01362-8 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344461606_Do_interests_affect_grant_application_success_The_role_of_organizational_proximity/link/609fed22299bf147699ece44/download Nepotism or cronyism is a critical issue, as the expectation is that grants are given to the best researchers, and not to applicants that are socially, organizationally, or topic-wise nearby the decision-makers. In this paper, we investigate the effect of organizational proximity (defined as when the applicant has the same current and/or future affiliation as one of the panel members) on the probability of getting a grant. We start with analyzing various aspects of this form of particularism: Who gains from it? Does it have a gender dimension? Can it be explained by performance differences between applicants or between organizations? We do find that the probability to get funded increases significantly for those that have a nearby panelist from the host institution. At the same time, the effect differs between disciplines and countries, and men profit more of it than women do. This study is based on one of the most prominent grant schemes in Europe, with overall excellent scientists as panel members. One would expect that if we find particularism even here, it may exist everywhere.
http://dlvr.it/S0Rpjp