Paleontology Funding/Spending Amounts -Reply (posted for P. Kelley)

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Date
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Date: Fri, 05 Jan 1996 08:56:48 -0600
From: Patricia Kelley <Patricia_Kelley@MAIL.UND.NODAK.EDU>
To: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
Subject:  Paleontology Funding/Spending Amounts -Reply
Status: O

Norm (and others interested in paleo funding),
You might be interested in an article I wrote for American Paleontologist
(the PRI newsletter), November 1992 issue.  In it I discussed funding by
the Geology and Paleontology program of NSF during my tenure as
program director (1990-1992).  The article provides data on funding
success rates for different taxonomic and thematic (evolution,
paleoecology, biostratigraphy, etc.) categories.  I didn't include any info
on dollars spent, however, and at this point I can't remember what my
budget was in the program.  The current program director, Chris Maples,
would be a more reliable source of information on dollars spent.--Tricia
Kelley

>>> N. MacLeod <N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk> 01/03/96 08:33am >>>
Just to get 1996 off on the right foot, I thought I'd start the new year on
PaleoNet with an item that came up in a conversation I had with a
colleague some months ago at the New Orleans GSA Meeting. After
bemoaning the current state of funding for Paleo. to each other I
speculated that paleontologists have been somewhat lax about cashing
in on the obvious popular fascination for fossils among the general public
by preferring to ask governments for their research dollars. True, my
friend, replied, there was much more that we could be doing by getting
out there and rubbing shoulders with the public a little more. However, he
doubted that sums of money sufficient to cover current levels of paleo.
support could be raised that way.
Personally, I don't buy the idea that paleo. funding has to be based on an
either/or formula and I am continually impressed by the amounts of
money the Dinosaur Society is able to make available to SVP to fund
research at both the student and professional levels. However, my
friend's comment made me realize that I really had no idea of how much
money was being spent per annum on paleontological research by NSF,
NERC, the EC, or anyone else for that matter. Of course, this figure is
going to vary depending on how you define paleontological research. So,
for the sake of argument, let's say that projects in which paleontological
information is the primary focus
"count" whereas projects in which paleontological data is used for
another purpose (e.g., stratigraphic correlation, paleoceanography,
climate change) are excluded. Does anyone out there have any idea of
how much it costs governments to maintain this type of paleontological
research at current levels? In addition, does anyone have any idea how
much is spent by the public on paleontology-related products and
activities each year?


Norm MacLeod



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Norman MacLeod
Senior Scientific Officer
N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (Internet)
N.MacLeod@uk.ac.nhm (Janet)

Address: Dept. of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
         Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

Office Phone: 0171-938-9006
Dept. FAX:  0171-938-9277
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