> government said it would divert half of the NZ$75 million Marsden Fund, the nation’s sole funding source for fundamental science, to “research with economic benefits.” Moreover, the fund would no longer support any social sciences and humanities research
It does seem misguided to assume that no research in the social sciences or humanities can drive economic benefits. Aside from economics which can obviously drive insights and recommendations of economic value, psychology includes e.g. industrial-organizational psychology (which can help teams and organizations be effective today), developmental psychology/educational psychology (which should inform education policy), etc. While I can understand a desire to ensure funding is targeted at readily applicable areas, this seems like it cuts off potentially valuable opportunities.
It does seem misguided to assume that no research in the social sciences or humanities can drive economic benefits. Aside from economics which can obviously drive insights and recommendations of economic value, psychology includes e.g. industrial-organizational psychology (which can help teams and organizations be effective today), developmental psychology/educational psychology (which should inform education policy), etc. While I can understand a desire to ensure funding is targeted at readily applicable areas, this seems like it cuts off potentially valuable opportunities.