Austrian Science Fund warns of ‘tense’ budget shortage

Funder says pressure due to budget growth not keeping pace with increase in applications

Austria’s national funder of basic research has warned that it is experiencing a “tense” budget shortage due to increased grant applications as the country’s universities and research institutes expand.

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) said on 28 April that the number of applications it had received in recent years rose “significantly faster” than its budget, which meant success rates had come under “increasing pressure” and had fallen slightly in all disciplines.