The government changed the rules of a major call for research projects and postponed it until the summer of 2018. A decision that triggered the anger of researchers.
A call for projects from University Hospital Institutes (IHU) was to close on October 10. The key: the allocation of 200 million euros, for two or three large-scale research projects, notably involving hospitals, universities and Inserm. However, on October 2, a joint press release from the ministries in charge of Health and Research called everything into question.
He officially announced, eight days from the end, the postponement of the call for tenders “to the summer of 2018”. The press release also specified that only two projects would be chosen, with a respective maximum allocation of 50 million euros, and that their mode of governance would be reviewed. A decision confirmed by an order in the official journal, dated October 6.
This sudden U-turn aroused the anger of the researchers involved in the project. They blame the government for this last-minute change, while they have been working for months on the call for tenders. They blame the passage of political manipulations between institutes, on the governance of projects and medical research in general.
The president of the jury resigns
“This plunged me into great confusion, because no one had spoken to me about it,” is astonished byAEF Prof. Richard Frackowiak, head of the neurology department at Lausanne University Hospital (Switzerland), and president of the IHU international jury. The confirmation came in the form of a press release, which I find odd for such an announcement. “
The neurologist then made the decision to resign from his post as president of the jury. “I am forced to resign, he explains for APMNews. The independence of the jury is rejected, governance on the basis of a foundation is rejected, [ainsi que] compromises that try to be constructive. “
For him, this mode of governance allowed good coordination between the different research actors involved in the projects, and allowed the good autonomy of these projects. But this autonomy was viewed with a dim view by the director of Inserm, he added.
“A banana republic”
What is said in half words is in reality an accusation of conflicts of interest between the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, and the boss of Inserm, Yves Lévy, who is none other than her husband.
Prof. Philippe Froguel, diabetologist at the Lille CHRU, is, for his part, much less diplomatic. As soon as the postponement was announced, he reacted strongly on his Twitter account, believing that this decision translated “a real contempt for the hundreds of medical researchers and administrators who prepared the IHU files”.
Contacted by Why actor, he doesn’t mince his words. “The 19 applications are also the involvement of thousands of scientists, and millions of euros invested. I have nothing to do with governance, he is indignant. The political reasons for the postponement are derisory. We have the impression of being in a banana republic, it is lamentable. “
France is a banana republic where the State can suspend its IHU calls for tenders one week before submission for no reason. Shame
– Philippe Froguel (@philippefroguel) October 2, 2017
Towards a compromise?
“I think that at the government level, the leaders do not understand the issues. For them, medical research seems to be an adjustment variable, he continues. There are discussions about who decides on medical research in France and, in this case, Inserm imagines making a profit. “
Solicited by the editorial staff of Why, Inserm management did not wish to respond to Professor Froguel’s accusations. The researcher now hopes that those responsible for the 19 projects will be received by the government, and that they will manage to “arrive at something reasonable”.
In the meantime, the postponement of the call for projects sows doubts on the independence of French research organizations. “This is not a very good thing for the reputation of France”, confides Professor Frackowiak, regretting that these political stories are getting in the way of French scientific research, the quality of which he praises.
The state of affairs of the IHU has become international with the resignation of the jury. France is ridiculed and Macron must intervene
– Philippe Froguel (@philippefroguel) October 7, 2017
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