The problem is that the levels of bureaucracy are so high, that we spent a lot of time just managing research, which is not creative at all. And this management of research requires a lot of time, unfortunately.
I would not mind to spend hours during my weekends thinking about scientific problems. The problem is that we must write proposals during the weekends, time that we should spend with our family and friends.
This bureaucratic work hinders creativity.
So, the question is: should scientists do science during our free time and do project management during working hours, as we do now? Or should we try to change how the system works in order to diminish the management workload in order to allow for more time for thinking about scientific problems?
I just was told that a proposal we sent a few months ago has been denied due to formal problems (not the content).
Apparently, there is an error of 1.8 € (the price of a coffee) on a total budget of 2M€. And the error was introduced by the software used by the administration handling the call. Our documents were correct.
The work of a scientist is fighting against stupid bureaucrats. Real science? Who wants that!?
I would not mind to spend hours during my weekends thinking about scientific problems. The problem is that we must write proposals during the weekends, time that we should spend with our family and friends.
This bureaucratic work hinders creativity.
So, the question is: should scientists do science during our free time and do project management during working hours, as we do now? Or should we try to change how the system works in order to diminish the management workload in order to allow for more time for thinking about scientific problems?