Il Buco Nero

The following article by Umberto Guidoni was published on the front page of the daily Gli Altri on 24 November 2009:

Il buco nero della Ricerca (The Black Hole of Research)

Umberto Guidoni

"We must insist on greater public and private investment in research." With these words, the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, returned today to the subject of research in Italy. A subject characterized by the stark contrast between the material circumstances in which the research sector is forced to operate, and the rosier proclamations of the Berlusconi Government as well as most media voices, which now speak in unison.

Just as Napolitano was delivering his heartbreaking appeal for more support for research, about one hundred letters of termination were being delivered to fixed-term researchers and technologists  from the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN). INFN President Roberto Petronzio has evidently chosen to hew closely to the burocratic ministerial line rather than to take a stand for the quality of INFN research, which has now been plunged into jeopardy due to the massive exodus of talent that will invariably result.

Yes, because of the paradox inherent in the partisan politics and theatrics of Ministers Gelmini  (Education, Universities, and Research) and Brunetta (Public Administration).  In public they express their indignation over the fact that the universities and public research institutes do not emphasize quality and merit. Behind closed doors, they draw up executive decrees and regulations intended to permanently scrap the public research system, which they consider to be a waste of public resources. And so the indiscriminate cuts to university budgets, the forcible government takeover of the management of the public research institutes, and the laying-off of non-permanent researchers even for insitutes such as the INFN that have a long history of excellence on an international level. This is not a political proposition, but a hostile cultural ideology, which explains, for example, the complete absence of any high-rtanking government represetatives at the inauguration of the LHC in Geneva, the most advanced machine for particle physics ever built, now entering into operation thanks in large part to the significant contributions of Italian scientists.

This hostility towards research is often hidden by rhetorical flourish. Brunetta pontificates about the need for meritocracy and mobility for young researchers.In the abstract, his arguments may be difficult to idly dismiss, but they have very little to do with the actual state of research in this country.

For years, there have been no selection procedures for permanent positions: five years under Minister Moratti, a year and a half under Minister Gelmini, interrupted for a brief spell by the transient Mussi ministry. As a result, there are talented, meritorious young researchers who have never had the opportunity to participate in such a procedure. Whenever there has been no recruitment for many years, the failure to retain temporary staff can give rise to a catastrophe. Brunetta should realize this: he himself became a professor in the "great amnesty" of 1981.

Today, the situation is much more tragic. Decades of spasmodic politics and incautious "reforms" have produced a desolate landscape: between fellowship and scholarship holders and contract and freelance workers, more than 35% of the personnel is non-permanent.

I agree therefore with President Napolitano, but investment in research is only a part, albeit an important part, of the story. The rejuvenation of Italian research must necessarily involve emphasis on the value of the human element, starting from non-permanent researchers, highly qualified professionals who carry out their work in a perennial state of insecurity.

A temporary researcher is a contradiction in terms and a blatant violations of Article 1 of the European Charter of Researchers: The Member States undertake to ensure … a favorable research environment and culture of work, in which individuals researchers and research teams are respected, encouraged, and supported, and benefit from the material and immaterial support needed to accomplish their scientific objectives and carry out their work. In this context, particular emphasis must be places in the working conditions and formative experiences during the initial phases of researchers’ careers, as this contributes to their subsequent choices and reinforces the attractiveness of careers in the R&D sector.

To fight for the application of the Charter of Researchers in its entirety is to give our young a tangible proof of the fact that out country is ready to bet on them.