The “Mathematics Committee for Liaison with NSERC” has provided more insight into the 2009 Discovery grants competition from the perspective of applicants and committee members of GSCs 336 and 337. Read their letter to the Canadian mathematics community here.

The letter contains some interesting commentary on the binning process and describes some specific challenges for the mathematics research community.

I think they raise some very valid points regarding the weaknesses of the binning process, namely the potential for large cuts in funding. I think that this issue will create instability in research programs and promote conservatism in research and training initiatives in the years bracketing renewal.

Another interesting comment was on the challenges of instituting a minimum grant amount ($14,000 for the GSCs 336 and 337 in the 2009 competition).

The letter is worth a read even if you are not in the discipline of mathematics.