Perhaps it varies by specialty/region, but I have a good friend in the sciences here in Australia; funding has dried right up. This year, less than 10% of NHMR

Perhaps it varies by specialty/region, but I have a good friend in the sciences here in Australia; funding has dried right up. This year, less than 10% of NHMRC grant applications got approved, and of the ones approved most spent nearly as much time on grant applications as they did on the real work. Anyone who is only moderately motivated has retrained, because working for low pay half of the year is not appealing to anyone who can pass any doctorate program. Even if you took the position that only the good ones are getting funded, spending 50% of your 'good' researchers time is a tragic waste of human ability.