Another 10,000 euros for reviewers!
#Peer Review
Stockwerk Fotodesign
Second round for a special experiment: Anyone who reviews on behalf of the Volkswagen Foundation until December 31, 2025 will be entered into a draw and may win €10,000 in funding.
The foundation has received a great deal of support for a field experiment that started in July 2023. The core of the experiment: anyone who has worked as a reviewer for the foundation within a year takes part in a very special lottery. 25 people whose names are drawn will each receive 10,000 euros. But of course not as an extremely generous fee, but as earmarked funding. There were 261 names in the lottery drum in the first draw at the beginning of July 2024. 25 of them now had the opportunity to finance travel expenses for conferences abroad or to organise international workshops, for example.
The reason for the experiment: The Foundation would like to give even greater recognition to the indispensable work of peer reviewers and make their achievements more visible. The effects will also be analysed: Does the offer help to increase the number of peer reviewers accepting requests? Does it change the academic system's view of the role of peer reviewers?
In order to arrive at evidence-based conclusions, the Foundation is launching a second round of its field experiment until 31 December 2025. Once again, 25 reviewers will have the chance to receive an additional €10,000 in funding. One effect has already been seen: in social media and on the fringes of conferences, scientists and representatives of other funding organisations are discussing the foundation's initiative with great passion. The response has been almost universally positive. This gives rise to hopes that the impetus will lead to structural improvements in the medium term in terms of the appreciation of reviewers and their role in quality-assuring peer review.
