London

Positions vacant: world-class researchers sought. A combined salary top-up and discretionary grant of up to £100,000 (US$150,000) available. Apply to Her Majesty's Government.

For years, Britain has worried about both attracting and keeping top scientists. In the 1960s the Labour government even thought about banning foreign job advertisements or treating scientists as an élite group (see Nature 403, 121; 2000). The hook has now been baited with money. The idea is that, like sports stars, 50 of the world's leading academics will be tempted to transfer to Britain.

The announcement of the new fund coincides with the release of a white paper in which the government says that Britain needs to attract more scientists and engineers from overseas, and promises to change the immigration rules to make it easier for students and foreign researchers to work and remain in the country.

The salary top-ups are being offered by the UK government, the Wolfson Foundation and the Royal Society — whose fellows have been taking jobs abroad at an increasing rate (see graph). The government will contribute half of an annual £4 million fund.

Figure 1
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Brain drain: a growing proportion of Royal Society fellows work outside Britain.

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But the government has offered few details about how the scheme would work, or how long the fund would last. The Royal Society says it intends to make a “long-term commitment”. And a panel that includes scientists from the society, the Wolfson Foundation and the Royal Academy of Engineers will be set up to seek out scientists in key areas of research.

Eric Ash, treasurer of the Royal Society, a trustee of the Wolfson Foundation, and one of those behind the scheme, says that the fund would offer money on top of the standard salary offered by the university. “Our feeling is that it won't all be salary. Part of it could be discretionary research grant, which is the hardest thing to get hold of.”