Munich

Italy has revealed plans to allocate €1 billion (US$1.2 billion) to set up what the government hopes will become a world-class institute of technology.

But many Italian researchers are suspicious of the surprise proposal, which bypasses existing research institutes and agencies. They also complain that a detailed concept for the facility, named the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), has yet to be set out.

Cash for the institute was included last month in Italy's budget for 2004, which is likely to be approved by the parliament in Rome later this month.

But the initial plans were first outlined by Vittorio Grilli, the Italian government's chief accountant, at a seminar at Harvard University on 23 October. Grilli, one of the architects of the scheme, told the seminar that Italy needs to improve its track record in research and technology transfer.

The IIT will be funded by an endowment over ten years, with the first €100 million due in January. Italian scientists, however, are less than thrilled that the government plans to lavish funds on a new project while existing institutions are starved of resources.

Italian research has been in crisis for years, as successive governments have tried to implement reforms and cut red tape. Most research organizations are now in the hands of commissioners appointed by the government to oversee such reforms.

Two of the commissioners — Adriano De Maio from the CNR, the national research council, and Carlo Rubbia from ENEA, the energy and environment agency — have spoken out against the IIT concept, arguing that the sort of money set aside for it could have been used to give the reforms a chance to work.

“It's a bit schizophrenic of the government to install commissioners to make research more efficient, then put significant new funds elsewhere,” notes physicist Roberto Battiston of the University of Perugia.

Emilio Bizzi, an Italian neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has advised successive Italian governments, says he sympathizes with the scientists' concerns. But he adds that he understands the government's frustration with existing institutions. “I'm not surprised the government wanted to bypass the system,” he says. “But whether it was wise to do so, I can't say.” Government officials declined to comment.