Institutionalized biases in the award of research grants: a preliminary analysis revisiting the principle of accumulative advantage

Accumulative advantage in the research system may allow elite groups to secure a disproportionate share of resources. Using grant submissions, data to a UK Research Council, associations between success in securing grants and potential sources of advantage are explored, including membership of the peer review cadre, departmental standing, track record, gender and ethnicity. Success in securing grants is associated with several potential sources of advantage, suggesting that factors other than the quality of the research proposed influence outcomes. Differential access to these may contribute to the observed biases in the number of grants won against women and non-white groups. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.