Sir

Rigidity and cronyism characterize hiring practices for academic positions in Spain (Nature 396, 709; 1998). This happens both in universities, as denounced in your pages, and, to a lesser extent, in the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), the country's largest research body. This is demonstrated by two worrying developments during the past few months.

First, in order to ‘stabilize’ the situation of university lecturers on short-term and irregular contracts, the government and university vice-chancellors have proposed promoting 10,000 of them to permanent lecturer positions. This highly irregular upgrade is, however, closed to equally qualified postdocs in non-university research institutes (such as CSIC) or abroad. It would result in a freeze on university hiring for the foreseeable future, leaving non-university centres and foreign countries as the only outlets for researchers seeking tenure-track academic jobs.

Second, CSIC has announced 90 new research positions, for which candidates are assessed on a score of up to 20 (Nature 399, 400; 1999). Ten points have to be earned on merit (including publications and experience) to reach the final selection process. But five points are given as a ‘prize’ to people who have worked in CSIC — putting other candidates at a clear disadvantage as they can only obtain a maximum of 15 points.

Job openings at CSIC and universities are not widely advertised, and bureaucratic requirements make them almost unattainable by outside candidates (Nature 400, 203; 1999). For example, the 90 CSIC posts were only advertised in the Spanish Official Bulletin — an obscure government publication that is not widely available — and on the CSIC website. Applications typically have to be in within two weeks. Foreign qualifications require government ‘validation’, a process that can drag on for up to a year, discouraging candidates applying from outside Spain.

The solution to this cronyism is readily at hand. CSIC, universities and the Spanish government should simply follow the hiring policy of Spain's National Centre for Cancer Research, which is also common practice in Britain and the United States: job advertisements should appear in scientific journals, with plenty of time to apply, in order to attract the best candidates. The government should also remove bureaucratic obstacles that prevent outside scientists being hired.

Other problems exist in Spanish science, including 0.8 per cent of GNP dedicated to research (against a European average of 2.1 per cent), and a lack of research facilities and positions. But before solving those it is necessary to eradicate cronyism. This is one of the goals of the Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology in Spain (AACTE: http://www.aacte.net). It is the only way to attract good researchers, provide a healthy and flexible science base and high-quality education, and have a commitment to excellence in science.