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Open government is the new watchword at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, to judge from the invitation to tender for its massive new evaluation of research funding. A bulk email informed the 35 organisations expressing interest in the project of its details, helpfully allowing each recipient to note the identities of the others. One bidder has already found the consultants likely to ask the steepest prices - and the academics who will ruin things by submitting the lowest bids. Perhaps a HEFCE consultation about the "blind copy" facility available in most email software is in order.