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Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most promising receive funding.

Most research funding comes from two major sources, corporations (through research and development departments) and government (primarily carried out through universities and specialized government agencies; often known as research councils). A smaller amount of scientific research is funded by charitable foundations, especially in relation to developing cures for diseases such as cancer, malaria, and AIDS.

According to OECD, more than 60% of research and development in scientific and technical fields is carried out by industry, and 20% and 10% respectively by universities and government.

Comparatively, in countries with less GDP such as Portugal and Mexico, the industry contribution is significantly lower. The government funding proportion in certain industries is higher, and it dominates research in social science and humanities. In commercial research and development, all but the most research-oriented corporations focus more heavily on near-term commercialization possibilities rather than "blue-sky" ideas or technologies (such as nuclear fusion).

Contents

 * 1History
 * 1.1The age of the academies
 * 2Methods: Measuring the funding of science
 * 3Funding types: Public and Private
 * 3.1Public Funding
 * 3.1.1Rationale for Funding
 * 3.1.2Funding Modalities
 * 3.1.3List of research councils
 * 3.1.4Conditionality
 * 3.1.5Process
 * 3.1.6Hard money versus soft money
 * 3.1.7Efficiency of funding
 * 3.2Private funding
 * 4Influence on research
 * 5By country
 * 5.1United States
 * 5.2Switzerland
 * 6See also
 * 7References
 * 8Further reading
 * 9External links

History[edit]
Conducting research requires funds. Over the past years, funding for research has gone from a closed patronage system to which only few could contribute, to an open system with multiple funding possibilities.

In the early Zhou dynasty (-c. 6th century to 221 BCE), government officials used their resources to fund schools of thought of which they were patron. The bulk of their philosophies are still relevant, including Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism.

During the Mayan Empire (-c. 1200-1250), scientific research was funded for religious purposes. The Venus Table is developed, showing precise astronomical data about the position of Venus in the sky. In Cairo (-c. 1283), the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun funded a monumental hospital, patronizing the medical sciences over the religious sciences. Furthermore, Tycho Brahe was given an estate (-c. 1576 – 1580) by his royal patron King Frederik II, which was used to build Uraniborg, an early research institute.

The age of the academies[edit]
In 1700-1799, scientific academies became central creators of scientific knowledge. Funded by state sponsorship, societies are still free to manage scientific developments. Membership is exclusive in terms of gender, race and class, but academies open the world of research up beyond the traditional patronage system.

In 1799, Louis-Nicolas Robert patents the paper machine. When he quarrels over invention ownership, he seeks financing from the Fourdrinier brothers. In 19th century Europe, businessmen financed the application of science to industry.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as the pace of technological progress increased before and during the industrial revolution, most scientific and technological research was carried out by individual inventors using their own funds. A system of patents was developed to allow inventors a period of time (often twenty years) to commercialize their inventions and recoup a profit, although in practice many found this difficult.

The Manhattan Project (1942 – 1946) had cost $27 billion and employed 130,000 people, many of them scientists charged with producing the first nuclear weapons. In 1945, 70 scientists signed the Szilard petition, asking President Truman to make a demonstration of the power of the bomb before using it. Most of the signers lost their jobs in military research.

In the twentieth century, scientific and technological research became increasingly systematized, as corporations developed, and discovered that continuous investment in research and development could be a key element of success in a competitive strategy. It remained the case, however, that imitation by competitors - circumventing or simply flouting patents, especially those registered abroad - was often just as successful a strategy for companies focused on innovation in matters of organisation and production technique, or even in marketing.

Today, many funders move towards transparent and accessible research outcomes through data repositories or Open-access mandates. Some researchers turn to crowdfunding in search of new projects to fund. Private and public foundations, governments, and others stand as an expansion of funding opportunities for researchers. As new funding sources become available, the research community grows and becomes accessible to a wider, and more diverse group of scientists.

Methods: Measuring the funding of science[edit]
The guidelines for R&D data collections are laid down in the Frascati Manual published by the OECD. In this publication, R&D denotes three type of activity: basic research, applied research and experimental development. This definition does not cover innovation but it may feed into the innovative process. Business sector innovation has a dedicated OECD manual.

Different methods may be used to calculate R&D spending but the most recognized approach is the Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD). GERD is often represented in GERD-to-GDP ratios, as it allows for easier comparisons between countries. The data collection for GERD is performance-based, based on reporting by performers. GERD differentiates according to the funding sector and the sector of performance, although the two may coincide (i.e.: government funds government performed R&D). GERD measures only activity within the territory of a country, which means Rest of the World may only act as funder not performer.

Another method frequently used is Government budget appropriations or outlays for R&D (GBAORD/ GBARD). GBARD is a funder-based method: it represents what governments committed to R&D.

GERD and GBARD are not directly comparable metrics. On data collection, GERD is performer based, GBARD is funder. The level of government considered also differs: GERD should include spending by all levels of the government (federal – state – local), whereas GBARD excludes the local level and often lacks state level data. On geographic coverage, GERD takes into account performance within the territory of a country whereas GBARD also payments to the Rest of the world.

Comparisons on the effectiveness of both the different sources of funding and sectors of performance have been made.

Public Funding[edit]
Main article: Science policy

See also: Research council, United States national laboratories, and List of federally-funded research and development centers (US)

Governments may fund science through different instruments such as: direct subsidies, tax credits, loans, financial instruments, regulatory measures, public procurement etc.

While direct subsidies have been the prominent instrument to fund business R&D, since the financial crisis a shift has taken place in OECD countries in the direction of tax breaks. The explanation seems to lay in the argument that firms know better where to spend, as well as the lower administrative burden of such schemes.

Rationale for Funding[edit]
Government funded R&D is payed from tax payer money. It is a long-term investment to which disruptions are harmful, and it often occurs with a time lag.

Governments have multiple reasons to fund science. The private sector is said to focus on the closer to the market stage of R&D policy, where appropriability hence private returns are high. Basic research is weak on appropriability and so remains risky and under-financed. Consequently, although governmental R&D may provide support across the R&D value chain, it is often characterized as Market failure induced intervention to maintain early-stage research where incentives to invest are low.

Related to the market failure argument on basic research but based on the theory of public goods. It covers research fields where social rate of return is higher than private rate of return often related to appropriability. The general free rider problem of public goods occurs, especially in case of global public goods such as climate change research, which may lower incentives from both the private sector but also other governments to invest. In endogenous growth theories, R&D contributes to growth. Some have depicted this relationship in the inverse, claiming that growth drives innovation. Recently, (tacit) knowledge itself is said to be a source of economic driver internalized by science workers. When this knowledge and/or human capital emigrates, countries face the so-called brain–drain.

A large share of governmental R&D goes to personnel costs including researchers but also supporting staff. Frascati Manual. It is a way for governments to employ people and to avoid brain–drain.

R&D funded and especially performed by the State allows greater influence over its direction. This is particularly important in the case of R&D contributing to public goods. Governments have been criticized over whether they are best positioned to pick winners and losers.

Funding Modalities[edit]
Depending on the funding type different modalities to distribute the funds may be used. For regulatory measures, often the competition/antitrust authorities will rule on exemptions. In case of block funding the funds may be directly allocated to given institutions such as higher education institutions with relative autonomy over their use Frascati Manua. For competitive grants, governments are often assisted by research councils to distribute the funds. Research councils are (usually public) bodies that provide research funding in the form of research grants or scholarships. These include arts councils and research councils for the funding of science.

List of research councils[edit]
An incomplete list of national and international pan-disciplinary public research councils:

Conditionality[edit]
In addition to project deliverables, funders also increasingly introduce new eligibility requirements besides traditional ones such as research integrity/ethics.

With the Open Science movement, funding is increasingly tied to data management plans (DMP) and making data FAIR. The Open Science requirement complements Open Access mandates which today are widespread.

The gender dimension also gained ground in recent years. The European Commission mandates applicants to adopt gender equality plans across their organization. The UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) mandates a gender equality statement.

The European Commission also introduced a “Do No Significant Harm” principle (DNSH) which aims to curb the environmental footprint of scientific projects.

Process[edit]
Often scientists apply for research funding which a granting agency may (or may not) approve to financially support. These grants require a lengthy process as the granting agency can inquire about the researcher(s)'s background, the facilities used, the equipment needed, the time involved, and the overall potential of the scientific outcome. The process of grant writing and grant proposing is a somewhat delicate process for both the grantor and the grantee: the grantors want to choose the research that best fits their scientific principles, and the individual grantees want to apply for research in which they have the best chances but also in which they can build a body of work towards future scientific endeavors.[citation needed]

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the United Kingdom has devised an alternative method of fund-distribution: the sandpit.

Most universities have research administration offices to facilitate the interaction between the researcher and the granting agency. "Research administration is all about service—service to our faculty, to our academic units, to the institution, and to our sponsors. To be of service, we first have to know what our customers want and then determine whether or not we are meeting those needs and expectations."

In the United States of America, the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) serves its members and advances the field of research administration through education and professional development programs, the sharing of knowledge and experience, and by fostering a professional, collegial, and respected community.

Hard money versus soft money[edit]
In academic contexts, hard money may refer to funding received from a government or other entity at regular intervals, thus providing a steady inflow of financial resources to the beneficiary. The antonym, soft money, refers to funding provided only through competitive research grants and the writing of grant proposals.

Hard money is usually issued by the government for the advancement of certain projects or for the benefit of specific agencies. Community healthcare, for instance, may be supported by the government by providing hard money. Since funds are disbursed regularly and continuously, the offices in charge of such projects are able to achieve their objectives more effectively than if they had been issued one-time grants.

Individual jobs at a research institute may be classified as "hard-money positions" or "soft-money positions"; the former are expected to provide job security because their funding is secure in the long term, whereas individual "soft-money" positions may come and go with fluctuations in the number of grants awarded to the institution.

Efficiency of funding[edit]
The traditional measurement for efficiency of funding are Outcome can be measured by publication output, citation impact, number of patents, number of PhDs awarded etc. However, the use of journal impact factor (JIF) has generated a publish-or-perish culture. Calls have been made to reform research assessment, most notably in the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Leiden Manifesto for research metrics. The current system also has limitations to measure excellence in the Global South. Novel measurement systems such as the Research Quality Plus (RQ+) has been put forward to better emphasize local knowledge and contextualization in the evaluation of excellence.

Another question is how to allocate funds to different disciplines, institutions, or researchers. A recent study by Wayne Walsh found that “prestigious institutions had on average 65% higher grant application success rates and 50% larger award sizes, whereas less-prestigious institutions produced 65% more publications and had a 35% higher citation impact per dollar of funding.”

Private funding[edit]
See also: Industry-funded research

Private funding for research comes from philanthropists, crowd-funding, private companies, non-profit foundations, and professional organizations. Philanthropists and foundations have been pouring millions of dollars into a wide variety of scientific investigations, including basic research discovery, disease cures, particle physics, astronomy, marine science, and the environment. Privately funded research has been adept at identifying important and transformative areas of scientific research. Many large technology companies spend billions of dollars on research and development each year to gain an innovative advantage over their competitors, though only about 42% of this funding goes towards projects that are considered substantially new, or capable of yielding radical breakthroughs. New scientific start-up companies initially seek funding from crowd-funding organizations, venture capitalists, and angel investors, gathering preliminary results using rented facilities, but aim to eventually become self-sufficient.

Europe and the United States have both reiterated the need for further private funding within universities. The European Commission highlights the need for private funding via research in policy areas such the European Green Deal and Europe’s role in the digital age.

Influence on research[edit]
The source of funding may introduce conscious or unconscious biases into a researcher's work. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COIs) is used by biomedical journals to guarantee credibility and transparency of the scientific process. Conflict of interest disclosure, however, is not systematically nor consistently dealt with by journals that publish scientific research results. When research is funded by the same agency that can be expected to gain from a favorable outcome there is a potential for biased results and research shows that results are indeed more favorable than would be expected from a more objective view of the evidence. A 2003 systematic review studied the scope and impact of industry sponsorship in biomedical research. The researchers found financial relationships among industry, scientific investigators, and academic institutions widespread. Results showed a statistically significant association between industry sponsorship and pro-industry conclusions and concluded that "Conflicts of interest arising from these ties can influence biomedical research in important ways". A British study found that a majority of the members on national and food policy committees receive funding from food companies.

In an effort to cut costs, the pharmaceutical industry has turned to the use of private, nonacademic research groups (i.e., contract research organizations [CROs]) which can do the work for less money than academic investigators. In 2001 CROs came under criticism when the editors of 12 major scientific journals issued a joint editorial, published in each journal, on the control over clinical trials exerted by sponsors, particularly targeting the use of contracts which allow sponsors to review the studies prior to publication and withhold publication of any studies in which their product did poorly. They further criticized the trial methodology stating that researchers are frequently restricted from contributing to the trial design, accessing the raw data, and interpreting the results.

The Cochrane Collaboration, a worldwide group that aims to provide compiled scientific evidence to aid well informed health care decisions, conducts systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials of health care interventions and tries to disseminate the results and conclusions derived from them. A few more recent reviews have also studied the results of non-randomized, observational studies. The systematic reviews are published in the Cochrane Library. A 2011 study done to disclose possible conflicts of interests [COI] in underlying research studies used for medical meta-analyses reviewed 29 meta-analyses and found that COIs in the studies underlying the meta-analyses were rarely disclosed. The 29 meta-analyses reviewed an aggregate of 509 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Of these, 318 RCTs reported funding sources with 219 (69%) industry funded. 132 of the 509 RCTs reported author COI disclosures, with 91 studies (69%) disclosing industry financial ties with one or more authors. The information was, however, seldom reflected in the meta-analyses. Only two (7%) reported RCT funding sources and none reported RCT author-industry ties. The authors concluded, "without acknowledgment of COI due to industry funding or author industry financial ties from RCTs included in meta-analyses, readers' understanding and appraisal of the evidence from the meta-analysis may be compromised."

In 2003 researchers looked at the association between authors' published positions on the safety and efficacy in assisting with weight loss of olestra, a fat substitute manufactured by the Procter & Gamble (P&G), and their financial relationships with the food and beverage industry. They found that supportive authors were significantly more likely than critical or neutral authors to have financial relationships with P&G and all authors disclosing an affiliation with P&G were supportive. The authors of the study concluded: "Because authors' published opinions were associated with their financial relationships, obtaining noncommercial funding may be more essential to maintaining objectivity than disclosing personal financial interests."

A 2005 study in the journal Nature surveyed 3247 US researchers who were all publicly funded (by the National Institutes of Health). Out of the scientists questioned, 15.5% admitted to altering design, methodology or results of their studies due to pressure of an external funding source.

A theoretical model has been established whose simulations imply that peer review and over-competitive research funding foster mainstream opinion to monopoly.

By country[edit]
Main article: List of countries by research and development spending

Different countries spend vastly different amounts on research, in both absolute and relative terms. For instance, South Korea spends more than 4% of their GDP on research while many less developed countries spend less than 1% (e.g. GDP Spending on R&D 0.25%).

Government-funded research can either be carried out by the government itself, or through grants to researchers outside the government.

United States[edit]
The US spent $456.1 billion for research and development (R&D) in 2013, the most recent year for which such figures are available, according to the National Science Foundation. The private sector accounted for $322.5 billion, or 71%, of total national expenditures, with universities and colleges spending $64.7 billion, or 14%, in second place.

Switzerland[edit]
Switzerland spent CHF 22 billion for R&D in 2015 with an increase of 10.5% compared with 2012 when the last survey was conducted. In relative terms, this represents 3.4% of the country's GDP. R&D activities are carried out by nearly 125,000 individuals, mostly in the private sector (71%) and higher education institutions (27%).