Research grants incentivize waste

"Every hour a scientist spends trying to raise funds is an hour lost from important thought and research" - Isaac Asimov

Funders' grant-making decisions are driven by two overarching goals:

• Sponsoring research that aligns with their individual organizational mission

• Awarding grants to scientists and projects that will provide a safe return on investment

Funding organizations invite scientists to apply for research grants and distribute financial awards based on the perceived quality of a grant application towards achieving the aforementioned goals.

Typically, funders dedicate upwards of 5% of their operating budgets towards administering this process. Determining if a project aligns with an organization’s mission is relatively straightforward.

Unfortunately, no objective metrics exist to judge the value of the scientific knowledge produced by any given research output.