> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.researchhub.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.researchhub.com/welcome/what-is-researchhub.md).

# What is ResearchHub?

ResearchHub is a marketplace for funding scientific research. It connects funders who want to support specific science with researchers who can do it, and helps move cash or in-kind resources.

Every project follows a similar open pipeline:

1. **Request for Proposals.** A funder describes the research they want to support. Our AI Assistant drafts the RFP, and our AI Expert Finder identifies qualified researchers and invites them to apply.
2. **Preregistered proposal.** Researchers submit a short proposal covering background, hypothesis, methods, analysis plan, and budget. Every proposal gets a DOI and a public date. Proposals are encouraged to be public, but can be visible only to funders.
3. **Paid open peer review.** The ResearchHub Foundation opens peer review bounties on proposals. Reviewers earn $150 per approved review, and reviews arrive in about 10 days. Reviews inform funders but never gatekeep funding.
4. **Funding.** The funder selects proposals, and anyone can also crowdfund a proposal. Funds go to the researcher's institution as a gift, routed through our 501(c)(3) partner Endaoment. In-kind resources such as GPU compute and cloud credits may also be used.
5. **Registered Report.** Once funded, the proposal's hypotheses and methods are locked in and can be published free in the ResearchHub Journal.
6. **Updates and Results.** Researchers post text or video progress updates, earning $50 per monthly update, and can publish final Results linked to the original report, whatever the outcome.

[ResearchCoin](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/researchcoin) (RSC) is the platform's native token and used to incentivize peer review and updates. RSC held in a ResearchHub account earns daily Funding Credits through the Endowment, and those credits can only be spent funding research. Funders do not need RSC: they can also pay by credit card, Apple Pay, donor-advised fund, or in-kind resources.

ResearchHub and ResearchCoin are maintained and improved through a partnership between the [ResearchHub Foundation](https://www.researchhub.foundation/) and Researchhub Technologies, Inc. Together, we are a collection of skeptical, yet optimistic individuals who want to accelerate the pace of science.

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If you have any questions or would like to start a discussion about ResearchHub, please visit our [community Discord](http://discord.gg/researchhub-foundation)
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