As a person who’s relatively unfamiliar with academia, here are some questions I have, along with guesses about their answers.
Is a large chunk of capital like Musk’s better dispersed slowly or quickly? Ceteris paribus, slow dispersal gives an opportunity to learn what seems to be working, allows later grantees to build on the work of earlier grantees, allows serial grants to highly qualified/successful researchers, and might incentivize researchers to establish a track record or “resume” in the area where grants are being awarded to look (and be) more qualified for later grants. On the other hand, fast dispersal brings the positive results of the funding more quickly.
Is a large chunk of capital like Musk’s better dispersed in smaller quantities to many individuals or in larger quantities to a few? Fewer larger grants might attract more qualified people; more smaller grants get more people involved and allow more leads to be followed.
What causes some research areas to get “hot”, and how might philanthropists play a role influencing this? (For example, if Elon’s money succeeds in funding research that’s impressive by conventional standards, will that lend credence to the broader topic of AI risk reduction by association?) What’s the best way to motivate researchers in general?
What’s the best way to promote/advertise the availability of grant money in order to attract the best research proposals?
What are some tips for evaluating research proposals and the people who propose them (especially given that the proposals and the resumes of those who propose them have all been written to seem as attractive as possible?) Could research proposals be made available for public commentary before being accepted/rejected? (In the extreme case, this public commentary might take the form of a prediction market.) Or would some researchers be reluctant to share their ideas before they’d been fully developed, lest someone else take credit, so the effect would be to cut down on the number of proposals?
What people or organizations currently fund scientific research most effectively, and what do they have in common?
Givewell wrote a series of blog posts on scientific research as a charitable cause, focusing on life sciences research: 1, 2, 3. The second blog post discusses some ways established life science research funding mechanisms may fall short, providing opportunities for philanthropists; it also describes a “generalist scientific advisor” role Givewell is (was?) recruiting for that readers may be interested in applying for. Some takeaways I got from the series & comments on it: It’s important to consider the current scientific funding environment in order to contribute in a non-replaceable way. To fund scientific research effectively, either the giver or their advisors should have good knowledge of the field they’re funding. Scientists may consider basic research more prestigious/motivating than applications research.
I imagine if grant money is presented properly, receiving it could carry more weight than just the capital itself, in the same way that receiving a Rhodes Scholarship is more meaningful than just getting money to study at Oxford with. This could provide both an extra incentive to qualify for a grant and increase the prestige of the grant winners and the research they produced. Is this feasible and desirable, or a game best not played? (For a point favoring the latter position, see the “Nobel-Prize effect” discussed here.)
Is a large chunk of capital like Musk’s better dispersed in smaller quantities to many individuals or in larger quantities to a few? Fewer larger grants might attract more qualified people; more smaller grants get more people involved and allow more leads to be followed.
This distinction may be less sharp than it seems. The recipient of a very large grant tends to develop a process of deciding how to use it that looks very much like another grant-awarding process. In effect, a really large grant subcontracts the work of disbursement. That’s not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, but it is a thing that happens.
One of the problems with slow dispersal is that due to Iron Law of Bureaucracy-type reasons, the money will likely not be dispersed in useful ways. See, for example, the decline and drift of the Ford Foundation and March of Dimes. This is why, for instance, the Gates Foundation will not exist in perpetuity but has an expiry date.
As a person who’s relatively unfamiliar with academia, here are some questions I have, along with guesses about their answers.
Is a large chunk of capital like Musk’s better dispersed slowly or quickly? Ceteris paribus, slow dispersal gives an opportunity to learn what seems to be working, allows later grantees to build on the work of earlier grantees, allows serial grants to highly qualified/successful researchers, and might incentivize researchers to establish a track record or “resume” in the area where grants are being awarded to look (and be) more qualified for later grants. On the other hand, fast dispersal brings the positive results of the funding more quickly.
Is a large chunk of capital like Musk’s better dispersed in smaller quantities to many individuals or in larger quantities to a few? Fewer larger grants might attract more qualified people; more smaller grants get more people involved and allow more leads to be followed.
What causes some research areas to get “hot”, and how might philanthropists play a role influencing this? (For example, if Elon’s money succeeds in funding research that’s impressive by conventional standards, will that lend credence to the broader topic of AI risk reduction by association?) What’s the best way to motivate researchers in general?
What’s the best way to promote/advertise the availability of grant money in order to attract the best research proposals?
What are some tips for evaluating research proposals and the people who propose them (especially given that the proposals and the resumes of those who propose them have all been written to seem as attractive as possible?) Could research proposals be made available for public commentary before being accepted/rejected? (In the extreme case, this public commentary might take the form of a prediction market.) Or would some researchers be reluctant to share their ideas before they’d been fully developed, lest someone else take credit, so the effect would be to cut down on the number of proposals?
What people or organizations currently fund scientific research most effectively, and what do they have in common?
Givewell wrote a series of blog posts on scientific research as a charitable cause, focusing on life sciences research: 1, 2, 3. The second blog post discusses some ways established life science research funding mechanisms may fall short, providing opportunities for philanthropists; it also describes a “generalist scientific advisor” role Givewell is (was?) recruiting for that readers may be interested in applying for. Some takeaways I got from the series & comments on it: It’s important to consider the current scientific funding environment in order to contribute in a non-replaceable way. To fund scientific research effectively, either the giver or their advisors should have good knowledge of the field they’re funding. Scientists may consider basic research more prestigious/motivating than applications research.
I imagine if grant money is presented properly, receiving it could carry more weight than just the capital itself, in the same way that receiving a Rhodes Scholarship is more meaningful than just getting money to study at Oxford with. This could provide both an extra incentive to qualify for a grant and increase the prestige of the grant winners and the research they produced. Is this feasible and desirable, or a game best not played? (For a point favoring the latter position, see the “Nobel-Prize effect” discussed here.)
BTW, here’s some previous related discussion on LW: Funding Good Research, The efficiency of prizes.
This distinction may be less sharp than it seems. The recipient of a very large grant tends to develop a process of deciding how to use it that looks very much like another grant-awarding process. In effect, a really large grant subcontracts the work of disbursement. That’s not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, but it is a thing that happens.
One of the problems with slow dispersal is that due to Iron Law of Bureaucracy-type reasons, the money will likely not be dispersed in useful ways. See, for example, the decline and drift of the Ford Foundation and March of Dimes. This is why, for instance, the Gates Foundation will not exist in perpetuity but has an expiry date.