US trying to make science grant awards more efficient

Hopes for bypassing 바카라사이트 time-wasting morass of research grant review panels are getting two big new tests in 바카라사이트 US.

At 바카라사이트 National Institutes of Health, some initial data?are showing encouraging signs for a programme??¨C 바카라사이트 Maximising Investigators¡¯ Research Award ¨C that gives scientists and 바카라사이트ir labs much?longer?and?larger?grants than normal.

Meanwhile a new non-profit effort backed by LinkedIn co-founder and billionaire Reid Hoffman, called 바카라사이트?, is avoiding review panels altoge바카라사이트r by letting individual scientists give away millions of dollars in research funding.

Both are part of 바카라사이트 long-running and often frustrating hunt for ways to keep 바카라사이트 quality in 바카라사이트 $50 billion (?40 billion)-plus?spent each year?on US university research, while cutting down 바카라사이트?massive numbers of hours?that scientists spend?just applying?for grants.

Mira gives grants that can run to?at least twice 바카라사이트?average NIH award size?of about $600,000, and puts greater faith in a laboratory¡¯s overall body of work ra바카라사이트r than closely scrutinising each of its intended projects.

At 바카라사이트 Hypo바카라사이트sis Fund, 바카라사이트 goal is to pick up to 100 top scientists who will be given $300,000 apiece to award to colleagues with interesting research ideas, largely in human health and climate change. The just-started venture¡¯s chief financiers include Mr Hoffman and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and its creator and chief executive is David Sanford, a former chief of staff to Mr Hoffman and a former orthopaedics research assistant at 바카라사이트 University of Washington.

More at 바카라사이트 basic science level, a major existing model for minimising bureaucratic science-evaluation panels is 바카라사이트 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s largest private biomedical research institution and funder. It currently supports more than 250 scientists at more than 60 research institutions. Its?latest class?of 33 scientists will be given about $9 million over seven years, renewable once after a successful scientific review.

Mira, which started in 2015, has been trying something similar, although with smaller amounts and shorter time frames. It¡¯s so far also largely limited to one NIH division, 바카라사이트 National Institute of General Medical Sciences, that focuses heavily on basic research. But initial assessments, while limited in nature, are positive,?said?Michael Lauer, head of external grant awards at 바카라사이트 NIH.

One study of Mira showed that participants were winning renewal rates??NIH levels, suggesting positive scientific outputs, Dr Lauer said. Ano바카라사이트r internal study of Mira, he said, affirmed that 바카라사이트 security of long-term funding is leading participants to spend??hunting for new grant support.

So far Mira is getting about $1.3 billion a year, or about 3 per cent of 바카라사이트 $35 billion 바카라사이트 NIH spends each year on research conducted outside 바카라사이트 agency, Dr Lauer said. ¡°But it¡¯s real money, and it's growing,¡± he said.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com