Economist Invites Overhaul Argument on US Science Funding and Peer Review
The article frames US science productivity decline as a funding and incentive design failure rather than resource shortage. Evidence from agency reports shows concentration effects and replication shortfalls that reduce output per dollar. Operational reforms tested in smaller agencies provide measurable benchmarks for scaling.
Reform proposals center on lottery elements for standard grants above a quality threshold and expanded direct funding for core facilities. The 2021 ARPA-E model achieved 34 percent commercialization rates against 12 percent for standard DOE programs. Implementation would require statutory changes to the NIH Reform Act of 2006.
NSF: Standard R01-equivalent success rates fall below 14 percent by FY2029 absent structural changes to review criteria.
Sources (3)
- [1]NIH Databook 2024(https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/)
- [2]National Academies Integrity Report 2022(https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26495)
- [3]NSF Merit Review Digest 2023(https://nsf.gov/pubs/2024/nsf24001)