The Karikó problem: Lessons for funding basic research

Re:The Karikó problem: Lessons for funding basic research by mrjangles on Thursday February 03, 2022 @05:18PM (#30199826)

I think my point is that private money already goes to diverse ideas. A system where the government will only provide money if there is already private money involved would work well.

e.g., the government will match any private money 2 to 1. Then, for example, the government can take a cut of patents that result (to prevent grants simply subsidizing research that would have occurred anyway).

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Re:The Karikó problem: Lessons for funding basic research by mattkrause on Thursday February 03, 2022 @05:37PM (#30200024)

I don't think that's necessarily true. Industry is mostly interested in things that are almost ready to be translated into a product. Foundations can be very conservative (and the grant sizes are often much smaller).

Anyway, mechanisms like what you're proposing do exist (MITACS in Canada, for example). However, the problem is the other end of the pipeline. How can you pitch investors on something that might not be a product for decades, if at all? Government R&D primes that pump.

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