---
title: "Funding of science"
chunk: 1/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funding_of_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:24:31.702550+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Research funding is a term that generally encompasses any funding for scientific research in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. While different methods can be used to disburse funding, the term generally connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated, with only the most promising and economically viable receiving funding. Usually, it is measured through gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD).  GERD includes R&D performed within a country and funded from abroad but excludes payments for R&D performed abroad.
The largest share of research funding comes from two major sources: corporations (through research and development departments) and government (primarily carried out through universities and specialized government agencies, often known as research councils). A smaller amount of scientific research is funded by charitable foundations, especially in relation to developing cures for diseases such as cancer, malaria, and AIDS.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), more than 60% of research and development in scientific and technical fields is carried out by industry, and 20% and 10% respectively by universities and government. Comparatively, in countries with a relatively lower national GDP, such as Portugal and Mexico, the industry contribution is significantly lower. The government funding proportion in certain industries is higher, and it dominates research in the social sciences and humanities. In commercial research and development, all but the most research-oriented corporations focus more heavily on near-term commercialization possibilities rather than "blue-sky" ideas or technologies (such as nuclear fusion).

== History ==

Conducting research requires funds. The funding trend for research has gone from a closed patronage system, to which only a few could contribute, to an open system with multiple funding possibilities.
In the early Zhou dynasty (-c. 6th century to 221 BCE), government officials used their resources to fund schools of thought of which they were patrons. The bulk of their philosophies is still relevant today, including Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism.
During the Mayan Empire (-c. 1200–1250), scientific research was funded for religious purposes. Research there developed a Venus Table, showing precise astronomical data about the position of Venus in the sky. In Cairo (-c. 1283), the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun funded a monumental hospital, patronizing the medical sciences over the religious sciences. Furthermore, Tycho Brahe was given an estate (-c. 1576 – 1580) by his royal patron King Frederik II, which was used to build Uraniborg, an early research institute.

=== The age of the academies ===
Between 1700 and 1799, scientific academies became central creators of scientific knowledge. Funded by state sponsorship, academic societies were free to manage scientific developments. Membership was exclusive in terms of gender, race, and class, but academies opened the world of research up beyond the traditional patronage system.
In 1799, French inventor and mechanical engineer Louis-Nicolas Robert patented the paper machine. When he quarreled over invention ownership, he sought financing from the Fourdrinier brothers. In 19th-century Europe, businessmen financed the application of science to industry.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as the pace of technological progress increased before and during the Industrial Revolution, most scientific and technological research was carried out by individual inventors using their own funds. A system of patents was developed to allow inventors a period of time (often twenty years) to commercialize their inventions and recoup a profit, although in practice, many found this difficult.
The Manhattan Project (1942 – 1946) had cost $27 billion and employed 130,000 people, many of them scientists charged with producing the first nuclear weapons. In 1945, 70 scientists signed the Szilard petition, asking President Truman to make a demonstration of the power of the bomb before using it. Most of the signers lost their jobs in military research.
In the twentieth century, scientific and technological research became increasingly systematized, as corporations developed and discovered that continuous investment in research and development could be a key element of competitive success. It remained the case, however, that imitation by competitors - circumventing or simply flouting patents, especially those registered abroad - was often just as successful a strategy for companies focused on innovation in matters of organization and production technique, or even in marketing.
Nowadays, in 2025, a growing number of funders have decided to make research outcomes transparent and accessible in data repositories or Open-access. Moreover, some researchers turn to crowdfunding in search of new projects to fund. Private and public foundations, governments, and others sponsor opportunities for researchers. As new funding sources become available, the research community grows and becomes accessible to a wider and more diverse group of scientists.