SciSIP research portfolio (so far)
In order to get a representative picture of the research activities sponsored by SciSIP it is necessary to examine its research portfolio in detail. To date SciSIP has awarded $27 million for sixty-one research projects over two years (2007 and 2008). Of those sixty-one:
- 29 have gone to economic disciplines ($8 million)
- 6 to computer/information science ($1.4 million)
- 5 to statistics ($12.3 million)
- 17 to other social sciences ($4 million)
- 2 to natural sciences ($850K)
- 2 to humanities and law ($800K)
- 2 to engineering ($450K)
Reading through the project abstracts, it is immediately apparent that the vast majority of the funded projects emphasize the process and measurement of "innovation," where innovation is almost always associated with economic profit. Nearly all the successful proposals state economic gain as a main goal of the proposed research. This is manifested in different ways: economists propose models and tools to directly track the flow from investments in research to eventual economic gain. Psychologists, systems theorists, and organizational management scholars are looking at ideal environments and collaborator frameworks to enhance the innovation process. Neuroscientists want to know how design tools affect cognitive functions, again in order to enhance innovation.
Equating societal benefit with economic gain is a broadly sanctioned premise in contemporary society. The 2005 National Academy of Science Report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" links R&D with economic competitiveness. The 2006 American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and the 2007 America COMPETES Act are both calls to strengthen basic research in order to ensure economic competitiveness. Justification for increased funding in science research is almost always accompanied by claims that economic benefits will ensue.
