Does targeted research funding reshape research landscapes?

As demands intensify for research to address societal missions or challenges such as climate change, ageing or pandemic preparedness, research funders have developed funding instruments targeted at specific topics. We asked: does targeted funding shape the overall research landscape and what researchers work on in the longer term?

A new study from RoRI examines this question by analysing targeted funding programmes from the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), comparing them with non-targeted (response-mode) funding.

What we looked at

We analysed the academic publications of principal investigators before, during and after receiving targeted grants, and compared these patterns with those observed under non-targeted funding. Rather than focusing only on publications directly linked to a grant, we examined researchers’ broader publication portfolios to understand how research directions evolve over time. However, our analyses only looked at publications and did not capture effects in interactions and exchanges with societal actors (e.g. patents, contracts, etc.), which are sometimes relevant in targeted programmes. 

What we found

Across both countries, we find no clear evidence that targeted funding leads to larger or more abrupt shifts in research topics than non-targeted funding. Instead, changes in research focus tend to be gradual, and similar in scale across both funding modes.

While publications explicitly acknowledging targeted grants do show a more distinctive topical focus, researchers’ wider publication portfolios before, during and after the grant reveal more limited shifts. Importantly, these patterns are comparable to those observed for non-targeted funding.

Why this matters for funders and policymakers

Our findings do not suggest that targeted funding is ineffective. Rather, they indicate that  the steering they exert depends on specific programmes, and is not necessarily visible in publications. We also find that policy instruments labelled as “targeted funding” encompass a wide variety of programme objectives and designs, suggesting that effects and outcomes may vary across different targeted programmes. 

For funders seeking to influence research landscapes, this points to the importance of clear programme objectives, careful instrument design and implementation, and evaluation approaches aligned with the objectives.

Read the full paper

The study is part of RoRI’s PORTFOLIOS project, which develops methods to analyse how funding instruments shape research landscapes.

Read the full paper here