Summary
Follow up to: https://www.mustafawarsi.com/testing-for-feasibility-of-new-research-model/
If you think this is an interesting idea, please contact me.
It’s going to be tricky but by no means impossible. I’m optimistic and trying to go ahead.
There seems to be slightly more enthusiasm for the consortium to be altruistic rather than set up as a VC. I don’t know what the best model is yet but I’m exploring both options.
I am setting up meetings with more Professors and maybe the science commercialisation arms of Oxbridge. Scroll to More Details for more details.
FAQ
Q: Why not fund research in India/Bulgaria/Russia and get more bang for your buck?
A: The community building effort is key, it’s nice to meet the other funders and nicer still to develop a relationship with the researcher and professor. It’s hard to do this remotely. There’s also the question of legitimacy. Funding research at high-quality universities in the UK for now will lend legitimacy and offer structure while the project is nascent.
Q: Are you not just inevitably going to add small amounts to areas already funded by large organisations? What’s the impact of your 50k to their 50m?
A: Off to top of my head: CFC replacement, AI Safety, better disease research, applied Category Theory, direct-air-capture of carbon, cheap energy storage technologies, and rubber recycling technology all seem to be underfunded relative to their importance. I will inquire with grant-making organisations like the OpenPhilanthropy Project what they think. If you have ideas, please let me know! This is important.
Q: Why hasn’t this happened before?
A: No idea. I know that large industrials like Rolls Royce have funded PhDs forever, but maybe the administrative bloat of universities and research funding is formidably off-putting for most others. Probably a big reason why academic research is performing seriously undercapacity, and which I’m trying to swerve around.
More Details
Some updates.
I met with the Homerton College Director of Development and a Maths Lecturer at the Uni of Cambridge to discuss the logistics of setting up such a funding model, and have some notes below.
Logistical Notes:
– I have provided them with a small list of cause areas I think there would be interest in funding
– they will draw up a list of potential project leaders capable of taking PhDs or PostDocs in
– the PostDoc would take the form of a 4-year Junior Research Fellowship
– they are investigating the possibility of IP ownership by external funders as well as any Uni fund matching schemes that might be available
– This is the list of commercialisable technologies that have spun out of various departments in the past, and should provide real examples of what a spinoff product could look like
– the estimates of 30 to 50k are appropriate, even to pick up postdocs internationally maximising the pool of talent to draw from
– unsurprisingly, the uni is unwilling to formally hand over the reigns of admission over completely, but all of us agreed that an agreement can be reached informally with the professor in question that we can open applications to the public through the college, solicit applications and then the professor can work in conjunction with the consortium to formally pick the candidate informally agreed upon. This requires some degree of trust between the professor and consortium, but then, this needs to be established before any of this can occur at all. A deep alignment of incentives or belief in the larger research project. In the unlikely scenario, if the professor changes their mind, then I imagine the consortium trust can withhold any remaining funds.
– I think atleast half the total funds would have to be handed over in order for the college to justifiably open up a new position and advertise. So, I imagine there will be some redundancy in funding for safety buffer. i.e. raise 60 or 70k for every 50k really needed in case somebody drops out at a later point, with the rest kept spare, returned at a later date, or recycled for a fresh research project.
I think I want to discuss this with a few other professors, ideally at the department level directly and preferably at other institutions too. If you have any ideas for who could be good to reach out to, please contact me.