When should researchers start to consider; translational pathways, managing risk to maximise research resources and prioritising research questions and methods around attracting future collaborators?
The time it takes for original discoveries and innovation to deliver benefits to the community can be many years but considering other factors may reduce this time and maximise the use of resources.
There are many important questions in basic research that need to be explored. The order in which research answers those questions with the limited resources available may reduce the time to deliver community benefits, create resource efficiencies by closing or changing directions early or by making the innovation more attractive to potential collaborators and investors.
Research grants generally support the skills, capabilities and capacity of the chief investigator and their team. Financial resources are often expended internally and the ability for the research team to prioritise and learn from important research activities and expertise outside of their team can be difficult.
Motivation to spend resources on external research activities not attractive to peer review journals may also result in ‘scientifically boring’ studies or contract research activities to be delayed if a ‘publish or perish’ only culture exists.
“If grant makers only measure long-term successes they will miss many of the true benefits of supporting strategic research activities.”
Philanthropy can include support for research efficiencies. Working with currently funded researchers, fun ding specific studies and enabling research collaborations along translational pathways can also help philanthropists assess measures of impact in the shorter term (e.g. helping researchers to answer go/stop, turn left/right questions).
If grant makers only measure long-term successes they will miss many of the true benefits of supporting strategic research activities. Incremental successes that in-turn lead to long-term benefits and resource efficiencies that may support the next successful innovation.