This transformative research has kicked off “Funding the Frontier” (FtF). This interactive visual framework provides a roadmap for tracing the path of scientific funding from first grants to final impacts in the world. These visualizations were made using an innovative tool created by Yifang Wang and his team. Its goal is to demonstrate the value of billions in public dollars invested in scientific research to the broader society. The study, which spans 22 years from 2000 to 2021, was published on arXiv with the DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2509.16323.
Until recently, there’s been a persistent chasm between the ivory tower and the real world as far as understanding the wider impacts of these investments goes. As of 1945, Vannevar Bush asserted that funding was a certainty. He focused on the power of science to advance practical innovations in the world. Traditional evaluations for funding largely focus on scholarly outcomes such as papers and citations. They tend to underestimate the ripple effect research can create through changing policy, public health, and culture.
The FtF Dataset and Its Significance
The FtF framework integrates data from four major datasets: Dimensions, Overton, Altmetric, and SciSciNet. This pioneering dataset links just under 7 million research grants to their research project outcomes. These outcomes include useful outputs, including publications, filed patents and initiated clinical trials. It provides a window into broader societal effects, showing how scientific research shapes policy outcomes and attracts media coverage.
FtF conducts an in-depth analysis of the funding data. Doing so equips stakeholders to understand how investments in scientific research drive societal benefits, including economic growth. This strategy fills the long-standing gap in systematic evaluations of funding impacts.
“Funding the Frontier: Visualizing the Broad Impact of Science and Science Funding” – Yifang Wang et al.
Addressing Public Concerns
FtF has set out to address the critical need of closing the growing divide between scientific research and public understanding. This alarming disconnect requires urgent redress and intentional action. Traditional assessments often fail to capture the broader implications of research, which can lead to a misalignment between funding decisions and societal needs. Failure to do so only serves to further the public losing faith in science, as was observed in the study.
Researchers emphasize that without a solid framework to trace the impact of scientific funding effectively, decisions regarding funding and science policies may not resonate with public interests. FtF helps advocates and decision-makers understand funding impacts with clear visualizations. This complementary approach truly closes the loop and builds more transparency and trust in all scientific efforts.
“The public losing faith in science” – [“Traditional funding assessments primarily focus on academic publications and citations within the scientific community, overlooking broader ripple effects such as shaping policy, enhancing public health, or influencing culture. The lack of a solid framework to trace the impact might lead to funding decisions and science policies that do not align with the social needs, leading to the public losing faith in science.” – source]
Transforming Science Communication
Additionally, the FtF framework’s release marks a key improvement in how scientific funding data is conveyed to the public. By providing accessible visualizations, it enables researchers, policymakers, and the general public to grasp the complexities of science funding and its real-world implications.
This transformation comes at a critical moment, with public support more important than ever to protect the long-term funding that supports scientific research. As the study suggests, “They rely on funding and public support,” underscoring the need for more effective communication strategies that connect research outputs with societal benefits.
FtF serves as a powerful tool for researchers. More importantly, it serves as a useful tool for state and federal policymakers looking to make data-driven decisions on where to allocate funding. In doing so, by mapping investments to tangible outcomes, it provides a more compelling and understandable narrative of the value of scientific research.