Introduction starts at 00:00:00
English Podcast starts at 00:00:38
Bengali Podcast starts at 00:20:42
🎙️ Welcome to "Revise and Resubmit" — the podcast where research gets real, ideas get sharper, and innovation doesn’t just get published… it gets understood. 💡📚
🧠 Imagine you’re in charge of funding the future — deciding which scientific ideas get backed and which get shelved. Billions are at stake. Innovation is on the line. How do you decide? 🎯 Do you bet on the best individual proposal, or do you think bigger — like a savvy investor building a diverse portfolio?
Today’s episode dives into a bold and timely question, straight from the pages of one of the most prestigious academic journals out there — the FT50-listed journal Research Policy. 📖✨ We’re talking about “A Portfolio Approach to Research Funding,” a thought-provoking study by Erik Canton, published by Elsevier in January 2025.
Canton’s paper argues that portfolio theory — yes, the same idea investors use to balance risk and reward 💼📈 — could dramatically improve how we fund research. Instead of just chasing top scores on individual grant proposals, this approach looks at the bigger picture: project interdependencies, diversity of goals, and synergy between ideas. Sounds efficient, right?
But here’s the kicker: it’s not being used. Despite the evidence, most funding bodies still stick to the old-school merit-based model, where each proposal stands alone. Why? According to Canton’s survey of policy practitioners, it might come down to convention. A familiar “club-effect.” People just prefer the way it’s always been done. 🧑🏫🔄
This paper doesn’t just challenge the status quo — it offers a clear, data-backed alternative for better, more strategic decision-making in science policy. And it begs the question...
🔍 If we trust portfolios to manage our money, why don’t we trust them to manage our knowledge?
🙏 Big thanks to Erik Canton and the publisher, Elsevier, for this important contribution to the global conversation on research policy.
💥 If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to “Revise and Resubmit” on Spotify and follow our YouTube channel, Weekend Researcher — where complex ideas get the clarity they deserve. We’re also on Amazon Prime and Apple Podcasts, because great research deserves to be everywhere. 🎧🌍
Until next time — keep questioning, keep learning, and don’t forget to revise and resubmit. 🔁📝✨
Reference
Canton, E. (2025). A portfolio approach to research funding. Research Policy, 54(1), 105129–105129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2024.105129
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