US science investment: past strength, current decline, and future prospects

Project funding has become a dominant mechanism for university research in Europe. Although criticised for burdening researchers and obscuring funding distribution, it also strengthens science–society communication. https://lnkd.in/dzP76szB

This new definition of scientific leadership (Q2) generates new insights (Q1, Q3, Q4). Q1: "The study, published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that Chinese-based scientists filled 45% of leadership roles in U.S.-China joint studies in 2023, up from 30% in 2010. If the trend holds, China will reach parity with the U.S. in 2027 or 2028 — the point at which both sides lead an equal share of joint research." Q2: "Researchers at Wuhan University, University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Chicago used a machine-learning model to identify which scientists directed projects based on contribution statements and authorship data. The approach offers a more nuanced way of tracking scientific power than traditional metrics such as publication counts or citation indexes, which measure volume rather than influence, the authors said." Q3: "The results suggest China is no longer just producing more science — it’s organizing it." Q4: "By 2018, almost half of all international students in China came from Africa and South Asia, and the paper finds that Chinese researchers now lead most collaborations with nations participating in the Belt and Road initiative, including those students’ home countries." https://lnkd.in/ghV8XjZE

How is scientific research funded, and why does it matter who pays for it? UND Associate Professor of Science Education Ryan Summers explores how funding sources — from federal agencies to private industry — shape the direction of scientific discovery and innovation. Read his piece in The Conversation U.S. 🔗 bit.ly/4nIXTiE

Check out our blog post from fellow Bhavani Sunila, titled: ‘The Power of Learning through Shared Ideas’. Find out more about her experience organising an event based on a scientific game for researchers. The goal? To become an expert in someone else’s research specialty. In her post, Bhavani explores the importance of scientific outreach, effective methods of communication and the importance of shared learning. Read the blog post: https://lnkd.in/dP3wfixT #PhD #PhDLife #Researcher #Research #AUFRANDE #Blog #MSCA #MarieSklodowskaCurieActions #KeepCalmAndCurieOn #Science4EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions | EU Science, Research and Innovation

Intelligence Online has learned that the Chinese Communist Party's approach towards Taiwanese scientific research is changing course: its strategic objective is no longer to steal cutting-edge discoveries, but rather to weaken research institutions. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dcP8irPN

"Chinese-based scientists filled 45% of leadership roles in US-China joint studies in 2023, up from 30% in 2010. If the trend holds, China will reach parity with the US in 2027 or 2028 — the point at which both sides lead an equal share of joint research." The US is poised to give up the lead. Cutbacks in federal funding for scientific research won't help -- and will likely accelerate the US decline.

🚀 A call for an “ERC for labs” — towards sustainable research ecosystems in Europe This week, Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion proposed creating a European counterpart to the ERC, but focused on long-term funding for research labs — not just individual scientists. Such an initiative could profoundly strengthen Europe’s innovation fabric: 🔹 Enable stable, high-risk, high-reward research beyond project cycles. 🔹 Foster collective excellence by empowering research teams and infrastructures. 🔹 Bridge the gap between frontier science and mission-driven innovation. Within the ERA_FABRIC project, we see this vision aligned with the #ERAHubs — ecosystems that connect knowledge, stakeholders, and policy instruments to make research capacities more cohesive and impactful across Europe. An “ERC for labs” would not replace the ERC, but complement it — nurturing knowledge ecosystems where ideas can grow, mature, and transform into shared European value. 🌍 More: https://lnkd.in/dnYfmHY5. #ERA #ERAHubs #ERAFABRIC #HorizonEurope #InnovationPolicy #ResearchEcosystems #ScienceBusiness #NobelPrize #ResearchInfrastructure #KnowledgeEcosystems

🌍 New publication alert – and a companion piece to our previous study! Earlier this year, we published “Scientizing the World: On Mechanisms and Outcomes of the Institutionalization of Science” in #ScienceandPublicPolicy. There, we explored how scientific reasoning has become a powerful societal force shaping culture and politics/policies. Now, I would like to share our new publication in #Minerva, “Is More Science Really Less Science? The Scientization of Science, 1900–2020” (with David P. Baker and Abdul Basit Adeel at Penn State University and Justin J.W. Powell, University of Luxembourg). While our first paper examined the external face of #scientization — how science permeates society — this new piece looks inward, tracing the institutional evolution of science itself. We revisit Derek de Solla Price’s Little Science, Big Science to ask: what explains the extraordinary, uninterrupted growth of science over the past century? Using institutional theory, we demonstrate how universities, as institutional entrepreneurs, have been the key institutional drivers of this expansion, sustaining both the scale and quality of global discovery. Together, the two studies illuminate how #science became a powerful social institution and the key mechanisms that have sustained its #institutionalization over time. 📘 Minerva: https://lnkd.in/eMymd47y 📗 Science and Public Policy: https://lnkd.in/euDC92s2

🎉 Six new CROSS projects have been chosen for 2026! These projects combine the natural sciences and engineering with the humanities and social sciences to address some of society's most pressing challenges. The CROSS Program is jointly support by EPFL and Université de Lausanne to fund interdisciplinary projects led by teams of researchers from both schools that address important societal and technological issues. https://lnkd.in/e652J3Yz

"Education and science are joint global efforts. Even in challenging times, academia must show the world how to work together.”   During #THEwas, #KAUST Prof. Carlos Duarte, one of the world’s leading marine scientists, shared how universities can turn science into policy and real-world impact.   Here are the key takeaways from his session:   ↳ Science must lead to solutions. Research only matters when it shapes real policy and restores ecosystems.   ↳ Universities are engines of cooperation — where science, ethics, and human values align to guide societies through global challenges.   ↳ Global collaboration remains our greatest strength. Through initiatives like CORDAP, operated and supported by KAUST, collective action can rebuild ocean resilience within a generation.