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Preprint / working paper

The structure of public research funding

The structure of public research funding, 2015-2025: concentration, cross-funder co-funding, and the funding-to-output relationship in a reconciled NIH/NSF/EC/UKRI grant graph

Gianangelo Dichio, with the research-atlas working group, Bucket Foundation

887,016 grants · Gini coefficient 0.929 institutional concentration · ~25% of funded works co-funded across multiple funders

Question

How concentrated is public research funding across institutions, what fraction of funded work is co-funded across multiple funders, and how does funding translate into measurable output across agencies?

Role

Lead author.

Method

Built on 887,016 reconciled grants from NIH, NSF, EC, and UKRI (2015-2025). Computes institutional concentration (Gini coefficient), cross-funder co-funding rates, and funding-to-output ratios by agency.

Division of work

Human

Framed the research questions, directed the analysis, and wrote the paper.

AI

AI-assisted drafting and computation under direct review.

Verification and limitations

Preprint, version 1.0. Peer review has not yet occurred.

Funding-to-output rate differences reflect agency research missions as much as efficiency; the paper does not claim a causal ranking of funder effectiveness.

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