“I don’t know down the road how hard it is going to be to the get the money for big, sustaining grants,” he added.
STRINGS ATTACHED
In addition to prioritizing grants, the University’s researchers are looking beyond traditional avenues for funding sources. Increasingly, they are turning to private corporations and other nongovernmental sources to fund their laboratories.
“Harvard has a very strong history of corporate-sponsored research and foundation-sponsored research, as well as research funded by philanthropy, so I expect that to continue and intensify,” Garber said. “We are thoroughly optimistic that there will be a great deal of interest in funding research on the part of corporations, foundations, and other groups.”
In FY 2012, Harvard received a total of $167 million in non-federal sponsorship, which equaled 20 percent of the University’s total sponsored expenditures. Fifty-eight percent of non-federal support came from foundations, while corporations provided 22 percent.
State, local, and foreign governments, as well as research institutes, other universities, and hospitals made up the rest.
But private sources of funding can bring a whole new set of issues to the table. Unlike federal agencies, which award grants with few strings attached, private corporations and charitable foundations tend to be more restrictive with their awards, outlining the specific research interests that they will support.
“In private funding you have to do what they say,” said David A. Weitz, professor of physics and applied sciences.
Administrators and researchers say that of even greater consequence is the fact that few sponsors are willing to play the role that the federal government does in basic, rather than applied, research. Companies, for example, generally look to invest in research that will deliver them a return on their investment.
“Industries engage in partnerships with universities in order to gain an advantage...not for the public good,” Garber said.
Professors added that focusing solely on the specific goals of applied research—such as clinical trials that seek to determine the effectiveness and safety of particular drugs—might prematurely cut out future advances that are founded on more basic inquiry, on which the U.S. has relied in the past to maintain its competitive edge in science and technology.
“Companies aren’t usually in the business of funding research,” said Cox, who receives money from Silicon Valley giants Google and Intel. “They are in the business of making more money.”
Vice President for Public Affairs and Communication Christine M. Heenan explained that corporate sponsors’ nearly exclusive attention to applied research is problematic because specific applied research depends on previous basic research.
“To think of a metaphor, you’ve got foundations and companies willing to fund your second floor or your roof, but not your first floor,” Heenan said.
Cox agreed, saying that no matter how great the support from corporations and foundations, basic research is in trouble.
“Everybody always looks for private sponsorships, but it’s not like foundations are going to find new money,” he said. “I’m very dubious that you are going to see either the private foundations or the companies pick up the slack.”
—Nicholas P. Fandos and Nikita Kansra contributed to the reporting of this story.
—Staff writer Sabrina A. Mohamed can be reached at smohamed@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @sab_mohamed.
—Staff writer Samuel Y. Weinstock can be reached at sweinstock@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @syweinstock.