ERIC Number: EJ1446444
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0958-2029
EISSN: EISSN-1471-5449
Who Gets the Grant? A Persona-Based Investigation into Research Funding Panelist Preferences
Research Evaluation, v33 Article rvae030 2024
The allocation of scientific funding through grant programs is crucial for research advancement. While independent peer panels typically handle evaluations, their decisions can lean on personal preferences that go beyond the stated criteria, leading to inconsistencies and potential biases. Given these concerns, our study employs a novel method, using simulated, data-driven, and narrative personas of fictional candidates, to identify the attributes that significantly influence panelist choices and profile what an optimal candidate would look like. Our findings reveal a preference for mid-career, multidisciplinary researchers with significant publications, citations, and prior project experience. Such optimal candidates also lean toward applied science, collaborative research, interactions with both industry and the public, and a progressive stance on science. Contrary to existing literature, this study found indications of a bias toward female candidates, which we interpret as a result of deliberate correction caused by awareness of existing biases in academia. Age emerged as another influential factor, suggesting either a preference for younger researchers or a perception of waning productivity among seasoned academics. Consistency in a candidate's profile, rather than standout attributes, was also favored by panelists.
Descriptors: Grants, Program Proposals, Funding Formulas, Scientific Research, Resource Allocation, Decision Making, Peer Evaluation, Researchers, Bias, Selection Criteria, Experimenter Characteristics, Preferences, Selection, Evaluation Criteria, Higher Education, Interrater Reliability
Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A