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For Researchers: The OSSP research
microfunding platform provides greater intellectual freedom and access to an
additional source of research funding
For Investors: The OSSP research microfunding platform empowers you to directly invest in the
research that will make a difference in you life
By hosting a
research microfunding platform, we hope to (a) provide
academic researchers with access to a supplementary
source of basic research funding that is free from the
constraints of market demands and (b) empower individual citizens -
or groups of citizens - to actively participate in the academic research
process by investing directly in projects that will make a difference in
their lives.
How it works |
If an academic researcher has an idea for a research
project, they may submit it (with a projected budget) to
The OSSP. All proposals received are first posted
online for peer review by the
OSSP community of researchers/experts. If a
proposal is approved, it is then
published publicly to receive funded by the OSSP
community of investors.
Investors will be given 30-90 days to review each proposal
and determine whether or not to invest in it.
If a proposal is fully
funded within this 30-90 day investment period, the
invested funds
will be transferred to the researcher to begin their work and launch their research log.
The research log (r-log) maintained
by each researcher is a project-specific research
'diary' that is accessible to a researcher and their
investors. The purpose of this log is to provide
an open line of communication between researchers and
investors (particularly regarding the progress made by
the researcher), and to serve as a 'thought-record' chronicling how the
researcher approached their research question, and confronted those
challenges and obstacles they encountered in conducting their proposed
study.
Research logs will be visible
only to investors while a research project is being conducted;
but will be
made visible to the entire OSSP community of researchers when the
project has been completed and the final paper
summarizing the project outcomes has been published.*
Upon completing a
research project, each researcher (or team of researchers) will be required to publish a
final report as well as their research data. This report - which
will be expected to contain the researcher's interpretation of their
data, lessons-learned, and thoughts regarding the implications of this
study on future research; shall then be made openly available to the
entire OSSP researcher and investor communities.
Researchers are also encouraged to publish their work in
one or more peer-reviewed journals.
* For undergraduate and graduate
research students: while research logs are (by default) only visible to your investors and
members of the OSSP researcher community; you may choose to also share
your research logs with prospective graduate schools or faculty.
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What events or
conditions underlie the abnormally high die-offs of European,
US, and Canadian bee colonies observed since 2007 - a phenomenon
recently dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD)?
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Where, along the length of the
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, are non-point source nutrient input sites
clustered; and to what extent are such nutrients
responsible for hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico? |
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How can water storage and
distribution systems be improved to more efficiently provide water
for agriculture and energy production without disrupting the
natural ecosystems from which the water is removed?
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How are
oscillations in insulin secretion synchronized across the
multitude of pancreatic islets contained within the human pancreas; and
by what mechanism are these oscillations disrupted in
individuals with Type II Diabetes Mellitus?
What 'best
practices' must be adopted by researchers, farmers, and
corporations in order to maximize agricultural yield while
preserving the genetic diversity of food crops such as rice?
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