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The Impact of Research Funding on Knowledge Creation and Dissemination: A study of SNSF Research Grants

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  • Rachel Heyard
  • Hanna Hottenrott

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of competitive project-funding on researchers' publication outputs. Using detailed information on applicants at the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and their proposals' evaluation, we employ a case-control design that accounts for individual heterogeneity of researchers and selection into treatment (e.g. funding). We estimate the impact of grant award on a set of output indicators measuring the creation of new research results (the number of peer-reviewed articles), its relevance (number of citations and relative citation ratios), as well as its accessibility and dissemination as measured by the publication of preprints and by altmetrics. The results show that the funding program facilitates the publication and dissemination of additional research amounting to about one additional article in each of the three years following the grant. The higher citation metrics and altmetrics of publications by funded researchers suggest that impact goes beyond quantity, but that funding fosters quality and impact.

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  • Rachel Heyard & Hanna Hottenrott, 2020. "The Impact of Research Funding on Knowledge Creation and Dissemination: A study of SNSF Research Grants," Papers 2011.11274, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2011.11274
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    2. Rachel Heyard & Tobias Philipp & Hanna Hottenrott, 2021. "Imaginary carrot or effective fertiliser? A rejoinder on funding and productivity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(11), pages 9333-9338, November.
    3. Alberto Corsini & Michele Pezzoni, 2022. "Does grant funding foster research impact? Evidence from France," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03912647, HAL.
    4. Janne Pölönen & Otto Auranen, 2022. "Research performance and scholarly communication profile of competitive research funding: the case of Academy of Finland," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 7415-7433, December.
    5. Corinna Ghirelli & Enkelejda Havari & Elena Meroni & Stefano Verzillo, 2023. "The long-term causal effects of winning an ERC grant," Working Papers 2313, Banco de España.
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    7. Fernando Almeida & José Morais & José Duarte Santos, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Outcomes of European Projects on the Digital Transformation of SMEs," Publications, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, September.
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