Our Take: Corporate Funding For Public Universities and Research

We recognize that some people are skeptical of corporate funding for public universities and academic research. There are many questions about the relationship between academia and the private sector – including the scientists who answer questions on this site and the companies who fund GMO Answers. Here we’ll address the role of private funding for academic research, including why it’s needed, funding disclosure requirements and how conflicts of interest are managed.

Over recent years, public funding for higher education has gradually declined. According to Forbes, “at public universities, state and federal funding has dropped around 20 percent since 2000.” As a result of the declining investment in public education, scientific research and innovation is threatened, as explained in this MIT study.

Support from private companies can be used to supplement the cost of public education and research. In fact, public universities often secure funding from a variety of sources, including federal and state grants, non-profit organizations, foundations, industry groups, individuals and private companies.

Company funding for public universities is critical for scientific advancement and our economy. It creates jobs, keeps the lights on in laboratories across the country, and supports cutting edge research – not only in agriculture, but many other important fields, such as healthcare, environmental sustainability and technology.

As stated by the Science Business Innovation Board, “When companies and universities work in tandem to push the frontiers of knowledge, they become a powerful engine for innovation and economic growth.”

While the funding for scientific research at public universities is important, addressing the role of bias and disclosure around those funds is too. Public universities have strict guidelines in place to manage both.

A note regarding disclosure.

We believe transparency and funding disclosure is critical to maintaining public trust.

University guidelines for funding disclosure vary depending on how the funds will be used. For example, disclosure for an endowment or physical gift is different than a research grant or contract (below we’ve defined several common types of corporate donations to public universities and provided several examples of each). Gifts to public universities should be handled by the institution’s foundation, which ensures that all requirements and policies governing donations are met. Here are links to some examples of public university disclosure policies, here and here.

Looking for more? Here Iowa State University provides criteria and defines gift, grants and contracts from industry sponsors.

It is important to note that if private company funds are used for research, and as a result of the research a paper or thesis is developed, the author is - with few exceptions - required to disclose the funding sources in the publication. 

Individual scientists risk their careers and their life’s work if they in any way manipulate data or falsify communication about that data. And they risk their credibility if they don’t follow strict disclosure policies on where their funding comes from.

If you have questions about the experts who answer questions on GMO Answers, our funding information is available here.

Managing Bias.

All humans exhibit bias because of our cultural norms, beliefs and background. But how is bias managed in academic research to ensure personal bias or interests from funding sources do not influence research?

Andrew Kniss, Associate Professor of Weed Ecology & Management in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Wyoming., explains in this post “I Am Biased and So Are You: thoughts on funding and influence in science” how he manages potential bias on his research and his opinions:

“Among the general public, perhaps the most common concern about industry funding of public scientists is the perception that the funding source directly influences the outcome or interpretation of a study, or they will prevent publication of results that are unfavorable. I can honestly say I’ve never felt pressure from any funding source to change results or alter my interpretation of data or my conclusions. I’ve never had a funding source attempt to prevent publication of results, and my university wouldn’t allow me to enter into an agreement which prevented publication of negative data. Again, I can’t speak to other scientists’ experiences, but I have to imagine this type of outright coercion or fraud is extremely rare.”

More on this topic is available in this post by the Center for Accountability in Science which discusses if study funding sources create bias.

In the end, funding for innovation and research in the scientific community comes from many sources – and without private company funding, many worthwhile endeavors that benefit society and our economy would be impossible.  To maintain both scientific excellence and public trust, commitments to funding disclosure policies and transparency is necessary – and there are industry standards adopted by our public university systems.  And most important, any research or data that is manipulated or biased eventually is called into questions by peer scientists and can damage the careers of a researcher.  Any published research should disclose funding sources so that the results of the research can be viewed credibly.