Filling the Gap: State Seed Grants and the Advancement of Scientific Research in the United States

Abstract

Non­‐profit seed money grants are often characterized as grants or contributions that are used in order to start a new project or organization. There is an increasing need for elevated levels of public sector funding to maintain and support adequate levels of novel basic science research. Funding at the state level in the form of seed money is economically and scientifically more beneficial than funneling additional money into the NIH or relying on increased privatization, due to the inadequacies present in both funding platforms. Thus, state seed money is an appealing alternative that addresses the shortcomings of the NIH and privatization, while encouraging a future influx of federal dollars into the state and spurring drug development in the private sector. Expanding the state seed­‐funding platform is feasible, and avenues of increasing state grants can be attained through increasing public commitment to basic science research.