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SciPoll 777: Perceptions of Research Funding Sources

DOI:10.63565/scipinion.scipoll.777

Please organize the following funding sources from most trusted to least trusted.

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(187 Answers)

Experts showed varied perspectives on funding source trustworthiness. Most respondents placed government agencies and independent foundations at the top of their rankings, citing transparency and fewer conflicts of interest. Academic institutions were generally ranked in the middle to upper tiers. There was significant disagreement regarding industry funding, with some experts ranking it near the bottom due to profit motives, while others argued that rigorous peer review and transparency measures can make industry-funded research trustworthy. Political organizations and special interest groups were consistently ranked lowest, with experts expressing concerns about ideological biases affecting research outcomes.

Summary Generated by AI

Answer Explanations

  • Ranking: 1 Non-profit foundations 2 Industry/corporations 3 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 4 Academic institutions 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Crowdfunded research 7 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 8 Self-funded research
    user-751315
    This is based on TODAY, not last year.  TODAY, the federal government can be trusted only to interfere and buy lies.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Academic institutions 3 Military/defense agencies 4 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 5 Non-profit foundations 6 Industry/corporations 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-755788
    Difficult ranking due to the range of each category. For instance there are some non-profits that fund exceptional research and others that fund and direct research to mislead with their resutls. Same with all categories.
  • Ranking:
    user-546903
    Funding source does not matter.
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 Industry/corporations 3 Crowdfunded research
    user-143710
    I'm not sure how to answer this question.  Basically, I don't know.
  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research 2 Academic institutions 3 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 4 Non-profit foundations 5 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 6 Military/defense agencies 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Industry/corporations
    user-657321
    I am not sure whose trust you are trying to determine. The only empirical research on perception of general public that I am aware off placed, if I recall right, academic institutions at the top and government at the bottom.  I loosely ranked 2-8 what I think an average activist thinks, and placed 1 as the one I trust the most, if I was forced to rank based on sources of funding. However, as per my answer to question 2, I do not think that source of funding matters to my perception of quality of scientific research.
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 Self-funded research 3 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Crowdfunded research
    user-120105
    When funding is supplied by agencies that do not profit based on their findings there little pressure to report finding in a favorable light other possible than personal career gains. Thus there is less distorting data etc.
  • Ranking:
    user-553722
    It won’t let me move them around
  • Ranking:
    user-557043
    Not possible to change order !
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Non-profit foundations 4 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Industry/corporations 7 Self-funded research 8 Crowdfunded research
    user-655754
    NIH/NSF/EPA would have been the highest ranked, but now that they are run by Trump and have completely lost their direction, their standing has dropped. 
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Academic institutions 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Industry/corporations 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-676201
    top 2 are equally ranked
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Non-profit foundations 4 Military/defense agencies 5 Industry/corporations 6 Self-funded research 7 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 8 Crowdfunded research
    user-701806
    This would be the situation once the Mellon Fellon administration in the US has cut down staff and government funding of institutions 
  • Ranking: 1 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 2 Academic institutions 3 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Crowdfunded research 6 Self-funded research 7 Industry/corporations 8 Military/defense agencies
    user-89669
    In Europe, e.g. EU funds is seen as the highest standard...which may only be partially true, as this is also very political. Otherwise this depends a bit on the country. but government agencies are very important too, as they provide a certain kind of stability, at least in our country (Switzerland).
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Industry/corporations 4 Academic institutions 5 Self-funded research 6 Military/defense agencies 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Non-profit foundations
    user-426958
    Non profit organizations can be proxies for illegitimate agendas and institutions.
  • Ranking:
    user-426175
    My Ranking: 1) academic institutions, 2) International organizations (WHO), 3) non-profit, 4) self funded, 5) Government agencies (NIH), 6) industry, 7) military, I do not know what crowdfunded means.  
  • Ranking:
    user-683654
    International research grants are difficult to get but they are the most trusted. 
  • Ranking:
    user-430707
    International Organization 
    Government Agencies 
    Academic Institution 

  • Ranking: 1 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 2 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 3 Academic institutions 4 Industry/corporations 5 Non-profit foundations 6 Military/defense agencies 7 Self-funded research 8 Crowdfunded research
    user-920129
    1. International organizations have global mandate and are viewed as impartial.
    2. Government agencies provide funding publicly and are based on peer-review.
    3. Academic institutions prioritize knowledge advancement.
    4. In industry/corporations, profit motives may cause high risk of bias.
    5. They provide funding based on specific mission, but donors priorities can influence the research focus.
    6. They have often classified or strategic goals and dissemination of findings is sometimes restricted.
    7. Limited resources and lack of peer validation.
    8. Lack of rigorous peer review and oversight.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Academic institutions 3 Military/defense agencies 4 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 5 Non-profit foundations 6 Industry/corporations 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-937607
    Hard to rank the last few -- but clearly the less the funder is tied to the outcome, the better for the trustworthiness.  That being said, there are ways to provide oversight and more documentation a priori that can lead to trustworthy results even when the funding source does have a vested interest.
  • Ranking:
    user-761199
    I would put the first five as equal
  • Ranking:
    user-787946
    This device will not allow me to rank these institutions. I cannot rank them according to what I think is correct.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Industry/corporations 3 Academic institutions 4 Military/defense agencies 5 Self-funded research 6 Crowdfunded research 7 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 8 Non-profit foundations
    user-869302
    My list is based on my experience in toxicology/product safety. Govt funded and industry funded work tend to have the most guardrails against misleading data or methodology. I have experience with govt funded researchers hiding data so no one source is 100% perfect. Non-profit foundations hide the real source of their funds along with conflicts of interest. International organizations like the WHO often arrive with significant policy agendas or poorly controlled conflicts - think about IARC and its close relationship with trial attorneys in the US. 
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Non-profit foundations 4 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 5 Industry/corporations 6 Crowdfunded research 7 Military/defense agencies 8 Self-funded research
    user-464698
    Research one of the three missions of academic isnstitutions followed by international organizations dedicated to support research projects.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Non-profit foundations 4 Industry/corporations 5 Academic institutions 6 Military/defense agencies 7 Self-funded research 8 Crowdfunded research
    user-738385
    This ranking is based on experience from self and from colleagues. The ranking is to extent indirectly reflected in the correlation between publications and source of funding
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Self-funded research 3 Crowdfunded research 4 Industry/corporations
    user-359641
    Government funded research can represent the desires of the public that funds it. Self-funded research displays belief in the research. Crowdfunded research reflects societal preferences. Industry/corporations are profit driven and will 'follow the money'.
  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research 2 Crowdfunded research 3 Academic institutions 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Industry/corporations 6 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 7 Military/defense agencies 8 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN)
    user-827817
    I have ranked these sources such that funding sources that provide the researcher with most autonomy are most trusted. 
  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research 2 Academic institutions 3 Crowdfunded research 4 Industry/corporations 5 Non-profit foundations 6 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 7 Military/defense agencies 8 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA)
    user-334263
    When research is self-funded, the researcher does not have any external commitment to protect the interests of anyone or organization. The government can influence research outcomes to suit its policy advocacy instruments
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Non-profit foundations 3 Academic institutions 4 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Industry/corporations 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-293230
    The top 4 of my ranking are "standard" funding sources and are unlikely to present any moral or ethical conflicts to the research being conducted. #5 and #6 are common funding sources which are may present moral and ethical conflicts depending on the research being conducted. #7 and #8 are uncommon and even fringe sources of funding which may raise questions about why other sources of funding are not being pursued. 
  • Ranking: 1 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 2 Non-profit foundations 3 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 4 Academic institutions 5 Crowdfunded research 6 Self-funded research 7 Industry/corporations 8 Military/defense agencies
    user-884562
    Because WHO has highest funding rate
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Non-profit foundations 3 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 4 Military/defense agencies 5 Academic institutions 6 Industry/corporations 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-126332
    This is very hard to do, but I ranked them roughly by how rigorous the peer review process is. Self-funding lacks peer review, so it's clearly the lowest. Crowdunding also often lacks peer review, so probably next-least-trustworthy. Industry cares about getting the answer right, but also has biased goals. 
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Academic institutions 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Industry/corporations 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-569506
    This is a difficult question to answer in the current environment; I answered as I would have before Trump took office, so my answers do not reflect how the current administration has impacted some of these sources. For instance, I have much lower trust for government agencies now than I did last year.
  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research 2 Military/defense agencies 3 Academic institutions
    user-93830
    In science, curiosity is the main driving force behind the willingness to work. Self funding implies that people will be honest with themselves. Defense and academia have very controlled environments
  • Ranking:
    user-935064
    The order does not change when I  drag the blocks.  My ranking is:
    1. Government, 2. Academic, 3. International Organizations, 4. non-profits, 5. Military, 6. Industry, 7. self-funded, 8. crowd-funded.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Non-profit foundations 4 Academic institutions 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Crowdfunded research 7 Self-funded research 8 Industry/corporations
    user-790912
    Although it was not an option, I would rank crowd and self-funding equally. 
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 4 Self-funded research 5 Crowdfunded research 6 Industry/corporations 7 Military/defense agencies 8 Non-profit foundations
    user-696023
    I consider it impossible to rank; some NPF are excellent, others more than partisan; some industry research is first class, other patent driven. Please omit this part from an evaluation.
  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research
    user-107268
    Researcher is not bias by the source of funding. Although ideal is in most of cases impractical 
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Military/defense agencies 3 Non-profit foundations 4 Academic institutions 5 Industry/corporations 6 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-143325
    NIH WAS always the most trusted. 
  • Ranking: 1 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 2 Academic institutions 3 Industry/corporations 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Military/defense agencies 6 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Self-funded research
    user-266767
    Funding sources are trusted based on their perceived neutrality, transparency, and potential for conflicts of interest. International organizations like WHO and the UN are most trusted due to their global accountability and public-interest missions. Academic institutions follow closely, valued for their rigorous peer review and emphasis on scientific integrity. Non-profit foundations are generally respected for supporting underfunded yet vital research, though they can still shape agendas. Government and defense agencies are moderately trusted—offering scale and infrastructure but often influenced by politics or national interests. Industry funding is viewed cautiously due to profit motives and a history of biased findings. Crowdfunded and self-funded research rank lowest in credibility, as they lack formal peer-review mechanisms and often suffer from methodological or ethical concerns.
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Self-funded research 4 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 5 Industry/corporations 6 Non-profit foundations 7 Military/defense agencies 8 Crowdfunded research
    user-553056
    Oh my funding has been via specific philanthropy and attempted central academic funding 
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Academic institutions 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Self-funded research 6 Crowdfunded research 7 Industry/corporations 8 Military/defense agencies
    user-863938
    Government agencies and international organizations are generally trusted for having structured peer-review processes and limited direct conflicts of interest.

    Academic institutions and non-profits are usually perceived as mission-driven, though funding ties can still influence priorities.

    Self-funded and crowdfunded research vary greatly in quality and oversight, often lacking rigorous review mechanisms.

    Industry and military funding tends to raise more concern about agenda-driven outcomes or lack of transparency.

  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research 2 Academic institutions 3 Industry/corporations 4 Non-profit foundations 5 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 6 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Military/defense agencies
    user-265479
    This is my blunt perspective
  • Ranking: 1 Self-funded research 2 Academic institutions 3 Crowdfunded research 4 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA)
    user-67856
    Most of the fundamental research works out outcomes from lecturers and students, and they only spend time and publication charges. Publication charges can often be a barrier for many researchers, limiting their ability to share their findings widely. As a result, collaboration with funding agencies or industry partners can be crucial in enhancing the reach and impact of their work. Very rarely do universities, funding institutions, and international organizations give money. Nonprofit foundations just name-shake only. Industries fund only their works but just suck a lot of time and work from others to make money.

  • Ranking:
    user-640046
    I cannot order these categories - the website does not work properly
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Academic institutions 3 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 4 Non-profit foundations 5 Self-funded research 6 Military/defense agencies 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Industry/corporations
    user-293503
    This is just a hunch - I can't really explain the full ranking (and a lot of these are probably tied). But I would say research funded by corporations is least trusted, because people assume that there are financial interests at stake. 
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Industry/corporations 3 Academic institutions
    user-236457
    Those three are the only funding resources
  • Ranking: 1 Academic institutions 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 4 Military/defense agencies 5 Crowdfunded research 6 Self-funded research 7 Industry/corporations 8 Non-profit foundations
    user-625643
    I ranked non-profits bottom because this category includes what are called in the UK "think tanks": organisations formed specifically to influence politics, often without full transparency.
  • Ranking:
    user-237452
    Sure, please provide the list of academic funding sources you'd like me to organize from most trusted to least trusted.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Academic institutions 3 Crowdfunded research 4 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 5 Non-profit foundations 6 Industry/corporations 7 Military/defense agencies 8 Self-funded research
    user-952693
    It is quite simple to observe the academic behavior of government institutions in general. In most cases, such partnerships generate unbiased research, considering the fact that most basic and applied research data are used in private organizations, and rarely the opposite. However, this does not tend to be a negative thing; each one fulfills its role as a whole. Finally, the use of data by military organizations, in its vast majority, brings technologies that are difficult to apply to the population in a more integrated way, and are normally directed to restricted interests.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Academic institutions 3 Crowdfunded research 4 Self-funded research 5 Military/defense agencies 6 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 7 Non-profit foundations 8 Industry/corporations
    user-365674
    Non-profit foundations is too vague. You might have some VERY biased non-profits that have strong political agendas and some very good non-profits, like Wellcome, HHMI, etc.
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 3 Academic institutions 4 Military/defense agencies 5 Non-profit foundations 6 Self-funded research 7 Crowdfunded research 8 Industry/corporations
    user-498299
    Current perception based on previous experience
  • Ranking: 1 Government agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, EPA) 2 Academic institutions 3 International organizations (e.g., WHO, UN) 4 Industry/corporations 5 Self-funded research 6 Military/defense agencies 7 Non-profit foundations 8 Crowdfunded research
    user-531294
    level of evidnce
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