WOMEN HAVE HIGHER success
rates at crowdfunding scientific
projects than men, according to
new research by Henry Sauermann
of ESMT Berlin in Germany,
Chiara Franzoni of the School of
Management at Politecnico di
Milano in Italy, and Kourosh Shafi
of the University of Florida in
Gainesville. Their study suggests
that the “crowd” providing the
funding might apply different
decision-making criteria than
traditional funding agencies.
The researchers analyzed data
from more than 700 campaigns on
Experiment.com, a platform dedicated
to crowdfunding scientific
research. They found that women
obtained more funding than men,
even though most campaign creators
on the site were male. Women
reached their funding target 57
percent of time, while men only did
so 43 percent of the time.
“Women’s significantly higher
success rates in crowdfunding contrasts
with their sometimes lower
odds when competing with men
for grants from government agencies,”
says Sauermann. “Through
crowdfunding, access to resources
is broadened for groups that have
been excluded or disadvantaged in
traditional funding systems.”
The study also suggests that
students and junior scientists were
more likely to receive crowdfunding
support than senior scientists.
This could mean that crowdfunding
could be an important tool for
less conventional projects, such
as those that are entrepreneurial,
artistic, and social in nature.
Crowdfunding “can provide important
monetary benefits,” notes
Sauermann. “A number of universities
actively encourage their
researchers to start crowdfunding
campaigns for this very reason.”
Read “Crowdfunding scientificresearch: Descriptive insights andcorrelates of funding success,” published January 4, 2019, in PLOS
ONE.