Can Philanthropy Save Science?
There are so many sources of science and tech funding: the Defense Department (such as DARPA), the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and dozens of venture capital firms that pour out money like tap water.
?But all that is not enough, says Tom Kalil, who has been science and tech advisor to some of the most powerful people in the world—Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Despite all the sources of funding, there’s a big donut hole of the most audacious projects that none of them fit well, he says. These include mapping the brain, monitoring ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, and creating open-source databases on all manner of topics.?
?“If you went to a VC and said, ‘Give me $50 million. I'm going to use that to create a high-quality data set, and then I'm going to put it in the public domain,’ that would be a very short meeting,” Kalil told me.
?“These projects are also difficult to do in an academic setting because they require a larger group of people than you have in a single academic lab,” he said. “Or it requires a mix of not only scientists but professional engineers.”
?Instead, he proposes a nonprofit and philanthropic route, leveraging ultra-high net worth donors by sparking excitement through the prospects of improving the health of individuals or the planet. “If I told you what the goal is, and you were a philanthropist, your view would be, ‘Boy, I would view that as an important part of my legacy,’” he says.?
On May 6, Kalil launched Renaissance Philanthropy, an organization working to excite and recruit patrons to fund nonprofit research organizations working on the most audacious science and technology. It’s early days: The organization has not yet launched its first projects. Time will tell if this model can succeed.?
—Seán Captain, executive editor
This Week on Techonomy
An advisor to two presidents and a billionaire, Tom Kalil is now working to recruit the ultra-wealthy to fund world-changing science and tech.
While an advanced education in technology often leads to a lucrative Silicon Valley job, for Perpetual Baffour, it’s led to a career improving education.
Director of FinTech at the Milken Institute has experience in financial services, international mergers and acquisitions, technology, and innovation. (Video)
领英推荐
Justin Winters has identified three pathways to mitigating the climate crisis: clean energy by 2050, restoring land and oceans, and regenerative agriculture. (Video)?
Worthy 100: Nalleli Cobo At nine years old, Cobo realized that an oil well in her neighborhood was causing her frequent and debilitating illnesses, and she did something about it.
The Milken Institute's Dan Carol discusses trends and opportunities in green finance. (Video)
Techonomy Events
This transformative event will galvanize leaders, innovators, and influencers from diverse sectors to explore and amplify sustainable practices that can drive significant environmental changes. Register.?
Worth's premier tech conference will focus on transformative technologies such as AI, biotech, robotics, and automation as well as their privacy and regulatory implications. Request an invite.
What We’re Reading?
Helping Businesses to Get Actionable Insights With Our Market Research Reports (Connect & Ask me for a Free Sample Report)
6 个月Thanks for sharing. You may also check our report on 'Green Finance Market - Global Forecasts to 2029' at https://www.globalmarketestimates.com/market-report/green-finance-market-4621?