Everyone Is Equal in the Lottery Drum. More Opportunities for Risky Research, Postdocs, and Female Scientists?

Abstract

The growing importance of third-party funding for research funding and for the evaluation of research performance has magnified well-known problems of peer review: risk-aversion reviewer overburden, the danger of bias and the Matthew effect (“To him who has shall be given”). The Volkswagen Foundation responded to these problems with its “Experiment!” funding initiative and has funded risky research questions for several years. In addition to peer review, lottery also played a decisive role in the unusual application and selection process. This article presents selected findings from accompanying research, highlighting the initiative’s role in exploring new review procedures and creating a space for experimentation that could inspire other funders.