To get started on token curated registries, I recommend the TCR reading list.

Current State Of Scientific Funding

No research is possible without funding, which is usually delivered in the form of grants.

The scientific community spends an extraordinary amount of time, energy, and effort into the writing and reviewing of research proposals, most of which end up not getting funded at all. To receive a grant, researchers must write an application, which can involve weeks to months of work. Depending on the field, the success rates to get accepted can vary between 9%-30%.

These proposals are then reviewed by other scientists in order to pick the winners, who could also be spending their time doing research. This means that, in total, millions of potential research hours are spent just allocating funds every year. Researchers are spending 40% of their time chasing funds to perform their studies.

The worst part is that most research proposals are fundable and solid, but under the current model, there’s hypercompetition and a shortage of grant money, so scientists have to constantly churn grant petitions in hopes of getting a piece of the pie.