How Does Research Work?
Research is integral to developing new technologies that improve lives every day, but it can be hard to connect those dots. Find out how federal research spending impacts you and your neighbors.
The Bottom Line
University research is stronger with federal support, which improves the future of our health care, economy, and society.
Researchers are explorers
Every day, they wake up to tackle the hardest questions, aiming to understand and improve the world, society, and ourselves. Duke researchers are working to solve the biggest challenges: disease like cancer and Alzheimer’s, environmental issues like disaster resilience, and safety concerns like cybersecurity. By using the tools of science, following the evidence, and working together to verify the results, researchers have already changed all our lives – and they’re pushing for more.
Researchers need support
The work of scientific researchers is complicated and requires highly specialized training, equipment, and facilities. For decades, most of the funding for basic and applied research at universities like Duke has come from the federal government, through agencies like the National Institutes of Health. These federal research grants support not only the experiments themselves but also the infrastructure of doing science, such as shared laboratory equipment and hazardous waste disposal.
Learn more about how modern science and federal research funding works:
Indirect Costs
Every dollar of a research grant goes to supporting the work of science. Some pays for direct costs, like materials used in experiments, but some also pay for the indirect costs. Think of it like the roads and bridges of science – the infrastructure that keeps innovation moving.
What Makes Science Special
Modern research is one of the most powerful tools of society, using the scientific method to explore and discover in a thoughtful and self-correcting manner.
- Identify a problem. Researchers find limits to our understanding of the world.
- Propose an answer. A hypothesis is put together, while staying open-minded.
- Test that idea. An experiment is often organized to kick the tires on a hypothesis.
- Have peers check the work. Colleagues help correct mistakes and reduce bias.
- Rinse and repeat! We all gain a better understanding – and researchers have new questions.
Modern Research: An American Enterprise
During World War II, the U.S. government partnered with academic institutions to bring together the brightest minds for the purpose of building the weapon to end the war: the atomic bomb. With that mission complete, the partnership between the federal government and universities turned to using the power of research to tackle challenges in health, engineering, and beyond. This spawned what became the National Science Foundation and other agencies, which have for decades provided crucial support for university research that has driven innovations from GPS to cancer cures, becoming the envy of the world. Imagine what more this partnership can accomplish together?
Federal Research Funding Helps Us All
Thanks in large part to the government support of academic research, America has become the premier research and innovation engine of the world. Not only do these grants support groundbreaking research that turns into better health care and living, they also have many knock on effects.
$2.46B
of economic activity
generated by NIH funding
2nd
largest private employer in NC
Duke research drives local hiring
8,300+
Duke-trained health care professionals
Live and work in NC
