The Scifund initiative has reached its final phase. Now all the projects are publicly visible online on RocketHub.
I am surprised to see how many projects have been presented! The crowd-funding seems to be a good idea to make science, specially in these times of crisis. I will keep it in mind for when I will finish my PhD and start looking for a post-doc. If I won’t find any position soon, it seems to be a good way to obtain funding for a short research project, and survive a bit more :-).
The blog of the initiative is very interesting. Here are some of my favorite posts so far:
- the story of a successful case of crowdfunding for a research project
- metaphors in science: how to use metaphors to describe complex scientific things to common people. For example, an electrophoresis can be explained as a thin forest that small and big animals have to cross.
And some projects I find interesting:
Cat Nails:
A project to investigate the diversity of a rare plant in South Africa. If you contribute 10,000 $ to the project, the researcher will name a new species of this plant in your honour. I wonder if someone will contribute that!
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/3761-cats-nails-a-parasitic-plant-of-south-africa
Beethoven’s open research repository
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/3755-beethoven-s-open-repository-of-research
Support Zombie Research
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/3737-support-zombie-research
Clamystress:
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/3768-chlamystress
I’d like to announce a new crowdfunding platform expressly for scientific research and technology: http://www.fundageek.com We have a unique place in the crowdfunding ecosystem since unlike most of the other crowdfunding sites that have a creative focus (art, film, music, etc.) all we do is science and technology. We’re seeking project in the physical and life sciences, engineering and education. Please check out FundaGeek!
Cheers,
Daniel