Who Should Own Scientific Research?

We did not set out to ask or answer this question. We stumbled into it after we began our efforts to raise funds for building our new Assured Science system for scientific research. The current traditional system is antiquated and beset with severe funding, mechanism, and data problems. As a consequence, we are wasting enormous amounts of data, talents, and resources that could be used to generate far more benefits to society. Assured Science is designed to solve those problems and is better suited for the volume, scope, and complexity of scientific research today.

The titular question is ostensibly about who would protect and nourish into posterity the founding ideals of Assured Science and its very resourceful revenue-generating electronic infrastructure, The Universe of Research Niches (TURN). Since the new system and TURN are designed considering what is best for scientific research per se, the question in essence is about who should own scientific research, the uniquely human endeavor that has had the greatest impact on the quality of life and environment over the past 400 years, which can only continue to increase in the future. We are not talking about the products of scientific research such as data or patents, but the processes for generating them, ones that use the scientific method or such objective data-driven methods.

Our Founding Ideals

The Assured Science concept for scientific research was developed using both knowledge of the history of science and personal experiences of people intimately involved in designing and conducting experiments. Because historical facts are more generally accessible, we use them to highlight some of the guiding principles we used to develop the new system.

 History of science shows that groundbreaking observations are often unpredictable and come from unexpected people and places. For example, Faraday had little formal education but was an autodidact who made groundbreaking discoveries in Physics (electromagnetism) and Chemistry. He was also instrumental in developing the electrical motor technology (used in centrifuges) and invented the Bunsen burner, ubiquitous laboratory devices even today, which is fitting because he was an excellent experimentalist. The quintessential theorist Einstein kept a picture of him, and another great experimentalist Rutherford considered him ‘one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time’.

Einstein himself, worked in a patent office, not in an esteemed research institution, when he started making groundbreaking contributions to science. Since rest of his professional and personal life have attained a status of folklore in the public consciousness there is no need to say any more.

Here is another example of the unpredictability of where groundbreaking data originate. After the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species, no one could have predicted that a man of religion working in the garden of a small monastery would discover the mechanism of inheritance that was so critical for establishing Darwin’s theory of evolution. At that time, Darwin himself was working on the mechanism of inheritance! It’s no wonder that Mendel’s remarkable experimental data from garden peas were ignored for almost 40 years after their publication in an obscure journal and for almost 20 years after his death. Besides, Mendel did not have the usual ‘lineage’, as he was a student of Doppler of the Doppler Effect, whose fame had little to do with the study of biology or the mechanism of inheritance.

On a similar note, no one could have predicted the origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction – from Mullis, an erratic person with little training in molecular biology, working in a fledgling company at the dawn of biotechnology that was in collaboration with another company well known at the time for making precision optics, including the mirror for the Hubble Telescope. Not in one of the large and leading laboratories studying the structure and function of DNA polymerase enzymes or DNA replication at that time. Polymerase Chain Reaction revolutionized biology and because of the Covid pandemic its initials have been transformed from those primarily used by molecular biologists to refer to the technique into a ‘word’ that is now commonly used to refer to a human health-related condition in all languages all over the world - PCR.

These are but a few illustrative examples that make the point that the history of science is rife with instances underscoring the unpredictability of where new groundbreaking data emerge. These known historical instances almost certainly represent the fortunate few that were published and happen to be noticed by conscientious peers (‘rediscovered’). One can only imagine the actual amount of potentially groundbreaking data that never had the chance to break out, for the wrong reasons. History is also rife with instances of groundbreaking data discovered in experiments that were designed for a different purpose, or when existing data were pursued from an unusual perspective. 

Therefore, to maximize the chance for capturing all groundbreaking data, we concluded that our new system should not have limits to who conducts research and what their subject matter or training is. Furthermore, it should empower people to freely pursue existing data in any viable direction they see fit. In other words, our new system should be limitless and free ranging, focused on producing useful, interesting, or intriguing data in order to capture all opportunities for groundbreaking data to emerge, as well as preserve that possibility because some data could take years or even decades to emerge as groundbreaking.

Another lesson from the history of science is that rapid progress ensues when peers have made the same or related observation, have had the same or related idea, or find the new data useful for their own studies. In general, the first or initial studies provide a solid foundation, including the critical materials and methods, that enables rapid adoption or adaption by others. PCR is an excellent example. Population geneticists who were interested in individual variation were one of the first group of researchers to jump on it, as PCR freed them from the tedium of making multiple genomic libraries and opened-up new avenues of research. Discovery of X-Rays is another example. Many others had observed them, but it was Röntgen who studied X-rays seriously and published his observations, which caused an immediate sensation and led to an explosion of new studies and applications. It is also common that data that are unexplainable at a time or by researchers discovering them, lead to groundbreaking data later or by others who happen to work on it.

Thus, to maximize rapid adoption or adaption of new data by peers for further development and/or diversification in our new system, every data set should be as robust and complete as possible, with disclosure of the complete sets of data obtained in all the experiments conducted for the study (whether they are explainable or not) as well as full details of the materials and methods used to generate them. Our primary focus here is new data origination and their development or diversification. Once data have matured to the stage that practical applications are feasible or obvious, other people or organizations that are better positioned to realize them can take the data out of our system for developing profitable or service-oriented products.

So, our problem was defined: make the new system limitless and free ranging in a way that also produces the most robust and complete data sets from every project and researcher. Our solution to this problem transforms scientific research from being a money sink into a potent revenue generating process.

Our Two Models

The Assured Science system for scientific research is modeled after two of the most limitless, free ranging, and robust systems that we know of.

One of them is Life on Earth. Contrary to some popular renditions, the spectacular success of Life on Earth is not competition, which no doubt contributes; it is the liberty to create and expand niches. For example, consider our bodies. In each, there are around 30 trillion human cells, but our microbiome is an estimated 39 trillion microbial cells including bacteria, viruses and fungi that live on and in us. We have around 20-25,000 genes in each of our cells, but the human microbiome potentially holds 500 times more. The ability of microbes to evolve quickly, swap genes, proliferate, and rapidly adapt to changing circumstances give them and us, their hosts, remarkable abilities to live, perform, and adapt (citation).

The other model is the human activity-based enterprise that is closest in nature and scope to Life on Earth, the Free Market. It flourishes and accomplishes much because of the liberty to create viable ideas and products that others would want or use. Consider the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century there were about 1.6 billion people in the world and now there are more than 8 billion people. In just over the last 100 years there has been a five-fold increase in the population (for comparison consider that it took over 200,000 years for the human population to reach one billion (citation). The Free Market has played a significant role in the World’s capability to sustain this population surge, which includes remarkable progress in medicine (consider that the global life expectancy has almost doubled to about 70 years), science and technology (consider what we accomplish today with machines, including computers and cell phones, and the metadata of human genetic variation including genetic genealogy based on Mendel’s discovery that is now frequently used to solve decades old cold cases), and reduction of poverty (which still exists no doubt but billions have been moved out of poverty in just the last few decades).

Our First Growth

We spent about three years, 2016 to 2019, refining the Assured Science concept by presenting it to people from all walks of life and responding to the feedback we received. The positive comments provided the fuel not only for perseverance but also for addressing the criticisms or concerns we received, which has made the concept stronger. Together they reinforced the belief we had from the very beginning that for our effort to be successful, three things are essential. One, all entities in the scientific research enterprise should find the new system attractive because they can all significantly improve their own performance, whether it is gathering knowledge, making or enabling discoveries or inventions, earning profits, providing service, or pursuing an adventure. Two, the focus should be solely on making the data from every project as robust as possible, without any sociopolitical interference or influences that are extraneous to data. And three, the bedrock values of the system should make everyone comfortable working with it.

In this initial period, excellent people with different expertise and backgrounds joined the effort as advisors, pro bono, in the true spirit embodied in the full form of the phrase, pro bono publico, or ‘for the public good’. Their unwavering support and insightful advice have been critical in keeping the effort moving despite the many challenges encountered along the way. The Assured Science team grew to include Tom Abert (Technology & Life Science Entrepreneur), Rob Roser (Particle Physicist & Big Data Analyst), Irina Agoulnik (Molecular Biologist & Business Woman), Wes Patrick (Geoscientist & Research Regulation Analyst), Duane Chartier (Chemist & Writer), Aaron Goldsmith (Mathematician & Teacher), Sarah LaLiberte (Publicity & Marketing Specialist), Jan Barlow (Computer Scientist, Technologist, & Writer), Glenn Hampson (Science Communication Expert & Public Advocate), and Cedric Wesley (Geneticist & Evolutionary Biologist).

Our First Reckoning

From 2018 to about the middle of 2020, we wrote letters and emails to people and organizations that we thought might be interested in joining the effort and contribute money or resources that are necessary for building the new system. Initially, we wrote brief messages about our effort without going into any details of the new system in the belief but such “elevator pitches” that do not take much time are the best way to get their attention. The response rate was poor, even though each message was refined to better relate to the interest or goals of the person or the organization. This poor response corresponded with our experience from personal meetings. People were dismissive or disinterested when we told them briefly what we were working on but showed significant interest, curiosity, or appreciation, when provided more details. Many even made the time to learn full details of the new system, which took about an hour or more of their time.

Therefore, we started writing longer emails and letters that provided more details. The response rate improved, but still the majority never got back to us. People who did respond appreciated the effort and offered best wishes but no monetary or material help. Some of them made the time for a personal meeting to find out full details. In the ensuing discussions it was clear that they believed that the concept is very viable and liked the idea that everyone can significantly enhance their performance and capabilities in the new system. What appeared to hold them back was whether we would succeed in changing an entrenched culture in such a big enterprise.

Quite a few of them encouraged us to re-make the organization a for-profit venture that would certainly attract investors. But it is not an option for us as it would defeat the main purpose of the effort, which is to help a limitless number of researchers self-sustain their careers in a way that produces the most robust data from every project. This is the reason we transformed scientific research into a revenue generating process and incorporated it as a non-profit so that we can use our revenue for that purpose. However, this does not mean that investors are not welcome to join our effort. They are most welcome, but we request them to bear the risk until we reach the revenue generating stage when they can get a very competitive or high ROI, which could include co-ownership stakes (see later).

Our Second Reckoning

In September of 2018 we had a pivotal personal meeting with the head of an organization that matches universities and other nonprofits seeking funds for specific purposes with appropriate private foundations and funding agencies that might fund them. Based on our correspondence, which had started with the long letter form in July 2018, we were fervently hopeful that she would help us connect with one of the major foundations that were her clients. After she and her team were presented the full details of our new system, including the goals and guiding values, she became pensive for a while and then earnestly advised us that any private foundation that funds to build this new system will own it and ultimately do whatever they want with it. She basically implied that we need to find some other way to build the new system if it were to stay true to its original ideals and mission.

Until the end of that meeting, we had not thought much about who would or should own Assured Science. Generally, no one owns a nonprofit organization, and it is managed by a board or a relatively small number of voting members. Who would be the board or voting members of Assured Science? What would be the process to appoint or select them? How can we ensure that the organization adapts to changing circumstances over time without compromising its founding values and mission?

Our Best Solution

The seed for our answer was already in our minds, but it was there only from the perspective of fund-raising. Started in 1919 and facing the prospects of going out of business soon after, the then privately owned NFL team Green Bay Packers became a publicly owned non-profit corporation in 1923. This conversion not only saved the team but also built it into an American football powerhouse by selling ownership shares to a large number of fans who do not get anything in return except the guarantee that the team stays in Green Bay, Wisconsin and the voting power to see that it performs well. Sale of their ownership shares was expanded five more times to raise money for updates and further development. This broad-based community ownership system and non-profit structure has worked very well for 100 years now, and the team has one of the most loyal fan bases! The Green Bay Packers franchise is currently owned by more than 360,000 fans (holding more than 5 million shares, each of which is valued at about $250 today) with the condition that no one can own more than 200,000 of the ownership shares (~4%). They also have strict rules for circulating the ownership shares across generations so that the ownership remains a broad-based community (citation).

It did not take much research or time for us to conclude that the Green Bay Packers Fund-Raising and Ownership model adapted for our purpose is well suited for building and operating Assured Science. We are thinking of a cap of 1% maximum per person or organization to make the ownership of stakes even broader and to prevent anyone from dominating Assured Science and jeopardizing our founding ideals and mission. Direct ownership by a large community of people and organizations committed to keeping scientific research objective protects it from potential sociopolitical influences and interference from governments (that can vary considerably), as well as liberate it from the narrow focus of private foundations and companies (that can be arbitrary as related discoveries might emerge from unrelated fields). Since Assured Science will be the major funding source for most of the projects in the system, its co-owners will be empowered to effectively deal with any adverse circumstances they might confront and protect its founding values that assure objectivity of scientific research data in the system. We will formalize the ownership details when a contract lawyer and a nonprofit lawyer join our effort.

By the beginning of 2019, we had modified our long form introductory email to include the dual model of fund-raising and broad-based community ownership by like-minded people and organizations. Our approach is to offer Assured Science ownership stake in exchange for money, resources, and/or valuated work that are required to start building the new system, with the agreement that its total value will be adjusted to a maximum of 1% when we reach the revenue-generating stage (that we expect to happen before we begin operation). Many people and companies have tried to convince us to change our ownership model to give control to people who bring in resources now at the embryonic stage. We are not going to change the ownership model, unless we come across a better model for protecting into posterity the founding ideals and mission of Assured Science.

We believe that building a new system well is important but building it the right way is equally, if not more, important. At this juncture, we believe the right way for building the Assured Science system is by forming a broad-based community ownership in exchange for money, resources, and/or work. A critical feature of this new system for scientific research is empowering researchers to by-and-large self-sustain their careers on their own terms so that they can pursue their projects in the best way they see fit and be unconstrained to go where their data take them. Incidentally, it was a musician who rhetorically asked, so why not build a self-sustaining system in a self-sustaining way as well, coincidentally at the time when we were pondering the ownership of Assured Science issue and considering the Green Bay Packers dual model for ownership and fund-raising. The musician’s challenge resolved the issue for us!

Our Prudent Pause

By early 2020, we had realized that the conventional letter writing and emailing was not working. It was clear that most people will dismiss a short email due to the enormity of the effort proposed and that they will not even take the time to read the long one, possibly because we are basically unknown people who are motivated by ideals and little else financially or otherwise. Regarding big organizations, it was also likely that our emails may not even be reaching the right people sufficiently higher up in the hierarchy who can give our effort a serious consideration.

By the Summer of 2020, due to the turbulent double headwinds of the Covid pandemic and the highly polarized politics of the US presidential election, science had become a flashpoint for division instead of clarity. Since one of the goals of Assured Science is to keep sociopolitical influences and interference that are extraneous to data out of scientific research, we decided to temporarily pause reaching out lest we harm our effort with people making the wrong associations. This pause gave us time to think about alternate and better approaches to publicize our effort and garner support and resources for building the new system.

Advertisements in conventional print and their online versions of well-established science-based and general media organizations would be one way to go but they are very expensive. They would quickly get way more expensive because we would need to run the advertisements for a sufficiently long period of time and in multiple outlets to reach a large enough number of people to net those few kindred spirits who would consider becoming co-owners. Thus, this approach was a ‘non-starter’ because of the extremely limited money we have on our hands now.

Our New Strategy 

Since people responded better and positively when they were given more details of the new system, we decided to produce a set of videos that describe our effort in greater detail without divulging proprietary information (which we want to save for benefiting scientific research). Our plan is to use these videos as the vehicle for a large-scale publicity-ownership drive in social media. Here, with a relatively modest expenditure of money and help from our friends and supporters for sharing links to our videos and messages, we can strategically and persistently work our time, the only thing that is free now. We can also experiment and evolve ways and means to reach both a sufficiently large number and a diverse array of people and organizations to recruit potential co-owners, as scientific research benefits all and building the new system for it requires a broad range of expertise. Our plan is to supplement this disseminative approach with more targeted reach-outs to people and organizations that we think can bring in specific expertise and resources that would be needed at different stages of building.

The goal for our publicity/ownership drive in social media is to convince others that ours is a serious and viable effort and get people and organizations interested enough, or intrigued enough, to contact us for more details. These details will be provided in personal meetings. We will go wherever the potential co-owners are or communicate with them through secure video conference (if necessary), after a verification procedure that ensures we are dealing with real people who truly represent themselves, their clients, or their organizations, and are genuinely interested in helping build a completely data-driven, limitless, reliable, and robust system for scientific research.

Those from the United States who commit to continued and active involvement in the building process will become Co-Founding Co-Owners as they would be contributing money, resources, or work (talent) to shape the structure and function of the new system. Others who contribute money or resources but cannot be involved regularly in the building process will become Pioneer Co-Owners. The titles of Co-Founding and Pioneer Co-Owners will be reserved for people and organizations who join the effort at this embryonic stage, when there is no guarantee that their investment will realize accomplishment or profit. In exchange for the risk taken, they will have the opportunity to partake in the adventure of creating a new robust and vibrant universe for scientific research and/or have priority access with plenty of advance time for generating profit or benefit for their own purposes without violating the goals and values of Assured Science. Those that join later, when we are certain of success, will be Co-Owners as they would be valuable members of the organization responsible for determining how Assured Science functions without violating its founding ideals and in exchange they will be provided priority access to the new system for creating their own business or benefit.  

People and organizations in other countries interested in joining our effort will go through a slightly different process as they would be considered as Co-Founding Partners responsible for establishing Assured Science units in their respective countries. We will meet them in person, in their country, before finalizing and formalizing agreements.  

Our New Co-Founder 

With the above plan on our minds, in December 2020, we advertised on LinkedIn for a videographer to produce the videos for our publicity/co-ownership drive. It was quickly obvious how ignorant we were of the videography process and that we had no clue how to screen the applicants for veracity, ability, quality, cost, and most importantly, their willingness to work closely with us to produce the most effective videos possible given our unusual subject matter and limited funds. So, our focus shifted from the perspective of who would produce the videos to who would help us produce the videos. In other words, we looked for a potential Co-Owner with expertise and experience in videography. Out of about a hundred responses at the time of screening there was a standout applicant.

We are happy to welcome Michael Angelo Zervos, an accomplished filmmaker currently based in Dallas, Texas, USA. Michael got involved in the effort more than two years ago, when we had just started thinking about the possibility of making videos for launching our large-scale publicity and co-ownership drive in social media. From the very first phone call, it was clear that Michael had a deep interest in science and joined our team because, in his own words, “he believes that the power of science can improve the lives of everyone, no matter their background or country of origin. He anticipates an explosion of imagination, entrepreneurship, freedom, and discovery after the mass adaptation and implementation of this novel idea.”

Michael contributed his considerable talent, time, and work pro bono to help develop the three videos describing the Assured Science effort and its goals. He was closely involved in all parts of the production of these videos: identifying a suitable videographer to produce the videos, developing scripts, selecting the voice-over artist and directing her recording, selecting and developing visuals rooted in the highly technical accompanying message, selecting background music, reviewing the video editing process, finalizing the videos, and making them public.

Michael exemplifies the type of Co-Owners we are looking for. He came on when we specifically needed his expertise and help. Now, we need people and organizations who bring in the diverse array of other expertise required to start building the new system. Our immediate top priority are experts in social media publicity to expand our publicity drive and experts in contract and nonprofit law to formalize the legal aspects of Co-Ownership. But of course, all others in different areas that are necessary for creating a new scientific research data-based economic powerhouse are also welcome right now, including information technology, finance, marketing, scientists, research institutions, funding agencies, business, and public policy. So are people and organizations in education, literature, visual arts, music, and other areas who value and want a trustworthy and reliable system for scientific research that maximizes benefits to society in general as well as to their respective areas of interest. The earlier you all join the effort the more impact you will have on the building process and more time for developing any business or service plans you might have for using the Assured Science system after it becomes operational, including advance knowledge of its novel and resourceful revenue-generating electronic infrastructure, The Universe of Research Niches (TURN). We are sure that even musicians and other artists will be able to use their creative minds to profit or benefit from TURN.

Our New Contractor

Sam Miskowski, a recent graduate, has also joined our effort because, in his own words: “As a graphic designer, it’s not often that you get an opportunity to devote yourself to a cause you truly believe in. After learning what Assured Science is hoping to achieve, I saw new ways to use my skill set and develop new ones in a meaningful way.” Conscious of our limited funds at this juncture, Sam is working at a reduced concession rate to help us launch and manage our publicity drive in social media. He expects to develop experience using graphic design principles in interactive media and hopes to use his advance knowledge and access to create opportunities for growing his own career using the Assured Science system. 

Our Next Phase

If you have reached this part of the article, then you are our potential Co-Founding Co-Owner or Pioneer Co-Owner. Please consider joining us and get to know the full details. If you are convinced of its potential, join us and we can build this new system together. Imagine that you can leave not only a lasting imprint on the new scientific research universe but also a legacy of continued benefits to society in the future. If you can contribute money or resources for building Assured Science, it’s great. Alternatively, you can contribute time and ideas to work with us in the challenging adventure of creating this new universe. You could also be an active supporter or advisor at this juncture by sharing any ideas you may have on how to make our publicity/co-ownership drive more effective, or how to take our effort to the next stage as quickly as possible.

If you have not already done so, please watch the three videos that Michael helped produce for our publicity/co-ownership Drive, in sequence beginning with Video 1 (using the links provided below). If you like what you see and hear in them, please freely share the link to our videos over social media. We would be very thankful for this gracious gesture. Please note that one way you can become a Co-Owner of Assured Science is by providing us Co-Founders or Pioneer Co-Owners from your social media groups, connections, colleagues, friends, and family. Just inform them to let us know your name and email address when they join us as Co-Owners.

Video 1 describes why the current system is failing us; Video 2 describes what new electronic infrastructure would help us make scientific research data-driven and limitless; and Video 3 describes how everyone in the scientific research enterprise can maximize their own benefits in the new Assured Science system and how you can become its Co-Founding Co-Owner or a Pioneer Co-Owner.

If you are interested in finding out more about our Assured Science Team please go to the Co-Founding Co-Owners Section of the Join Us page of our organization’s website. And you can get more information on other aspects of our organization and the effort from the other pages of Our Website.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

The Assured Science Team