Albert-László Barabási

Apr 24, 2024 | nature.com | Louis Shekhtman |Alexander J. Gates |Albert-László Barabási

While philanthropic support for science has increased in the past decade, there is limited quantitative knowledge about the patterns that characterize it and the mechanisms that drive its distribution. Here, we map philanthropic funding to universities and research institutions based on IRS tax forms from 685,397 non-profit organizations. We identify nearly one million grants supporting institutions involved in science and higher education, finding that in volume and scope, philanthropy is a significant source of funds, reaching an amount that rivals some of the key federal agencies like the NSF and NIH. Our analysis also reveals that philanthropic funders tend to focus locally, indicating that criteria beyond research excellence play an important role in funding decisions, and that funding relationships are stable, i.e. once a grant-giving relationship begins, it tends to continue in time. Finally, we show that the bipartite funder-recipient network displays a highly overrepresented motif indicating that funders who share one recipient also share other recipients and we show that this motif contains predictive power for future funding relationships. We discuss the policy implications of our findings on inequality in science, scientific progress, and the role of quantitative approaches to philanthropy.

Jul 27, 2023 | nature.com | Albert-László Barabási

AbstractA significant portion of funding for art comes from foundations, representing a key revenue stream for most art organizations. Little is known, however, about the quantitative patterns that govern art funding, limiting the fundraising efficiency of organizations in need of resources, as well as optimal funding allocation of donors.

May 19, 2023 | bigthink.com | Albert-László Barabási

ALBERT-LÁSZLÓ BARABÁSI: We live in a very special moment because just about anything we do is tagged by data. That's not only true for us, it's true for our very biological and universal existence. The more we know about the world, the more we understand that it's a very complex system.

Apr 28, 2023 | bigthink.com | Albert-László Barabási

Success in the art world can mean different things to different artists. While some artists work solely for the pleasure of producing art, others seek external recognition, such as being shown in prestigious galleries or museums and selling their craft. The latter —  profitability, recognition, demand — is how success is traditionally defined in the field. But out of all the emerging artists across the world, only a select few will make it to international recognition in their careers.