At @IFP, we’ve spent the past 3 years thinking about all the different ways the US government & philanthropy fund R&D. Until now, R&D funders haven’t had a systematic way to match the innovation problem to the right funding tool. We built THE ATLAS OF INNOVATION to fill that gap. atlasofinnovation.org Alongside @UChi_MSA, we’ve boiled down thousands of hours of research into a handful of questions covering how much the R&D funder knows about: - the problem they want to solve - the solution it should have - the team that should build the solution Why the Atlas matters: The US government spends close to $200 billion every year on R&D. And after the Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs, there will be hundreds of billions of dollars in new philanthropic giving. Choosing the correct funding approach to the social problems they’re trying to solve will mean the difference between success and failure. For example, NSF research grants have helped seed breakthroughs from MRI machines to search engines, but grants aren’t built to deliver the kind of industrial speed and scale that a project like Operation Warp Speed required. Picking the wrong funding approach can leave programs behind schedule, over budget, or without anything to show for all the money they spent. How we built the Atlas: 1. We began by creating a matrix of dozens of considerations that a thoughtful policymaker or funder would ideally weigh before deciding how to fund a project. 2. We looked at every major funding approach, from grants to R&D tax credits to advance market commitments, analyzing when they work well and when they fail to meet the mission. 3. We spent months deep in the weeds of contract theory and incentive design, looking at historical examples and the state-of-the-art research in innovation economics. 4. We then worked to turn that research into a tool that time-strapped policymakers and philanthropic funders could rely on at the start of an innovation funding cycle. 5. Three years later, we are launching just that: a new (and visually stunning) website to help funders decide how to best incentivize innovation. And all they have to know… is what they currently know about their innovation goal! The Atlas takes care of the rest. How to navigate the Atlas: Answer questions about your goal to find the funding approach aligned with the information you have. Each funding mechanism has its purpose for particular technologies and specific moments in development. There shouldn’t be an ARPA for every field, just like we don’t need a prize or AMC for every innovation. The Atlas helps you navigate those tradeoffs.

1/ Can AI help researchers check whether published social science results actually reproduce? In our new PNAS paper, we tested this directly in the AI Replication Games: 288 researchers, 103 teams, and real replication packages from quantitative social science.

➡️Attention PhD candidates⬅️ Call for Applications: The first Zurich Summer School in AI & Applied Economics Sept 7th-14th, 2026, including the workshop on Sept 11th-12th submission deadline April 30th! (link below) co-organized with @sergallet @joachim_voth @YanagizawaD, with additional teaching contributions from @RoebenFabian and @andreacicca_

🚨 New AI Games round is live 🚨 Our first AI Games paper is now out at a top general interest journal (see preprint here: econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/… So… we’re launching the next stage 👇

I coded up an open-source, not-for-profit AI paper reviewer that rivals the performance of @reviewer3, @RefineInk, and Stanford Agentic Reviewer (according to @GeminiApp). Costs <$2! Live @ coarse.ink. Plug in paper, @OpenRouter key, and email. #econtwitter.

Less than 2 weeks until this year's DISS 2026 Workshop. Registration at bit.ly/diss2026 If this is too much suspense, check out last year's presentations: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL… @MaCCIcomp @zew_en @EconUniMannheim #econtwitter

It's here - the program for this year's #Disclosure, #Information Sharing, and #Secrecy (#DISS2026) Check it out 👇 and join us on February 23 & 24 at 2 p.m CET / 8 a.m. ET Register here for Zoom: bit.ly/diss2026 @MaCCIcomp @zew_en #econtwitter

🚨CALL FOR PAPERS🚨 🎓#MaCCI Annual Conference 2026 @MaCCIcomp 📅When: March 19-20, 2026 🎯Where: @zew_en 📅Submit by November 15!! #Competition #economics, #law, & #policy - #regulated industries, competition #innovation More info: zew.de/MacciAnnual2026 #econtwitter

🚨 We're hiring! Join @IFP's metascience team to rethink how science gets funded and organized. Fellow & Senior Fellow roles open — $3K referral bonus if we hire your recommendation. Apply by May 11: ifp.org/come-work-with-ifp

EUR 150 billion for #defense investments is a lot of dough for (preferably?) European producers. Production capacities aside, where does Europe stand in the race for #innovative weapons and defense systems? Patents @EPOorg paint a (partial) picture

DISS Workshop 2025 February 24-25, 2025 (NEXT WEEK!) Sessions on (A) Information Sharing (B) Disclosure in Experiments (C) Innovation Disclosure (D) Technology Transfer #EconTwitter Register at bit.ly/diss2025 More info at diss-conference.com

New research alert! Our study investigates the effectiveness of human-only, AI-assisted, and AI-led teams in assessing the reproducibility of quantitative social science research. We've got some surprising findings!

Apply by 6-Feb: @nberpubs Innovation Research Boot Camp, July 11-17 With support from @open_phil: - classes: @pierre_azoulay @Afinetheorem @inaganguli @bfjo @ChadJonesEcon @KRoyMyers me - panel: @mattsclancy @dylanmatt @calebwatney - keynotes: Glenn Hubbard & Ronnie Chatterji

Is your research on #disclosure, information #sharing, and #secrecy? Submit to the upcoming DISS 2025 workshop. 🗓️Deadline: Nov. 15, 2024 Submit: forms.gle/yjxJMHft8LcgywiR6 More info: diss-conference.com/conferen… @zew_en @EconUniMannheim @EPoS224 @MaCCIcomp @Unibocconi #econtwitter

Come to #DICE and do some research with us 👨🏻‍🎓🧑‍🎓👩🏼‍🎓

In the middle of conference paper submission season, don't forget about the 8th Munich Summer Institute. We have a great set of keynote speakers and a beautiful city to visit in May. Submission deadline is Feb 15 (Thursday). munich-summer-institute.org/…

We’re seeking a research assistant for a project into boosting productivity through nurturing innovation & diffusing these ideas across the economy. The role requires data matching, processing, modelling & analysis. Closing: 31 Jan More info: ow.ly/gssi50Qfto9