Virtually every funding agency purports to support Blue Skies Research. However, assuming the objective is to eliminate all external constraints on research, an environment most scientists enjoyed before ~ 1970, few if any extant schemes meet that objective. Their biggest problem is that they use peer review, that intensely bureaucratic instrument for legitimising second guessing. As it is well known, it stifles creativity. Its use may be fine in the mainstreams, but it automatically descriminates against researchers who do not accept the status quo.
With BP support, I set up the Venture Research inititiative in 1980. We specifically set out to stimulate unpredictable discoveries. We fostered individual freedom, and encouraged scientists to challenge what we thought we knew. We also created an environment in which applicants could select themselves. It took some years before we were confident that we had an efficient modus operandi. Some characteristics of our scheme were:
- Funds should be "free"- that is available for use as required
- No boundaries
- No deadlines
- No exclusions
- No milestones
- No peer review
- No priorities
- No specific objectives other than to understand or explore
- Researchers free to go in any direction at any time
- Risk to be selected and managed by the researchers
Above all, we aimed to foster mutual trust and respect.
BP ended its support in 1990 as part of a new corporate policy of concentrating exclusively on core business. During the decade of support, we identified 26 groups with radical agendas. All except one had been turned down by peer review, and that one offered only half-hearted endorsement. Some of their successes are listed in the Table .