Workforce Training: A Quasi-Experimental Approach Using the Effects of Research Funding

This project examines the impact of different research funding structures on the training of future scientists, particularly graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and the impact on their subsequent outcomes. Our proposed research begins by examining the way in which research (and most training) is funded and done. We classify projects by whether they are large or small scale (by funding size); multiple researchers; or multiple institutions. We construct different measures of project teams, and capture the subsequent trajectories of the students and postdoctoral fellows during and after their contact with the teams. We make use of a natural experiment and quasi experimental statistical techniques to separate the effect of funding structures from the other factors contributing to the outcomes of interest.