Global Research Funding and Development

Muhammad Akram, Chukwuebuka Egbuna, Zarfishan Riaz, Dowluru SVGK Kaladhar, Waill A. Elkhateeb, Ananta Swargiary, O.C.U. Adumanya, Yalemwork Amare, Gunvanti Rathod, El Hadji Seydou Mbaye, Pragnesh Parmar, Chengming Fan, Pérez-Jorge David, Kubkomawa Hayatu Ibrahim, Ubi Essien Isaac, Masoud Mirzaie, José D. Méndez, G. Chelladurai, Suleiman Yahaya Isah, Gaweł Sołowski, Vanessa de Andrade Royo, Murthy Chavali, Johra Khan, Chukwuemelie Z. Uche, Kingsley C. Patrick-Iwuanyanwu, Mohammed Messaoudi, Habibu Tijjani, Michael C. Olisah, Jonathan C. Ifemeje, Jude C. Chikwendu, Uchenna E. Odoh, Chinaza G. Awuchi


Introduction
Research is a deliberate and systematic inquiry or investigation to establish a fact. It could find expression in any discipline or area of the society. Research could focus on any desired discipline like science, education, economy, administration, etc. But sometimes, the outcome of scientific research are unreliable because they suffer biases and conservatism (Severin and Egger, 2021). To surmount these challenges, resources, human/investigator(s), research funds, etc are necessary for impactful research.
A research fund is a grant or financial assistance provided to an investigator or researcher to enable him or her meet certain research expenses ( Fig. 1) to ensure that the aim of the research is attained for the progress of the society (Gläser and Serrano-Velarde, 2018;Heyard and Hottenrott, 2021;Severin and Egger, 2021). Since the 19 th century, after the 2 nd world war, the research system has been regulated by universities and research organizations (Heyard and Hottenrott, 2021). The encouragement of policies of funding agencies, scientific theory, and methodology improvements results in the intellectual development of science. The intellectual progress of science is not only elevated in technological progress but scientists' motivations and the infrastructural, organizational, and financial atmosphere of research production. Agencies such as the Pakistan Science Foundation, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the World Bank, and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) among hundreds of others are examples of the promoters of scientific research. They provide funds for research projects in the fields of biotechnology, agricultural sciences, chemical sciences, biological sciences, computer or This work is published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits free reuse, remix, redistribution and transformation provided due credit is given. information technology, environmental sciences, genetic engineering, medical sciences, earth sciences, mathematical sciences, physics and sociology. Funding encourages brainstorming and the development of novel ideas and innovations that build on established knowledge for cutting-edge science. As a result, alternative methods, technologies, techniques, and processes are translated to intellectual concepts by inventions and innovations (Tirmizi et al., 2020). Furthermore, to share research experience and scientific knowledge with researchers, these foundations provide grants to organize workshops, symposiums, conferences and seminars where scientists disseminate/present their research findings or give information on scientific topics which is beneficial and informative. In addition, the foundation awards cash prizes to scientists and researchers to encourage and establish linkages to build research networks (Etzkowitz, 1998;Aldrich, 2012).

Significance of Research Funding
There are several reasons why research funding is essential to scientists. Firstly, research is good for the country's economy, and nearly every major and successful industry establishes companies by new products, methods, and ideas. Secondly, funded research raises the economy of a country because it provides job opportunities, novel products and ideas developed in Research and Development (R&D) for successful businesses. In the past few decades, The US and China have stood out as the largest source of research funding. The UK, India, Pakistan and European Union have also funded very successful projects in the past. The significance of research cannot be overestimated. The students are not left out because many successful graduate students wouldn't have advanced their careers without funding/grants.
Research on cancer, diabetes mellitus and newly emerging diseases by microbes (especially viruses e.g.  are the major focus of science in the present decade. The treatment of these diseases would not advance without funds and fellowships from the government. If funds are responsibly utilized for research, the society may sooner find its cure. Furthermore, scientists are needed to solve climate change problems like global warming, ozone depletion, etc. Research solutions can make people live without fear, and these researchers need funding that governments and organizations provide. The amount of funding and its resources directly affect the services, development, and quality of the study. For example, academic achievement and quality of education are directly linked to funding. Similarly, the quality of drugs, care given in the hospitals, and the environment can be improved by increasing research funding. However, some areas show different outcomes, as only an increase in research funds may not be the solution but requires skilled scientists. Funding is required to improve technologies, products, services, and scientific research, which is only helpful if the funds if used appropriately and regulations are in place to maximize their value.

Research Proposal and its Purpose
A research proposal is mostly a convincing letter to a funding agency by an investigator for securing grants. The purpose of the proposal is to share an idea with a funding agency while presenting convincing evidence that the research in which the investigator is interested in is remarkable and worthy of study. A research proposal also indicates the novelty of the methodology and approach with testaments that the investigator is the right person to accomplish the task. Every research investigation starts with the conceptualization of an idea before work commences in developing a research proposal (Fig. 2). The components of a research proposal include (Abdulai and Owusu-Ansah, 2014 Essentially, the first page is usually the cover page which should contain the title of the research, names of investigators (including the principal (compulsory) and co-investigators), institutional affiliations (including their degrees) and contact details (e-mail id's and phone numbers) (Sudheesh et al., 2016).

Research Methodology
In research methodology, the researcher will have to discuss the methods to be used in order to achieve the goals of the project. The research methodology should explain what type of research it is, how the work should be carried out and analyzed. Also, it should indicate any tool or material to be used, then justify the use of the methods. This enables the funding agency to evaluate and validate the reliability of the research in order to provide funds for it.

Sources and Types of Research Funding
Research funding is primarily provided by government or dedicated organizations. There are numerous sources of grants. We have provided links to some sources below:

Non-commercial a) Charities
Charities provide research funding that accompanies the objectives of departments from government and research councils. Charities aim to create knowledge for the sake of the benefits to the society. There are many research funding charities with a broad range of objectives and are managed by charity laws because there are some obligations and limitations to using charity funds for research. Prohibition in commercializing research outcome is usually a rule within such charity.
Medical Research Association Charities leads the UK's charities, which falls within medical and health research funding charities. Presently, there are about a hundred members in "Wellcome Trust", a global charitable foundation and the world's largest charity, whose aim is to enhance human health by diseasespecific research funding. It supports the discovery of effective treatments and cures for different serious diseases. The medical research charities are given to researchers to improve human health through research and education by focusing on a specific disease that falls within the charitable objectives.

b) National Academies
The four national academies that are foreign-based with similar objectives were discussed.

 Academy of Medical Science
The academy of medical science is an organization established in 1998 in the UK and represents the diversity of medical science. Academy of medical science aims is to promote excellence, influence research and policy, and develop brilliant research. Through a collection of scholarship schemes, it supports the careers of health and biomedical researchers, career policy work, monitoring programmes and career development events (Savill, 1999).

 British Academy
British Academy is the national academy of the UK which was created in 1902 and in the same year received its royal charter that serves humanities and social sciences, which is the academic discipline concerned with society and their relationship with individuals. British Academy main objective is to study and conduct research for societies, people, and cultures. The academy provides various fellowships and scholarships to support career development and academic research (Appuhami and Bhuyan, 2015;Astigarraga et al., 2019).

Conceptualization of idea
Study design Collaboration Developing research proposal Scientific and ethical committee approval  Royal Society Royal Society is an independent scientific academy of the UK that supports scientists to promote excellence in science through the giving of donations for various purposes, from modernization of laboratories to conference level.
 Royal Academy of Engineering (Walkenhorst et al., 2015). Royal Academy of Engineering is the National Academy of UK for engineering and technology. The academy is made to promote brilliant and successful engineers for the benefit of the society. The academy pursues the activities of engineering and supports the engineers. The academy provides scholarships and prizes that allows closer contact between industry and academy. Some of the Departments of the UK Government that provides funding are as follows:  Department of Defense Science and Technology Laboratory.  Department of Health.  Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.  Department of Transport.
The key roles of these national academies are:  A forum for debate and engagement.  Funding bodies support new nationally and internationally research.  For world-leading researchers and scholars in independent fellowship, and  Legal support for their respective.

c) UK Research and Innovation
UK Research and Innovation is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization, also known as Quango. The organization is funded by government sectors yet independent of government and creates the most pleasing environment for research. Funds for research are awarded to researchers in different areas ranging from biological and medical sciences to engineering, arts and humanities, physics, social sciences, astronomy, chemistry, and economics. The following are funding councils that support universities for translation activities and research programs:

d) European Commission
In Europe, European Commission (EC) gives funding opportunities for research and innovation to UK HEIs (higher education institutions) through Horizon 2020. EC aim to promote the participation of the UK in Higher Education programs, funded research programs of the European Commission and other activities related to which includes:  Timely spread the information on funding opportunities of the European Commission.  Supports the sponsors and subscribers.  To European Commission Projects, it advises guidance and highquality training.

Commercial Funding
Private funding sources are an excellent choice for the scientific project because the approval time is shorter. Here, private companies or industries fund a wide variety of activities, an alternative to securing bank loans. Several companies and institutes give valuable services by having more relaxed lending necessities and providing fast funding for small businesses. For example, Honda (fuel cells and robotics), Laurel (care product), DuPont (broadly defined polymer science) provides better funding for scientific communities. Hence, mid-range universities require funding to conduct worldclass research with university-industry linkages worldwide (Wright, Clarysse et al. 2008).

Conclusion
Funds or research grants are always a part of quality research. There is always a financial angle to a well-designed research plan and its outcomes. The importance of a grant cannot be overlooked for quality research. The research grant is critical and plays a pivotal role in the quality outcome that can stand the test of the scientific world. Today, several funding agencies support research proposals for the betterment of human lives. Virtually all countries with booming economic growth have strong agencies financing research and development.