Crowdfunding: A potentially effective channel to raise money for lignocellulosic research

Abstract

It is becoming more and more important for researchers to find financing for their research projects and studies. Traditionally, they rely on grants and universities to fund sustained academic research progress. With grants becoming increasingly hard to secure, researchers have to turn to other sources of finance to support their research. Crowdfunding has provided a potentially effective financial tool to raise money from the public for their work. Unlike the traditional peer-review grant systems, which often have a complicated and time-consuming application and evaluation process, the crowdfunding process is generally simple and fast, and it has a high fundraising efficiency. Besides raising money to conduct research, crowdfunding also provides an opportunity for public outreach and science education engendered by this type of funding model. This editorial will give a brief discussion on crowdfunding and its use in lignocellulosic research.