Our Goal: Revolutionize Science Funding
We aim to make science fair for everyone, with a path to funding for documented scientific and open-source contributions, including work by independent researchers.
SciWard is our AI-assisted funding system. The beta is live; the next milestone is a five-month public adversarial test.
🟢 LIVE
SciWard beta application
🟡 TESTING NEXT
5-month public adversarial test
🔵 CURRENT OPERATING MODEL
Node.js/PostgreSQL with centralized administrative oversight; no planned ICP migration
SciWard in 20 seconds
1. Published work
Research, software, ORCID and GitHub records provide documented contributions.
↓ 2. AI-assisted evaluation
SciWard evaluates documented contributions using an experimental AI-assisted assessment process.
↓ 3. Funding allocation
Available donated funds are allocated using those assessments.
↓ 4. Payment & audit trail
Payment transactions can be inspected through the project’s transparency records.
Experimental: AI assessments are heuristic and can be wrong. Public testing, human oversight and independent criticism are part of the design.
How the pieces fit together
SciWard is the umbrella project. SciWard is its main science and open-source funding system. Symbiote is a related AI-safety initiative.
Evidence & citations
How the projects fit together
See the SciWard brand architecture →
Current projects and status
SciWard
Develop AI software distributing funds to scientists, software authors, and marketers of science.
Testing & Evidence
See how SciWard is being tested for reliability, reproducibility, and resistance to manipulation.
Other Projects
Explore SciWard’s secondary and experimental initiatives, including publishing and grants infrastructure.
Other problems we work on
Save Basic Science
Support Every Discovery
Protect Against Predatory Publishers
Funding for Scientists
Publishing in XML
Post-Moderation
The problem we are testing a solution to
Research funding usually depends heavily on proposals and institutional selection.
SciWard experiments with another approach: evaluating documented work and allocating available donated funds based on those assessments. Why test another funding model →
What SciWard is — and isn’t
SciWard is: a functioning beta; an experimental funding-allocation system; and an AI-assisted assessment process for documented work.
SciWard is not: a proven measurement of scientific impact; a replacement for all existing science funding; or fully decentralized yet.
Who we are & how we operate
the SciWard initiative is an online project developing AI-assisted funding and evaluation tools for science and open-source software. Independent scrutiny: We invite researchers and specialists to challenge our claims and publish their conclusions independently. Review the project → It is not currently a separate incorporated charity; donations for the project are legally received and controlled by Victor Porton’s Foundation. See About Us, Product Status, and Key Contributors for current project information.
Founding member
Victor Porton is a mathematician and software developer and a founding member of the SciWard initiative. The Key Contributors page links to ORCID, Google Scholar, GitHub, publications, and source documents so readers can evaluate his work directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is science funding, and why is it important?
Science funding provides financial support to researchers, scientists, and research institutions to conduct experiments, develop new technologies, and make scientific discoveries. It helps researchers access essential resources, explore new ideas, and contribute to scientific progress.
2. How can researchers find scientific research funding?
Researchers can explore government grants, university programs, nonprofit organizations, crowdfunding platforms, and decentralized funding initiatives. SciWard explores an AI-assisted approach that evaluates documented scientific and open-source contributions to help allocate available donated funds.
3. What are the different sources of funding for research?
Funding for research can come from government agencies, private foundations, universities, nonprofit organizations, individual donors, and crowdfunding platforms. Emerging DeSci initiatives also explore transparent and community-supported approaches to distributing research funding.
4. Why is basic science funding important for scientific discoveries?
Basic science funding supports fundamental research that expands our understanding of the world. It allows scientists to investigate new theories, explore unanswered questions, and develop knowledge that may lead to future technological and medical breakthroughs.
5. What is open science funding, and how does it support researchers?
Open science funding supports research that encourages accessible publications, shared datasets, open-source tools, and transparent research methods. It helps researchers collaborate, share knowledge, improve reproducibility, and make scientific findings more accessible.
6. What is decentralized science (DeSci), and how does it work?
Decentralized science (DeSci) uses technologies such as blockchain, smart contracts, and community-based governance to improve how scientific research is funded, managed, and shared. It aims to make research processes more transparent, collaborative, and accessible beyond traditional institutional systems.
7. How does DeSci funding differ from traditional research grants?
Traditional research grants generally involve applications, institutional eligibility requirements, and centralized review committees. DeSci funding explores alternative models involving transparent transactions, community participation, and contribution-based funding. These approaches aim to create additional opportunities for researchers and independent contributors.