The scientific advances that underpin economic growth and human health would not be possible without research investments. Yet demonstrating the impact of research programs is a challenge, especially in areas that span disciplines, industrial sectors, and encompass both public and private sector activity. All areas of research are under pressure to demonstrate benefits from federal funding of research. This exciting and innovative study demonstrates new methods and tools to trace the impact of federal research funding on the structure of research, and the subsequent economic activities of funded researchers. The case study is food safety research, which is critical to avoiding outbreaks of disease. The authors make use of an extraordinary new data infrastructure and apply new techniques in text analysis. Focusing on the impact of US federal food safety research, this book develops vital data-intensive methodologies that have a real world application to many other scientific fields.

'This book is the first to bring the 'Science of Science Policy' to bear on the important subject of food safety research. The authors develop and describe novel data resources and apply innovative approaches to glean insight into the roles of people in the complex pathways linking bench scientists to food consumers. The book sets the scene and provides a foundation for further work both to apply the same approaches to other contexts and to extend the analysis to quantify further the economic value of food safety research.'

Julian M. Alston - University of California, Davis and and co-author of Persistence Pays: U.S. Agricultural Productivity Growth and the Benefits from Public R&D Spending

'This book exploits new data tools to understand better the effects of public spending on research and development. The authors make creative use of research grant awards, employment records, and bibliometrics to trace the pathways through which food safety research affects the formation of knowledge networks and labor force skills necessary to improve the safety of our food supply.'

Keith Fuglie - Agricultural economist