In a Perspective, Sergio Carbajo and colleagues call for a “Discovery Compact” in the face of the recent destabilization of the postwar compact for science, which reliably supported basic research for decades. The authors argue that restoring funding and predictability in science is not enough. Science, the authors say, needs a new social contract, one with clear roles for government, research institutions, researchers, and the public. The authors argue that science should be seen as public infrastructure, a shared good comprising the capacity to generate knowledge, train people, operate facilities, maintain datasets and standards, and respond to an unpredictable future. In practice, the authors call for predictable, multi-year funding with a view to preserving national research capacity as well as pathways for scientific rigor in fields moving too fast for traditional peer review, support for the scientific workforce—including support for immigration of skilled workers and cross-training of scientists in ethics and the humanities. Additionally, the authors call for a translation research policy that provides testbeds, standards, manufacturing capacity, regulatory pathways, and material procurement to move new discoveries toward application. Governments must provide anticipatory governance, scientific integrity, public accountability, and resilience, the authors add. According to the authors, a strong national discovery compact can and should be the basis for international cooperation. The Perspective concludes with an invitation to begin the process of developing such a compact for the United States.
PNAS Nexus
Discovery as public infrastructure: Renewing the social contract for science
13-Oct-2026