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Money-Work: Science Funding as Relational Socioeconomics.

Janet Vertesi¹, David Reinecke²

¹Sociology Department, Princeton University, NJ, USA.

Social Studies of Science

|May 25, 2026

Summary

Scientists spend significant time on funding acquisition and management, termed "money-work." This study reveals the intricate, everyday economic activities embedded within scientific research, challenging the separation of science and finance.

Keywords:

funding money political economy relational work socioeconomics

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Area of Science:

Sociology of Science
Science Funding Studies
Economic Sociology

Background:

Scientific work accounts often neglect the substantial effort scientists dedicate to funding.
Existing research on scientific funding primarily uses political, economic, historical, or policy perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and explore the concept of 'money-work' in scientific research.
To analyze the everyday practical work, action, and interaction related to funding acquisition, management, and dispersal by scientists.
To investigate the intimate connection between science and money in contemporary laboratory settings.

Main Methods:

Utilizing a relational socioeconomic approach.
Conducting ethnographic studies directly at the laboratory bench.
Applying Zelizerian concepts such as earmarking, making good matches, and developing valuation criteria.

Main Results:

Scientists engage in 'money-work,' mundane yet crucial economic activities intertwined with scientific endeavors.
The study demonstrates that science and money are not separate but intimately connected in practice.
Identified specific mechanisms like earmarking and valuation criteria used by scientists in financial dealings.

Conclusions:

A new framework for laboratory ethnography is proposed, highlighting the political economy of science funding.
Understanding the relational work, currency fluctuation, and valuation in science funding is crucial for future scholarship.
This perspective is essential for navigating the current crisis in science funding and for the next generation of science studies.