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Matt Clancy

@mattsclancy.bsky.social
4.6K followers 491 following 291 posts

Runs Open Philanthropy’s Innovation Policy program. Creator of newthingsunderthesun.com, a living literature review about innovation. Website: mattsclancy.com.

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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Check out the rest of the illustrations here: atlasofinnovation.org/library And while you’re there, it’s also worth taking a look at the map, which tries to convey a bunch of information about these policies through position, elevation, vegetation, structures, and more.
An overhead view of islands, with small labels for different policies
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Lastly, I think the most original illustration is for “Advance Market Commitments,” where we imagine building a town to provide a rationale for a train line to enter the region.
Workers build a track and train station, while unfinished tracks and a train can be seen in the distance.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
For “R&D Subsidies”, we wanted something that captured the way a subsidy is usually undirected, and supports R&D effort at lots of different kinds of orgs, like the wind pushing forward all boats.
Five sailboats, all with different colored sails, move swiftly across choppy waters, with a stiff wind blowing.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Third, we have “Research Contracts,” - when you just tell a performer exactly what you want them to do.
A woman holds up a blueprint for a complex vase, while a glassblower begins to shape it.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
For “Intramural science” (think national labs or my old employer, the USDA Economic Research Service) we’ve got scholarly work happening at a remove from the rest of society - in this case on a mountain top.
A backpacker walks up steps along the side of a mountain to a Tuscan stone building where scientists are at work.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
To celebrate the debut of the Atlas of Innovation, a guide to funding innovation from IFP and the Market Shaping Accelerator, a thread of my favorite Atlas illustrations (by R. Kikuo Johnson)! First: “milestone payments” - get it? (Atlas explainer here: www.abundanceandgrowth.org/p/an-atlas-o...)
A backpacker crosses a wide river using stepping stones.
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Joshua Rosenbloom @jlrosenbloom.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
@mattsclancy.bsky.social as usual offers useful insights about the fate of social science funding at NSF Social science at the NSF open.substack.com/pub/abundanc...
open.substack.com
Social science at the NSF
History rhymes
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
And in case you missed it, some more thoughts from Jordan on the ways replication is underrated:
open.substack.com
Is replication pro-progress or anti-risk?
The role of research integrity in scientific abundance
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
It’s a debate between @jdworkin.bsky.social and @stuartbuck.bsky.social on the value of replicating research!
open.substack.com
Back and Forth on the Value of Replication
From Stuart:
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
PS - for the interested folks out there who are not PhD students or academics, this course isn’t designed for you. Instead, may I recommend the IFP metascience 101 podcast series! ifp.org/the-metascie...
ifp.org
The "Metascience 101" Podcast Series | IFP
A nine-episode set of interviews that doubles as a crash course in the debates, issues, and ideas driving the modern metascience movement
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Apply by January 9, 2026 (this Friday!) for consideration. Be sure to share with the less online students you know. We welcome applications from anyone who has completed the equivalent of a first year economics PhD. ifp.org/economics-of...
ifp.org
Ready to apply? More details below. | Institute for Progress
Our target audience is current or recent students who have completed at least one year of a PhD program in economics or related fields. Acceptance, however,
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
11. Competition and Innovation, Mitsuru Igami 12. Patent Policy, Janet Freilich 13. Advice on Research and Careers, panel of Caleb Watney, Heidi Williams, Matt Clancy
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
6. Science and the Returns to R&D, Matt Clancy (me) 7. AI and Innovation, Kevin Bryan 8. Innovation Policy, John Van Reenen 9. Immigration and Innovation, Michael Clemens 10. Regulation, Heidi Williams
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Schedule: 1. Introduction to the economics of Idea, Ben Jones 2. Idea-based models of economic growth, Chad Jones 3. The supply of Innovators, Ina Ganguli 4. Open Science as an Economic Institution, Pierre Azoulay 5. The Direction of Science, Kyle Myers
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
The course runs from early February through late March. Each week is an interactive zoom lecture from a different expert in the relevant field, plus a meeting with a small group of other students to discuss assigned readings.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Are you a PhD student interested in the economics of innovation? The Economics of Ideas, Science, and Innovation Online short course, hosted by IFP, is back for the third time! ifp.org/economics-of...
ifp.org
Economics of Ideas, Science, and Innovation Online PhD Short Course | Institute for Progress
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Alex Armlovich @aarmlovi.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Excited to share I'm joining @openphil.bsky.social under @mattsclancy.bsky.social as the housing program officer for the Abundance & Growth Fund! Launching Niskanen's housing team has been a blast, & I'll remain a Senior Fellow with them But I'm thrilled to start supporting housers everywhere!
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Gaétan @gderasse.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
🔎 Patent citations are everywhere in innovation research. But do they really trace how ideas spill over between inventors—or are we mistaking legal paperwork for knowledge flows? 🧐 New on #ThePatentist: www.thepatentist.com/p/patent-cit... #patents #innovation #spillovers
thepatentist.com
Patent citations: Tracing spillovers or chasing shadows?
Measuring how ideas move across firms and regions
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Brian Nosek @briannosek.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Excellent retrospective approach to a timely prospective question.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Thanks Brian!
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
You can read the full paper here. It’s short and I think pretty transparent! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
What if NIH had been 40% smaller?
Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
We find that drugs that cite at-risk research are, on average, no less likely to get priority reviews at FDA and do not have worse implied valuations by the stock market. In short, we don’t have reason to believe drugs linked to at-risk research are worse.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Are drugs linked to at-risk research worse? We look at two proxies for drug value: whether a drug gets priority review at the FDA, and stock market reactions when a drug patent is announced. Yes, very imperfect, but we think still worth looking at.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Finally, it’s less common, but in some cases, drugs directly acknowledge support from specific NIH grants in their patents. Only 40 drugs acknowledge NIH grant support, but of that group, 14 (35%) acknowledge support from a grant that is at-risk.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
We consider other ways to link drugs with at-risk grants. For example, we find that 12% of drugs have more than a quarter of their patent-to-paper citations going to at-risk research. See the paper for some examples of specific drugs.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
This doesn’t mean 51% of drugs wouldn’t exist if the NIH had been 40% smaller. Various caveats cut in different ways (see discussion in the online appendix). But we take this as evidence that the benefits of at-risk NIH research are wide and diffuse.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Most new drugs are protected by patents. We look at these patents to see if they cite research funded by at-risk grants. We find 51% of drugs have a patent that cites one or more articles funded by an at-risk grant.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Would anyone miss the research funded by these at-risk grants? To help assess that, we link these at-risk grants to drugs, focusing on all 557 FDA approvals for new molecular entities approved in the 21st century.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
We have the real priority scores for all NIH grants made over 1980-2007. Since NIH mostly funds research by working down these priority scores until the budget runs out, we can identify the grants that would probably have been cut with a smaller budget.
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
New research by Pierre Azoulay, Danielle Li, Bhaven Sampat and me. Earlier this year, the President’s budget proposed a 40% cut to the budget of the NIH. This motivated us to ask: what if the NIH had been 40% smaller?
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Chris Elmendorf @cselmendorf.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
If you're a thinker or do-er in the housing space and you haven't subscribed to @michaelwiebe.bsky.social's substack, you're doing it wrong! It's a living urban econ lit review, inspired by @mattsclancy.bsky.social's New Things Under the Sun. Great stuff! Here's an example ⤵️.
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Alexander Berger @albrgr.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Nice article on returns to R&D in MIT Tech Review, ft. our own @mattsclancy.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/17/...
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Otis Reid @otisreid.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Deadline to apply to these positions is today! Big opportunity to accelerate growth and progress in housing, energy, clinical trials, and more.
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Centre for Cities @centreforcities.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
PODCAST | Remote working and the future of cities 🎙️ @andrewcities.bsky.social is joined by @mattsclancy.bsky.social to discuss hybrid working, productivity, cities and the future of work. Listen to the pod 🎧👇
buff.ly
City Talks: Remote working and the future of cities - Centre for Cities
Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Matt Clancy, Senior Programme Officer at Open Philanthropy and the creator of New Things Under the Sun, a
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Apply by July 27 for full consideration! Know someone who might be a good fit? Earn $5k if your referral results in a hire: shorturl.at/S3N8j (4/4)
shorturl.at
External Referrals - Open Philanthropy
External Referrals
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
There are two kinds of position posted, which we’re calling specialists (who will focus on 1-2 of the above areas) and generalists (who will have a broader portfolio). Full job descriptions below. (3/4) Specialist: shorturl.at/yF9Hq Generalist: shorturl.at/aWGnm
shorturl.at
Senior Program Associate/Program Officer, Abundance and Growth (Specialist Track)
Open Philanthropy is looking to hire up to four new team members to join our Abundance and Growth https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/abundance-and-growth/#:~:text=This%20fund%20supports%20efforts%...
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
We’re interested in putting together a team with expertise across many different possible areas: housing policy, energy, infrastructure, state capacity, healthcare and clinical trials, economic dynamism, and more. (2/4)
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
The Abundance and Growth Fund at Open Philanthropy is hiring! We’re looking for 2-4 people to help expand this new $120+ million program to accelerate economic growth and reduce the cost of living through strategic grantmaking and research. (1/4) www.openphilanthropy.org/research/ann...
openphilanthropy.org
Announcing Our New $120M Abundance And Growth Fund | Open Philanthropy
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Abundance and Growth Fund, which will spend at least $120 million over the next three years to accelerate economic growth and boost scientific and tech...
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Nicolás Lillo @nicolillo.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Este es el futuro.
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Sebastian Buhai @sbuhai.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Enter the 1st pop‑up journal, true living R&D ROI lab for Zvi Griliches: revisiting his seminal question, catalyzing his legacy in real‑time policy, and promising impact no posthumous Econ Nobel (which he more than deserved!) ever could. Arguably the wisest academic publishing initiative in decades.
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Shane McHugh @shanemchugh.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Such a clever idea. You could imagine its application to all sorts of wicked problems…
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Anders Sandberg @arenamontanus.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
This is a really cool kind of initiative: a pop-up journal on the returns to public R&D: popupjournal.com. Pop-up journals to coordinate research on questions that matter!
popupjournal.com
The Pop-Up Journal Initiative
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Sam MacAulay @sammacaulay.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Interesting initiative!
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Love this - need more innovation in academic publishing
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Alfred P. Sloan Foundation @sloanfoundation.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Very excited to join with Open Philanthropy on an all-out sprint to answer some of the thorniest practical questions in economics. First question: What return do we get when we invest in R&D?
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Tim Bresnahan @timobres.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Good luck with this! An interesting innovation in the organization of the study of innovation.
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David Marx @digthatdata.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
interesting idea. we need more innovation in the research publication/curation space.
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Jakob Schneebacher @jschneebacher.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Interesting metascience experiment: a pop-up journal! Read @mattsclancy.bsky.social's thread for details and how to apply.
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Alex Everhart @aoeverhart.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Very cool!
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Matt Clancy @mattsclancy.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
We are lucky to be supported in this initiative by a fantastic advisory board that will help us select the winning bid for this journal and select the big questions for future Pop-Up Journals: Matt Clancy Doug Elmendorf Ted Gayer Danny Goroff Jonathan Haskel Margaret Levi Paul Niehaus Heidi Williams
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