Overview
Open Philanthropy and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation are funding pop-up journals — a new way for scholars to make collective progress on major policy-relevant questions.
A pop-up journal has two main roles, different from those of a traditional journal:
- Curate progress and coordinate research that helps to answer one specific and important research question, formulated with help from experts in the relevant field.
- Provide guidance on which answers to that question are most likely, by providing a synthesis of the best available evidence.
Each journal will publish multiple issues dedicated to the same big question over several years. Therefore, Sloan and Open Philanthropy are inviting organizations to bid for five-year contracts that would establish and run this new kind of vehicle.
The Griliches Question
The first research challenge to be tackled by a pop-up journal is to estimate the return on investment (ROI) associated with research and development (R&D) activities.
The importance of this question — sometimes referred to as "the Griliches Question" — has been recognized since Zvi Griliches began his pioneering studies of innovation in the 1950s. Developing a better understanding of the answer could be hugely important for developing policies to increase growth and productivity.
Today, for example, the US government spends a little over 0.6% of GDP, or 60 cents out of every $100 produced in the country, on scientific and technological R&D. It does so because it believes the fruits of that research are sufficiently valuable to justify spending. But there is little consensus on how large these benefits are. Are we getting $2 in benefits for every $1 we invest? Or is it more like $20?
Since published assessments of the ROI on R&D vary widely, Sloan and Open Philanthropy are challenging researchers to converge on more trustworthy estimates by working together in new ways. Many pieces of evidence may need to be examined and assembled in order to arrive at a satisfying picture of R&D's effects on the economy. Experts who start out with a variety of different expectations about ROI values will, ideally, find more and more consensus, both on the range of possible answers and how those answers depend on specific contexts and assumptions.
A crucial task for the journal's Steering Committee will be both to identify and to generate interest in testable hypotheses that are critical for the research overall and for its eventual application. Refinements on Griliches might concern, for example:
- Average versus marginal ROI
- Government versus private sector ROI
- Short- versus long-term ROI
- National versus global benefits
- Effects on GDP versus health gains or broader measures of social welfare
Regarding this last point, the initial emphasis of our initiative will be on economic estimates of direct concern to decisionmakers — though we appreciate that this hardly captures all the considerations that ought to play a role in making R&D investments.
What is a pop-up journal?
Each pop-up journal will be administered by a contractor and run by a Steering Committee (SC). Together, the contractor and the SC will curate research on the journal's "big question", while also helping researchers coordinate their work and communicating their progress in each issue.
SC members will include prominent scholars and decisionmakers who expect to use the research results. For the Griliches Question, examples could include representatives from:
- The US Congressional Budget Office, which is responsible for scoring how federal funding for R&D affects the federal deficit.
- Bodies like the US's House Appropriations Committee and the UK's HM Treasury that are responsible for weighing whether to spend more money on R&D as opposed to other worthy causes.
- Government departments and cabinets that decide which R&D funding to prioritize and propose.
The journal will have no ideological preconceptions, and the same standard will be applied to any research published therein.
Journal Elements
Each issue of the journal will contain the following elements:
- Several carefully selected and meticulously edited research papers, preliminary preprints, or review articles that include detailed methodological appendices.
- Documented data and code for each paper that can be run or modified to test the robustness of findings.
- An annotated bibliography together with persistent links to the resources referenced.
- Detailed acknowledgements and portraits of people engaged in or supporting the research, including lab, data, and student workers.
- Measures of progress, including how predictions are evolving about which potential answers to the "big question" are most likely. Preferably, this will include expert elicitation of Bayesian updates based on the new research presented in each issue.
- A compelling introductory essay, readable by non-specialists (like policymakers and their staff), that discusses recent progress on the big question, how those advances translate into updated predictions, what remains to reconcile or resolve, etc.
A variety of other elements could also fit the journal's mission, and we welcome suggestions from bidders. For example, issues could include previously published work (accompanied by appropriate permission, references, and context); updates to existing research; announcements of funding awards and opportunities; historical papers of significance (especially in inaugural issues); comments or peer review reports on research; replication reports; and auxiliary research outputs such as data updates, methodological refinements, or preliminary findings. Issues could also include interactive digital features, visualizations, or living documents.
The pop-up journal model also differs from traditional academic publishing in its approach to curation. Because the journal's primary value lies in organizing and presenting progress on answering a given question, it will not only publish original research but will also draw on relevant results published in traditional journals. In addition to referencing such articles, a pop-up journal may also include a summary or a new version of particularly important work.
How to apply
Before receiving further details, potential bidders are asked to submit a preliminary statement of intent that highlights the team’s vision and planned approach, expected timelines and milestones, key personnel, budget estimates, intended audience, and success metrics.
Statements of intent should be 1-2 pages, and should be sent to info@popupjournal.com by July 25, 2025.
Visit this link for further instructions on applying, eligibility requirements, and a review timeline.
Questions
Answers to common questions can be found on the FAQ page. Other inquiries can be sent to info@popupjournal.com. We look forward to seeing your ideas, and thank you for your interest in pioneering this new model of scholarly communication.
Advisory Board
See this page to learn about our advisory board.