Focus on Risk-Taking and groundbreaking research

One publication brings together experiences and reflections from researchers at the Foundation’s Centers of Excellence. Researchers highlight the importance of time, flexibility, and strong interdisciplinary research environments when pursuing ambitious and uncertain research ideas. They also point to a central challenge: scientific uncertainty can sometimes translate into career risk, particularly for early-career researchers.

The second publication is a research brief prepared by the Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy (CFA). The brief synthesizes the international literature on uncertainty, risk-taking, and research funding, and examines how research funders assess, accommodate, and manage different forms of uncertainty in research and grant applications

Together, the two publications point to a central challenge: how do we create room for the most ambitious and potentially transformative ideas in a research system that often rewards predictability, feasibility, and measurable outcomes?

The publications form part of the Danish National Research Foundation’s ongoing efforts to support ambitious, curiosity-driven research and to strengthen the conditions that enable scientific breakthroughs and transformative discoveries.