A team that includes Alyssa Sinclair, the Joan Bossert Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center and a researcher in the Communication Neuroscience Lab at the Annenberg School for Communication, is leading efforts to communicate the science and community impacts of ongoing cuts to federal funding for science and medical research.

The interdisciplinary team that developed an interactive, data-driven map to communicate the economic impact of sweeping cuts to federal funding for scientific and medical research recently received a $336,000 award from Open Philanthropy to sustain and expand their project. Open Philanthropy is a grantmaking organization that aims to use its resources to help others.

The team, comprised of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Maryland, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Utah and University of Oregon, launched the Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP) in March 2025. The interactive website communicates how National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding cuts—including reductions to research infrastructure funding (known as indirect costs), grant freezes and terminations, and proposed reductions in the NIH fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget—result in economic losses and job losses at national, state, county and congressional district levels.

With the new funding from Open Philanthropy, the team plans to expand its analysis to other federal agencies that are impacted, as well as assess and communicate the effects of federal cuts on research projects, public health, the scientific workforce and the economy.

The SCIMaP team estimates that, if implemented, NIH’s proposed drastic reduction in research infrastructure support would lead to an estimated $16 billion in economic loss and 68,000 jobs lost nationwide each year. Research grants that have been frozen and cancelled are associated with additional losses of $11 billion and 48,000 jobs nationwide. Likewise, if the NIH FY26 budget were reduced 40% as the White House proposed, the SCIMaP team projects an economic loss of $47 billion and more than 200,000 jobs lost. Visitors to the scienceimpacts.org website can see estimated economic losses from budget cuts along with a breakdown of impacts to three major NIH institutes that focus on aging, cancer and infectious disease.

“Federal investment in scientific research leads to widespread benefits for people and communities nationwide,” said project co-leader Ms. Sinclair. “SCIMaP aims to reveal the impact that science policy changes will have on local communities, and empower individuals to take actions that align with their values.” 

The SCIMaP team sourced its data from a public database of NIH grants, cancelled and frozen grants from the Grant Witness (previously Grant Watch) database, and local geographic mobility data from census data records. 

In recent years, more than $45 billion in NIH-funded medical research has been made possible annually through grant support to universities, hospitals and research institutes in communities across the U.S. Although less than 1% of the federal budget goes to the NIH, the investment has a significant positive impact on health innovation and the economy.

The United for Medical Research coalition estimates that every $1 invested in scientific research through the NIH produces $2.56 in new economic activity, a gain of more than 250% on investment.