Thematic research funding and the entry of researchers into prioritized areas: the case of green energy technology in Korea

Thematic funding schemes have been implemented to encourage researchers to participate in prioritized areas by providing focused resources and to incentivize shifts in research topics. This study investigates how government funding led to new entrants in the field of green energy technologies, which were targeted by Green Growth mission of the Korean government, and the extent to which it influenced changes in publications. Although many researchers entered the field through the mission, a significant proportion of them subsequently left. The impact of new entrants on publications and research topics was not clearly discernible, as their contribution to the number of publications was negligible and their research topics were not significantly different from those of existing researchers. These findings highlight that attempts to influence topic choices of researchers through thematic funding instrument have not been successful.