On property rights and project potentials

As mentioned with reference to the Finmeccanica organization, projects that build more than one potential could be funded by more than one source. This inevitably leads to the question: who ‘owns’ the project? A convincing response to this question is that each funding source owns a share of the project equaling its relative contribution to the total project budget, as agreed upon between the laboratory and the sponsors, unless some other sharing rule has been negotiated. Budget overruns or budget savings may be experienced due to the uncertainty that is inherent in research work. In our view, benefits and costs of the uncertainty should be enjoyed or borne by the laboratory.