Communicating the Economic Impact of NIH Funding Cuts Changes Attitudes and Motivates Action

In the United States, cuts to federal science funding will have widespread negative consequences for research, healthcare, and local economies. Communicating the impact of funding cuts is critical for informing policymakers and the public. In two preregistered psychological experiments (N=5,342), we tested text, quiz, and map-based interventions that illustrated economic losses associated with NIH funding cuts. Across the political spectrum, the interventions decreased approval of funding cuts, and increased perceived knowledge and perceived negative local impact. Interactive interventions featuring quizzes and maps increased action intentions (e.g., contacting congressional representatives). We scaled these interventions by creating a public website; user data revealed converging evidence of effectiveness. Overall, scalable interventions that interactively communicated economic impact changed attitudes and motivated action to support science funding.