Sweden has the right idea.
The conservative funding system, which tends to prefer giving money to things that seem likely to work rather than to things that are innovative and therefore risky, rewards those with a track record so long as they continue to do the things they have a track record in.
Petsko
Gregory A
GA
Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-9110, USA. petsko@brandeis.edu
D005582:Foundations; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D013548:Sweden