Knowledge Resource
Research Summary: Funding the runners-up beats a golden ticket
- Original authors
- Attribution requires verification
- Original source
- arXiv — Computers and Society
- Summary & Analysis prepared by
- Aziz Shuaib Ausi
- Resource type
- Research Summary / Knowledge Resource
- Resource published on AZIZ OS
- 18 September 2026
- Last updated
- 22 September 2026
- Reading time
- 1 min
- Publication type
- Knowledge Resource
- Availability
- Open access
About this Summary & Analysis
AZIZ OS provides independently prepared summaries and analytical interpretations of externally published research and knowledge sources. The underlying works remain attributable to their original authors and rights holders. This resource is intended to improve accessibility and understanding and does not replace the original publication.
Research analyzing 10,625 rejected computer science conference submissions found that a traditional panel-mean ranking method for allocating funding spots significantly outperformed a 'minority-support ranking' system, often referred to as a 'golden ticket' approach. The study concluded that funding decisions based on consensus scores led to higher-impact selections as measured by subsequent citation percentiles.
Why it matters
This research provides empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of different proposal selection mechanisms, which is critical for organizations that fund research, development, or strategic initiatives. Optimizing funding allocation processes can significantly improve the quality and impact of chosen projects, directly influencing an institution's long-term strategic outcomes and resource efficiency.
Key insights
- The study assessed the effectiveness of 'golden ticket' (minority-support ranking) versus traditional panel-mean ranking in funding allocation.
- Data from 10,625 rejected computer science conference submissions between 2017 and 2024 was used, with later citation percentiles serving as the outcome measure.
- Minority-support ranking allowed one reviewer to advance a proposal that the majority of a panel would reject.
- At a budget equivalent to 10% of the year's accepted submissions, panel-mean ranking selected submissions with a mean citation percentile 7.75 points higher than minority-support ranking.
- The difference in performance between the two ranking methods was even more pronounced when considering other comparison methods not fully detailed in the abstract.
Source
arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19552
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- Verification ID
- ASA-EXE-2026-00729
- Version
- v1.0 · r0
- Issued
- 18 September 2026
- Resource prepared by
- Aziz Shuaib Ausi
- Resource status
- Research Summary / Knowledge Resource
- Underlying work
- Funding the runners-up beats a golden ticket
- Original authors
- Attribution requires verification
- Original source
- arXiv — Computers and Society
- Provenance status
- Attribution requires verification
- Rights
- Underlying publication rights remain with the respective copyright holder(s). Refer to the original source for authoritative publication and licensing information.
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