DARPA and the US government in Congress introduced a new funding model where funding was based on outcomes rather than efforts. The procurement process required stacks of paper to describe the research project, and the contractors used to getting paid per hour were automatically drawn out due to the lack of a tax code that allowed the use of congressional tax money for a price.
The process of delivering goods and services already de-risked is popular with customers and politicians as it removes the risk of political boondoggles, hence creating budget line items that can be used to move money into other initiatives to develop competitive dynamics in the market.
The conversation explores the possibility of groups within government and science using the study of aliens and UFOs to gain financial support, and the effect of these motivations on theories such as the Roswell incident.
In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss their struggles in understanding the concept of procurement, which involves a middleman helping a company obtain the resources they need.
The Department of Defense primarily uses a cost plus contract structure, in which the prime contractor owns the contract and everyone is incentivized to come up with the most expensive solution for a problem. This leads to excessive spending and an inefficient use of resources.
The development of the food pyramid involved a combination of scientific research and influence from various lobbying groups, leading to an absurd and questionable process.