From Science:
Merrifield teamed up with mathematician Donald Saari of the University of California, Irvine, who has written extensively about voting systems, to suggest what Merrifield acknowledges is a “radical alternative.” The idea, rooted in mathematical game theory, is to alter the rules in ways that bring the competition closer to achieving its goals. In NSF’s case, that meant distributing the evaluation workload more equitably and providing reviewers with a positive incentive to do a good job. The agency calls its approach mechanism design, and it begins by having grant applicants agree to review seven proposals submitted by their competitors.

For the full story, please visit http://news.sciencemag.org/policy/2014/07/want-grant-first-review-someon....