There is a prevailing notion that the responsibility for conducting and managing scientific research should be taken by the government, and not by private companies. To a certain extent, I agree that may be true in the case of some societies. However, I also believe that others seem to be unaffected by this statement.
On the one hand, the opinion that private companies can do research which is not carried out by the governments is attractive for some reasons. Initially, there have been cases where privately funded scientific research has stimulated innovation. This is because individuals who conduct research in private companies are typically encouraged to think creatively in developing new solutions to pervasive problems. Therefore, people can benefit from new inventions. In addition, unlike the authority that has many aspects to take care of, independent firms can concentrate on only one to two fields. This means that they spend more of their time, effort and energy on the single problem they want to address. Ultimately, it helps to yield auspicious results for societies.
On the other hand, there are a variety of reasons why I believe governments should play the leading role in performing research. Firstly, many researches require the cooperation of many countries and private companies are not strong enough to handle them. For instance, the global warming problem is a hot topic in the world, only competent government agencies in different countries can come up with the most effective solutions such as renewable energies research. Secondly, governments have a lot of money to do research. To carry out scientific research, it costs a lot of money for all stages, especially the testing phase and money for employees. Moreover, if the government controls scientific research, it ensures that the research is done for the benefit of the community. In contrast, if it is done by private companies, they can misuse it. For example, studies related to nuclear power or weapons must be carried out or supervised by governmental organizations to protect a country from terrorism or other warfare.
In conclusion, while there are some benefits to scientific studies that can be done by private companies, I am of the opinion that governments should control and carry out major projects.