Academic center · Science policy · Chicago, Illinois · Est. 2023
The University of Chicago Market Shaping Accelerator (MSA) is an academic initiative focused on “market shaping” mechanisms—policy and contracting tools that create demand-side or output-linked incentives—when conventional market incentives for innovation trail the underlying social need. MSA’s stated emphasis is on scalable innovation for global priorities including climate change and pandemic preparedness, and it positions its work as accelerating adoption of market-shaping instruments by governments, multilateral institutions, and philanthropies.
The program’s core operational vehicle is its multi-phase Innovation Challenge, which solicits proposals for market-failure problems and then supports selected teams in designing “pull” mechanisms (for example, advance market commitments and milestone-style incentives) that aim to mobilize private R&D and delivery at scale. MSA also publishes explanatory materials and policy-relevant research aimed at helping decision-makers select between push vs. pull incentives and the specific contracting instrument best suited to the target market failure.
Publications are temporarily unavailable.
MSA blog post (August 27, 2025) addressing how pull-funding approaches can support drug repurposing work.
Why Expertise Matters: Building the Coalition to Launch Our Neonatal Sepsis AMCMSA blog post (June 23, 2025) focused on coalition-building for a neonatal sepsis advance market commitment (AMC).
When Markets Fail Newborns: The Case for an Advance Market Commitment for Neonatal Sepsis DiagnosticsMSA blog post arguing for an advance market commitment for neonatal sepsis diagnostics in settings where market incentives are insufficient.
MSA featured on Vox: How to save 400,000 babies a yearMSA coverage via Vox referenced by MSA news; includes discussion connected to neonatal sepsis diagnostics and market shaping.
The Promise of an Advance Market Commitment to Tackle Methane from LivestockMSA item describing a proposed AMC for livestock-related methane, positioning an AMC as a way to increase incentives for relevant innovation.
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Backs MSA research on incentivizing innovationMSA news entry pointing to external reporting about Sloan Foundation support for MSA-related research on incentivizing innovation.