Everything

You’ve been given a prestigious grant from a foundation, an academy, a corporation, or some other moneyed institution. This stipend frees you from the burdens of a regular job, and although it’s probably not a large amount of money, it’ll keep you in rent and ramen for a while… so long as you don’t piss off your sponsors.

This grant also includes a certain degree of privileged access to archives and facilities that are connected to your field of endeavor. And yeah – it’s got some strings, too. You need to report your findings on a regular basis, suck up to the necessary authorities, and behave in a manner that reflects well upon your sponsors. In many cases (especially for corporate endowments), said sucking up includes reporting what your sponsors want to hear, not necessarily what your research actually reveals. Failure to please your supporters tends to result in the loss of said endowment. Isn’t research wonderful?