I often have this thought about research and usually assume that the answer is cost/resources. Research seems poorly directed, like lots of ad hoc studies with

I often have this thought about research and usually assume that the answer is cost/resources. Research seems poorly directed, like lots of ad hoc studies without cooperation and planning for how it will be used for the sector overall. Not a research scientist; probably a very naive view. Maybe there's more higher level cooperation/symbiosis/planning/whatever than I perceive?