Funding
There are many ways for the WSC to get funding, though some may be more difficult than others. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Here is a list of potential sources of funding, with their pro's and con's:
Grants: On the up side, funding from national or international government institution, foundation or business gives the WSC more credibility and integrity in the eyes of its peotential users. It may also be very good when starting up, as grant funding provides a lump sum of money with very few strings attached and no personal financial risk. On the other hand, Grants usually involve a lot of competition, they are slow in getting, and if the funding body suddenly decides to withdraw financial aid or refuses to renew your funding, you are screwed.
Business Partners/Sponsors: On the up side, business partners are usually flexible, quick to communicate with, and are naturally interested and helpful (after all it is their money). They usually have a lot of expertise, and good network of contacts that the WSC could benefit from. On the down side, a Business will usually expect some form of return on investement, and one will probably have to part with some control or share of the WSC.
Donations: It is possible to rely on donations from the user community and other stakeholders. On the up side, the more popular the WSC becomes, the easier it should be to get funding. On the other hand, donations require a lot of time and effort in lobbying and applying, are unpredictable as a source of revenue, and changes the WSC focus from making science easier to making WSC science popular.
Self Sustaining: By managing its own source of income, the WSC will maintain its autonomy. This could be done by selling some product (or letting others sell products in a "shop" related to the web), or more likely, through hosting adverisements on its pages (e.g. the AdWords by Google 3 line box). On the up side, its independence will allow it to develop at its own pace, focusing on what the users themselves want, and not on what the funding body wants. If the WSC makes a profit, it will be able to develop more rapidly by using its own income to enter into other areas. It will be independent politically, enabling the community to voice opinions without fear of being shut down or having their funding withdrawn. It will also be able to pay its employees decent wages. On the down side, this method would only work once the WSC starts making profits, and would not account for the money required to start things off. Also, the WSC web pages would probably need to hold some sort of advertisement.
In all likeliehood, a combination of the above possibilities will occur, perhaps by initial grants and then subsequent self-sustenance through renting a small advertisement space on each page of the WSC web. The need for initial funding is very much dependent on the initial costs related to setting up the WSC software and hardware (server space, etc). Once the WSC increases in growth (stage 5 should see around 50 000 000 hits a day) there will be a need for several full-time jobs. A CEO, Web development officer, harvesting officer (coordinating the active knowledge harvesting of colunteers), Marketing & Recruitment Officer (marketing the WSC and recruiting other organisations and web sites to incorporate themselves as part of the WSC) and a Secretariat Officer might be employed as the opportunity presents itself. Here is a rough and very unfinished estimate of costs: