Faculty flight and failed recruiting compound continuously, independent of liability surfacing

The institutional liability documented in §5.2 (M-0003) coexists with a continuous erosion that institutions pay every year the infrastructure remains unchanged, independent of whether any audit or enforcement action occurs.

Term E — Faculty flight. A 2025 Nature reader poll of more than 1,600 respondents (the majority scientists) found that 75% said they were considering leaving the country, rising to 79% among postgraduate researchers, citing funding cuts, firings, and cancelled programs as drivers (E-0056). Each departure compounds across subsequent grant cycles.

Term F — Failed recruiting. Positions that remain open or offers that are declined because the infrastructure a candidate requires does not exist. The European Commission's "Choose Europe for Science" program — launched May 2025 at €500M and expanded to ~€900M across 100+ national and regional initiatives — is actively recruiting global research talent during the US disruptions through ERC super-grants, ERA Chairs, and MSCA fellowships (E-0056). Only 44% of US faculty report that their institution provides adequate technology support for grant-funded projects (E-0057).

These costs are continuous and compounding. They do not appear in the fiscal year when the underinvestment decision was made; they accrue across all subsequent years during which the underinvestment persists. They do not depend on any audit, retraction, or FCA action surfacing the §5.2 liability — they accrue regardless.

The architectural reading: institutions that operate adequate research data infrastructure can recruit and retain against the candidates' real preferences; institutions that do not cede position quietly, on a timeline that does not show up in any single year's budget but compounds into the next decade's competitive standing.