Since 1991, SETI has been operating on private funds, which have not been allocated by the government. Currently, there many heated political battles over funding. NASA invested an enormous sum of money placing the Hubble Space Telescope in space, only to find that a mirror on board was manufactured incorrectly. This was a huge embarrasment to NASA, and tarnished its credibility in the public eye. NASA needed money to fix the problem, but in the future, the government may be able to point at this mistake when deciding whether or not to fund another project.
Universities There is also a great deal of competition for funding among universities.
At a university, scientists are constantly researching, and need funds and grants from the government to do so. The government only has a limited amount of money, and so it must decide which universities to give grants to. To attract this money, universities try to recruit famous professors and researchers, so that the government will know that it is placing its money in trusted hands. Being trusted and well funded by the government also benefits universities because it attracts more students. When more students are enrolled, a university has more funds to either invest in research or elsewhere.