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Hi Carl,
Even if the relatively small number of amateurs doing NEO work were to target/survey NEO's, they still wouldn't account for more than 5% of all discoveries. Lets be realistic here - an amateur camera FOV will average less than 15' wide. Survey scopes are measured in degrees wide.
The professionals rely on software to extract the relevant data out of their images. Amateurs, in general (yes there are exceptions) extract data manually. Again, the professionals win hands down on efficiency. It doesn't matter how close professionals get to a scope, it matters that they get the data they need.
Pros do 'cough up' the money and time. They pay for equipment for amateurs, they spend a great deal of time mentoring amateurs but they aren't just going to cough up for anyone. It's their money, so they want to invest wisely. Amateurs need to prove 2 things. First that they can do the work accurately (and that means to the professionals level of accuracy not the amateurs view of what they consider is accurate) and second that they will stick to it for the LONG HAUL. This means observing every clear night, on the targets that the pros want, week in and week out, good conditions, bad conditions, tired and busy with family and/or work or not.
I got my head through the door with basic equipment and determination. I didn't understand the science (well I understood the very basics) but I was a keen and reliable observer and I have been rewarded first with the time and mentoring of many professionals then with money in the form of grants. Simple fact is you have to prove your worth.
If amateurs want to collaborate with the Pro's then the amateurs need to target their field of interest to a region where their observations can actually compete with professional level observations (or to areas where there is a distinct lack of professional observations). There is absolutely no point in trying to collaborate in a field where the quality/accuracy of amateurs observations are orders of magnitude below the level attained by the Pros (and that is the bulk of Astrophysics) and this may well represent the group of Professionals who "look down on' amateurs.
Cheers
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