Measuring the return on investment of research
26 April 2012
The Medical Research Council (MRC) has launched today a new funding initiative to identify rigorous, quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse the contribution research makes towards economic growth and wider societal impact.
A workshop convened by the MRC in October 2011 highlighted the urgent need for high quality research methods to better explain the relationship between research and impact.
Pilot and feasibility studies will be supported with the aim of providing practical policy recommendations relevant to medical research funding strategy in the UK. The studies should allow funders to better estimate the return on investment from research, and identify key factors that influence impact.
Dr Wendy Ewart, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Strategy at the Medical Research Council, says:
“Hindsight has consistently shown that the discoveries made by scientists supported by the Medical Research Council have a major influence on innovation and growth in the UK. If we are able to develop tools that will help us to quantify better and analyse this impact, we will have stronger evidence identifying areas for future research and to justify future funding decisions.”
Funding will be available for up to one year initially. Awards will be made in September 2012 and progress with the work will be reviewed in May 2013.
Notes to editors
The MRC is particularly interested in developing a portfolio of studies looking to deliver:
- Actionable policy recommendations relevant to medical research funding strategy in the UK.
- Better estimates of the return on investment from research.
- International/cross funder comparisons of different environments/policy approaches, which highlights ways to maximise impact.
- Critical success factors and improved intermediate indicators for measuring impact.
- Learning from missed opportunities or negatives results.
- User/beneficiary views on the contribution of academic research and MRC input into this.
The report of the MRC’s economic impact workshop held in October 2011 can be downloaded here.
