Impact of 10 years of glaucoma research funding: the Glaucoma Research Society of Canada

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of grants from the Glaucoma Research Society of Canada (GRSC) in achieving the society's stated goals (i.e., advancing the scientific community's knowledge of the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of glaucoma).

Design: Case-control study.

Participants: Twenty-seven glaucoma researchers who received grants from the GRSC.

Methods: The number of peer-reviewed journal publications that arose from studies funded by the GRSC was obtained through grant recipient surveys, searching for GRSC acknowledgement within the literature, and comparing all articles published by each grant recipient with the subject matter of his or her successful grant proposals.

Results: A total of 73 research grant applications valued at $680,900 were funded by the GRSC between 1997 and 2006, 48 of which (66%) resulted in at least one publication, for a total of 70 articles. This represented a cost of donor dollars per publication of $9727.

Conclusions: Sixty-six percent of GRSC grants generated new knowledge in the form of peer-reviewed publications.