RESEARCH NOTES
FUNDING FOR RESEARCH: HOW TO NAVIGATE TOWARDS IT
Chia Yook Chin FRCP, Department of Primary Care Medicine, University of Malaya.
Chia YC. Funding for research: how to navigate towards it. Malaysian Family Physician. 2006;1(1):36-38
INTRODUCTION
It is generally acknowledged that funding, or the lack of it, is one of the deterrents to conducting research. On the other hand, the good news is that primary care research does not necessarily require huge resources the way highly technical or interventional studies require. Resources are needed in several areas, predominantly manpower, which can be the most expensive component of many research projects. Usually equipment forms a smaller portion of the budget required for primary care based research.
Sometimes, there is a dilemma when trying to formulate a research project: Should one review the research areas that are more likely to secure funding and then formulate a research proposal? Or should one have a clear picture of one’s research interest and then look for possible sources of funding? There are of course several factors when deciding this. If the research question is of utmost interest to you and important to clinical practice but it is not in the radar of funding bodies, then obviously one would need to write a proposal and then look for funding. On the other hand, if the area of research is not firmly decided upon and one is looking for a research area to work on, then it makes sense to examine available fund holders for their pre-determined areas of priority and analyse whether there is any area that appeals to you.
SOURCES OF FUNDING
There are indeed many sources of research funding, internationally, nationally and locally. Broadly speaking the largest research funds available is without doubt provided by governments. However as research becomes more sophisticated in our country, so will the distribution of research funds. Frequently the government funding agencies have pre-identified priorities of research areas. Unless your research is within their agenda, the chances of securing funding are rather limited.
Government agencies
Governmental agencies can provide huge research fund (could be as much as RM5 million per project) but they come with several conditions. The project should have many subprojects; it must be intersectoral and it usually runs for a minimum of 1-5 years. It also requires a lot of paperwork, project timelines, and financial projections as to when the money is needed and how it is going to be spent. There are also restrictions and justifications as to what the money can be spent on. Furthermore, progress reports are required twice annually. While all these must sound rather daunting, it is in reality not so very difficult. It needs patience and careful documentation. The advantage of this source of funding is that it is large and open to all and not necessarily confined to those affiliated to governmental bodies.
Universities and other tertiary institutions
The universities and other tertiary institution usually have their own allocations to support research by their own academic staff and postgraduate students. These budgets either come directly from the university itself (e.g. F Vote in University of Malaya) or it could have been provided to the university by other charitable bodies (e.g. China Medical Board). These funding are limited to staff or students of the university itself. These budgets tend to be much smaller (usually around RM20,000) and runs for a shorter duration (1-3 years). However, it also has many restrictions. Equipment cannot be purchased and wages for staff has to be in accordance with the government standards, which might limit the choice of research assistants.
While the funding is limited to staff members, it does not exclude non-staff members from being part of the research team. Therefore to tap into this source, it may be advantageous to collaborate with a staff member who has access to this funding.
Charitable foundations
There are several charitable foundations in the country which provides research funding. These foundations are worth considering especially if the research project is in line with the foundation’s philosophy. As I alluded to earlier, research in primary care does not require huge sums of money and these foundations can support such research activities.
Professional organisations and medical societies
There are also many professional organisations that offer research grants. While these may be very limited, I foresee that they can and will play a bigger role in supporting research in future. These professional bodies conduct courses and continuing medical education programmes which generate funds. These funds in turn could be reinvested into supporting research. To qualify or at least stand a greater chance of getting a grant, one needs to be a member of the society and perhaps even have contributed to the cause of the society.