Paller Mark S, Cerra Frank B
University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Acad Med. 2006 Jun;81(6):520-6. doi: 10.1097/01.ACM.0000225214.22831.26.
External research funding provides the core support for a medical center's research enterprise, and is a major or sole criterion for comparing and ranking institutions. Most grant programs are sufficiently competitive that awards are not granted without the availability of preliminary data. Therefore, institutions may find it necessary to supplement external research funds, particularly as matching funds or as seed funds. The authors report their experience at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center with two internal grant programs, a seed grant program and an interdisciplinary/intercollegiate Faculty Research Development (FRD) grant program. Seed grants are one-year, one-time $25,000 awards to investigators to initiate a new direction in research or to develop innovative projects allowing faculty to expand into new research areas. FRD grants are one-time $200,000 awards for a one- to three-year project that support innovative interdisciplinary and interscholastic research with a high potential for future grants. The authors based their analysis of program outcomes on investigators' self-reports of subsequent external grants and peer-reviewed publications stemming from the initial grants. Six annual cycles of the seed grant program (1998-2003) yielded a financial return on investment (ROI) of 560%. Five annual cycles of the FRD grant program (1998-2002) yielded an ROI of 237%. The authors conclude that the AHC grant program has been successful in generating external research funds (primarily National Institutes of Health) and publications; stimulating risk-taking; and developing interdisciplinary and intercollegiate collaboration. They plan to continue the AHC grant program and recommend similar programs to other institutions.
外部研究资金为医疗中心的研究事业提供核心支持，并且是比较和排名机构的主要或唯一标准。大多数资助项目竞争十分激烈，没有初步数据就不会授予奖项。因此，机构可能会发现有必要补充外部研究资金，特别是作为配套资金或种子资金。作者报告了他们在明尼苏达大学学术健康中心开展两个内部资助项目的经验，一个是种子资助项目，另一个是跨学科/校际教师研究发展（FRD）资助项目。种子资助是向研究人员提供的为期一年、一次性25,000美元的奖励，用于启动新的研究方向或开展创新项目，使教师能够拓展到新的研究领域。FRD资助是为一至三年项目提供的一次性200,000美元奖励，支持具有高未来资助潜力的创新跨学科和校际研究。作者基于研究人员对后续外部资助的自我报告以及源自初始资助的同行评审出版物对项目成果进行分析。种子资助项目的六个年度周期（1998 - 2003年）产生了560%的投资回报率（ROI）。FRD资助项目的五个年度周期（1998 - 2002年）产生了237%的投资回报率。作者得出结论，学术健康中心的资助项目在产生外部研究资金（主要是国立卫生研究院的资金）和出版物、激发冒险精神以及发展跨学科和校际合作方面取得了成功。他们计划继续开展学术健康中心的资助项目，并向其他机构推荐类似项目。
