Outcomes of Canadian National Institute for the Blind Baker research grants from 1998 to 2009.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the outcome of Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Baker research grants.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

PARTICIPANTS

Eighty-six Canadian vision researchers who received 88 CNIB Baker grants from 1998 to 2009.

METHODS

Grant recipients were invited to complete a survey relating to their CNIB Baker grant. Questions included the number of publications, presentations, patents, impact of the grant research on health policy, further research funding, and career advancement. For those not responding to the survey, a MEDLINE search was conducted to locate any potential publications. Each publication was reviewed to obtain the year of publication, journal impact factor, and to determine whether the CNIB Baker grant was acknowledged in the publication.

RESULTS

Eighty-five (96.6%) of the grant recipients completed the survey. For the 3 nonrespondents the results for publications was obtained by conducting a MEDLINE search. Forty-seven (53.4%) grants resulted in 87 publications. This translates to an overall mean investment of $33 823 per publication. Seventy-one (83.5%) grants resulted in a total of 280 presentations, 9 (10.6%) in a health policy change, and 4 (4.7%) in a patent. Forty-seven (55.3%) investigators responded that the CNIB Baker grant assisted in obtaining subsequent research funding and 71 (91.7%) indicated that the grant contributed to their career advancement.

CONCLUSIONS

The goals of the CNIB Baker grants in furthering vision research, to assist in career advancement, and in obtaining future funding from other granting agencies seem to have been achieved. The expenditure per publication is consistent with the literature.