Productivity of sustained research funded by the Medical Research Council of New Zealand during the period 1973-84.

From 1973-81, Medical Research Council funding for sustained research rose from $1.6 to $4.4 million per year but, during 1982-84 fell to $3.8 million. Corrected for inflation, this funding was constant until 1982-84 when it fell by one-third. Publications increased from about 190 in 1974 to a peak of about 310 in 1980 but fell to 200 during 1982-4. Grantees who failed to publish took about 16% of sustained project grants and 10% of such funding. The average cost of an article rose from $5500 in 1973 to $20,000 in 1983/4 but, in real terms, the cost in 1984 was two-thirds of that in the mid-1970's. Cost of publications from Auckland increased steadily from 1973-84. Those for Dunedin remained constant from 1974-80, but increased to exceed $20,000 in 1982-84. From 1973-78, articles from Wellington cost $12,000 but this rose to $20,000 thereafter. Costs in Christchurch increased from $2500 in 1973 to $12,000 in 1984. Inflation-corrected costs per publication from Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin have shown a downward trend while those from Christchurch showed a slight increase.