The Cochrane Collaboration has established a number of initiatives through which contributors can access central funding to carry out projects considered to be of benefit to the organisation. All funds are administered by the Steering Group, and particulars of each are listed below. For more information on all of these funds, please contact the Cochrane Collaboration Secretariat.
Discretionary Fund
Opportunities Fund
Prioritisation Fund
Discretionary Fund
Background
Members of The Cochrane Collaboration are eligible to apply for small amounts of funds to facilitate
important activities within the organisation. Each year a maximum of £15,000 of funding is available, with a ceiling of £3000 to any one applicant. Applications will only be accepted from the person or
people responsible for a particular registered entity, and Convenors of the Steering Group’s
Advisory Groups.
Eligibility criteria
The following criteria guide the Steering Group Executive's decision as to
whether or not to approve an application:
1. Focus on ’core’ functions - The proposal should: (a) focus on core functions of
Collaboration activity, particularly the production, maintenance and dissemination of high
quality reviews, and (b) be made by a Cochrane entity. (Advisory Groups to the Steering
Group may also apply to this Fund.)
2. Gain to the Collaboration - The proposal should promise significant gain to all or part of
the Collaboration.
3. Collective benefit - The potential benefit of the proposal should not focus on a single
entity but apply across a number of entities (for example, by co-ordinating activities).
4. Likelihood of success - The proposal should have a high likelihood of meeting its aims
within the agreed budget.
5. Alternative sources of funding - The proposal should not have an obvious and readily
accessible alternative source of funding available.
6. Cost of not funding - There should be judged to be a significant loss of advantage to the Collaboration if the proposal is not funded.
7. Long-term continuity - Because discretionary funds will not be available on a recurrent
basis, there should be some plan for continuity of funding and support if this will be
necessary.
It is accepted that applications will rarely meet all these criteria; however, applicants are asked
to consider all seven criteria when applying, and to use the criteria as the paragraph headings in
their application.
Application process and timeline
- A brief application for funding should be sent to the Cochrane Collaboration
Secretariat (secretariat@cochrane.org), using the seven criteria listed above as the
paragraph headings, to ensure completeness and consistency across all
applications. The application should include details of the timeline and a description
of the deliverables. The Secretariat is responsible for forwarding applications to the
Executive of the Steering Group.
- Applications should state clearly the amount of money being requested.
- The Executive will take the final decision, requesting additional information from the
applicant(s) as necessary.
- Successful applicant(s) will be required to provide a report of a maximum of 500
words to The Cochrane Collaboration Secretariat (secretariat@cochrane.org) within
three months of spending their award. This report will be shared with the Steering
Group and might be made available to other people if judged appropriate by the
Steering Group.
- Patterns of application and expenditure will be reported to the Steering Group every
six months.
Previous recipients
| Year | Recipient | Initiative funded |
| 2000 | Nordic Cochrane Centre | Printing RevMan 4.1 |
| 2001 | Statistical Methods Group | Statistical Issues course |
| French
Cochrane Centre |
Staffing costs - Lyon Colloquium | |
| 2002 | Nordic Cochrane Centre | Testing of RevMan Analyses software by the University of Liverpool |
| Cancer Network | Legal fees to establish 'Aid Cancer' | |
| 2003 | Consumer Network | Purchase of laptop computer and mailing to all CN members |
| Pregnancy and Childbirth Group |
Evaluation of the work of the Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Consumer Panel |
|
| Consumer Network | Contribution towards legal fees | |
| 2004 | Acute Respiratory
Infections Group |
Dr Sreekumaran Nair's attendance at Statistics and Meta- Analysis in Cochrane Reviews course, Melbourne, and visit to ARI editorial base, Brisbane |
| Canadian Cochrane Centre and Network | France Légaré's expenses to attend the French-speaking network meeting in Paris, France |
|
| Christian Medical
College, Vellore, India |
Exploratory meeting to establish a South Asian Cochrane Network |
|
| 2005 | The entities of the
following RGCs: June
Cody, Jane Cracknell,
Tina Leonard, Ruth Mitchell, Megan Prictor, Narelle Willis |
CRG Procedures Collection Working Party (for provision of 'good practice' examples of editorial process) |
| South African
Cochrane Centre |
Evaluation of the HIV/AIDS Mentoring Programme |
|
| Acute Respiratory
Infections Group |
Updating the evidence on
interventions for avian flu |
|
| UK Cochrane Centre |
Research project on
'Implications for research'
in Cochrane Reviews |
|
| 2006 | Colloquium Policy
Advisory Group |
Pilot project to make Colloquium presentations available on the Collaboration website |
| South African
Cochrane Centre |
Additional funds for evaluation of the HIV/AIDS Mentoring Programme |
|
| Statistical Methods
Group |
Dissemination of statistical and methodological expertise to individuals and entities in South and Central America and South Asia |
|
| Co-ordinating Editors'
executive |
Participation in special brainstorming session on prioritisation, Khon Kaen, April 2006 |
|
| Argentinean branch of the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre |
Global meeting to discuss free |
Opportunities Fund
Background
The Opportunities Fund provides entities with an opportunity to obtain core Collaboration funds to undertake project work of their own initiative. The Fund is organized as an annual competition applying for resources from a fixed budget. For this round of the Fund, an overall total of 100,000 GBP is available. It is anticipated that several projects will be funded, but there is no specified maximum per project. Grants will be awarded on merit and applicability to the aims of the Cochrane Collaboration’s Strategic Plan.
Eligibility
- Proposals may only be submitted by registered entities of The Cochrane Collaboration.
- An entity may be associated with more than one Proposal.
- All applications must originate from a registered Cochrane entity, and be signed by the entity leader (Co-ordinating Editor, Methods Group Convenor/Co-Convenor, Field or Network Co-ordinator, Centre Director, or equivalent).
- Joint applications for collaborative projects involving multiple entities will be particularly welcomed.
Process and timeline
This request for proposals follows a six-stage process. For the most recent round of applications, the Collaboration followed the timescale outlined below:
- Request for Proposals (RFP) launch date: 14th September 2007
- Closing date for submission of proposals: 30th November 2007
- A sub-group of the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group (CCSG) to consider the proposals. The group would have at least five (5) members, and may co-opt other people where additional knowledge or experience is required. Peer review of proposals may be organised if thought necessary. Clarification and discussion with Proposers, as appropriate.
- Consideration of recommended decisions by the CCSG
- Proposers to be informed of CCSG decision in early 2008
- Formal contracts will be drawn up between The Cochrane Collaboration and successful applicants
Further information on the application and award process is available in the RFP.
Previous awards
The following projects were successful in the 2006 round of the Opportunities Fund:
- Developing and evaluating a plain language summary template for Cochrane Reviews, led by Claire Glenton from the Norwegian Branch of the Nordic Cochrane Centre, and in collaboration with the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group (CMSG), the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre (ICC), the Centro Colaborador Argentino de la Red Cochrane Iberoamericana (AICC), the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group (CCRG), and the Cochrane Consumers Network.
- Making Cochrane Reviews more accessible to policy makers, led by John Lavis as part of the Effective Practice and Organization of Care Review Group, in collaboration with the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre.
- Review Group Coordinator (RGC) induction and mentoring programme, led by Jessica Thomas from the Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Review Group, in collaboration with the Anaesthesia Review Group, the Back Review Group, and the Consumers and Communication Review Group.
- Analytical methods to guide decisions of whether, and when, to update Cochrane Reviews, led by Sally Hopewell at the UK Cochrane Centre, in collaboration with the Australasian Cochrane Centre and the Dutch Cochrane Centre (Thomas Chalmers Research Institute).
- Web-based training with Cochrane Review authors, led by Phil Wiffen at the UK Cochrane Centre in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth.
Prioritisation Fund
Background
- At a joint meeting of Centre Directors, Co-ordinating Editors and Steering Group members held in Khon Kaen, Thailand, April 2006, a strategic view was taken of the need for The Cochrane Collaboration to improve prioritisation mechanisms for key review topics, to better meet the needs of national and international stakeholders, and to meet the Collaboration’s own goals. The Prioritisation Projects fund has been created by the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group to provide entities with these aims in mind. It is anticipated that several projects will be funded, but no maximum funding per project is specified. A total of £100,000 will be available from April 2007.
Eligibility
- Proposals may only be submitted by registered entities of The Cochrane Collaboration.
- An entity may be associated with more than one Proposal.
- All applications must originate from a registered Cochrane entity, and be signed by the entity leader (Co-ordinating Editor, Methods Group Co-convener, Field Coordinator, Centre Director or equivalent).
- Joint applications for collaborative projects involving multiple entities will be particularly welcomed.
Process and timeline
This RFP follows a six-stage process. For the first round of applications, the Collaboration followed the timescale outlined below:
- RFP launch date 22nd January 2007
- Closing date for proposals 30th March 2007, no later than 4:00 p.m., Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
- Consideration of proposals by Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group (CCSG)
- Clarification and discussion with Proposers, as appropriate
- Proposers informed of CCSG decision by around 27th April 2007
- Formal contracts drawn up between the Collaboration and successful applicants
A sub-group of the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group (CCSG) will consider the proposals. The group will have at least five (5) members, and may co-opt other people where additional knowledge or experience is required. Peer review of proposals may be organised if thought necessary.
Further information on the application and award process is available in the RFP.
2007 Prioritisation Fund Awards
Six proposals were received and five were selected for funding:
- Delivering on priorities: developing and implementing effective collaboration between a Cochrane Review Group and a Cochrane Field, led by Rajan Madhok of the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group.
- Using practice guidelines to determine review priorities: a pilot project, led by Kay Dickersin of the United States Cochrane Center.
- Prioritisation of Cochrane reviews for consumers and the public in low and high-income countries as a way of promoting evidence-based health care, led by Janet Wale of the Cochrane Consumer Network.
- Prioritising Cochrane review topics to reduce the know-do gap in low and middle income countries, led by Peter Tugwell of the Cochrane Health Equity Field.
- Piloting and evaluation of a patient-professional partnership approach to prioritising Cochrane reviews and other research, led by Adrian Grant of the Cochrane Incontinence Group.
printable
