[Funding of research projects--the importance of foundations].
OBJECTIVE
Without outside funding, scientific research would widely stagnate. Funding of research projects by German foundations was analysed and specified for different medical disciplines.


METHODS
The analysis based on the following sources: Handbuch der Wissenschaftspreise und Forschungsstipendien, Forschungshandbuch "Hochschul- und wissenschaftsfördernde Institutionen und Programme", Deutsches Arzteblatt 2000, the internet and the CD-ROM "Verzeichnis Deutscher Stiftungen".


RESULTS
The highest number of research support by foundations was found in internal medicine (n = 70; volume: > 3,6 Mio DM). Other large disciplines, e. g. surgery (number of projects n = 10; financial volume: approximately 130,000 DM) or anesthesia (9 projects), were much less supported by foundations. A smaller discipline, dermatology, was supported much more (n = 13; volume 320,000 DM).


CONCLUSIONS
None-industrial, none-governmental supported research is based on foundations. The range of support by foundations is very large, reaching from very high to only very small support. Increase in the foundation-based financial support would help to improve medical research in several disciplines.
D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D005582:Foundations; D005858:Germany; D020407:Internet; D012106:Research; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*
Forschungsförderung in Deutschland - die Bedeutung der Stiftungen.