title: Important returns on investment: an evaluation of a national research grants competition in emergency medicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to examine scholarly outcomes of the projects receiving research grants from the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) during the first 10 years of national funding (i.e., between 1996 and 2005).
  
  
  METHODS
  We sent email surveys to 62 emergency medicine (EM) researchers who received funding from CAEP. We focused our data collection on grant deliverables and opinions using a 1-7 Likert scale with regard to the value of the award.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-eight recipients responded to our survey. Grants were most commonly awarded to residents (21 [36%]), followed by senior (16 [28%]) and junior (13 [22%]) emergency staff. Twenty-six applicants from Ontario and 11 from Quebec received the majority of the grants. Overall, 51 projects were completed at the time of contact and, from these, 39 manuscripts were published or in press. Abstract presentations were more common, with a median of 2 abstracts presented per completed project. Abstract presentations for the completed projects were documented locally (23), nationally (39) and internationally (37). Overall, 19 projects received additional funding. The median amount funded was Can$4700 with an interquartile range of $3250-$5000. Respondents felt CAEP funding was critical to completing their projects and felt strongly that dedicated EM research funding should be continued to stimulate productivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the CAEP Research Grants Competition has produced impressive results. Despite the small sums available, the grants have been important for ensuring study completion and for securing additional funding. CAEP and similar EM organizations need to develop a more robust funding approach so that larger grant awards and more researchers can be supported on an annual basis.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bawden
authors.forename: Namdar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manouchehri
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Villa-Roel
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grafstein
authors.forename: Brian H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Rowe
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D004465:Economic Competition; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000191:economics*; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007449:Investments / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires