Background:
Measuring research impact is of critical interest to philanthropic and government funding agencies interested in ensuring that the research they fund is both scientifically excellent and has meaningful impact into health and other outcomes. The Beat Cancer Project (BCP) is a AUD 34mcancerresearchfundingschemethatcommencedin2011.ItwasinitiatedbyanAustraliancharity(CancerCouncilSA),andsupportedbytheSouthAustralianGovernmentandthestate’smajoruniversities.Methods:ThisstudyappliedBuxtonandHanney’sPaybackFrameworktoassessresearchimpactgeneratedfromtheBCPafter3yearsoffunding.Datasourceswereanauditofpeer−reviewedpublicationsfromJanuary2011toSeptember2014fromWebofKnowledgeandaself−reportsurveyofinvestigatorsawardedBCPresearchfundingduringitsfirst3yearsofimplementation(2011–2013).Ofthe104surveys,92(88Results:TheBCPperformedwellacrossallfivecategoriesofthePaybackFramework.Intermsofknowledgeproduction,1257peer−reviewedpublicationsweregeneratedandthemeanimpactfactorofpublishingjournalsincreasedannually.Thereweremanybenefitstofutureresearchwith21respondents(231 that the cancer charity invested, the BCP gained an additional AUD $6.06. Five projects (5%) had informed policy and 5 (5%) informed product development, with an additional 31 (34%) and 35 (38%) projects, respectively, anticipating doing so. In terms of health and sector and broader economic benefits, 8 (9%) projects had influenced practice or behaviour of health staff and 32 (34%) would reportedly to do so in the future.
Conclusions:
Research impact was a priority of charity and government funders and led to a deliberate funding strategy. Emphasising research impact while maintaining rigorous, competitive processes can achieve the joint objectives of excellence in research, yielding good research impact and a high rate of leverage for philanthropic and public investment, as indicated by these early results