Funding of health sciences research in a faculty of medicine : a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this research was a case study of the factors affecting the funding of Health Sciences Research in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland. -- Data was collected from the various sources such as the Faculty of Medicine, the University, the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, the Medical Research Council, Statistics Canada, and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Various factors such as grant amounts, numbers, types, sources, numbers of faculty and students, organizational structures, etc., were documented and analyzed. -- The findings indicated that while there was growth in funding of Health Sciences Research, more effort needs to be put into increasing the share that the Faculty of Medicine gets from the national total. A concerted effort needs to be taken to ensure that all avenues for potential funding are explored. The success or otherwise of these efforts should be analysed yearly. In addition, the lack of provincial and local research funding needs to be addressed specifically. -- Through this study a partial insight was gained into the past and present operation of the Faculty of Medicine and a baseline was established for future research. The methods used should provide useful tools for future researchers.