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Illustration of a method for selecting research grant applications
Background:
The method used by granting agencies to select applications they wish to support should be explicit, consistent, and fair, especially when the applications are diverse and controversial in nature, or when funds are limited, which is often the case. This study demonstrates the use of a method to satisfy such standards.
Methods:
An expert committee appointed by the Swiss National Research Foundation planned and advertised a program for the evaluation of alternative therapies. The selection of applications to be supported was assisted by the use of Judgement Analysis. In the first phase, appropriate standards such as relevance to the program objectives and methodological adequacy were established. In the second phase, the relative weights attached to these standards by individual members were obtained by multiple linear regression analysis. In the third phase, a single common policy based on the standards that had been made explicit was applied to the choice of projects to be supported.
Results:
219 grant applications that proposed a variety of alternative treatments for various indications were reviewed; 17 were funded.
Conclusions:
The method of Judgment Analysis was acceptable to the experts, who were drawn from several disciplines and had diverse points of view. The method proved understandable and easy to use.