Apply for the 2018 Cochrane-REWARD prize for reducing waste in research

Nominations for the 2018 Cochrane-REWARD prize are now open. Two prizes will be awarded to local or pilot initiatives with the greatest potential to reduce waste in research if scaled up globally.

An estimated $170 billion of research funding is wasted each year because its outcomes cannot be used [1]. The waste occurs during five stages of research production: question selection, study design, research conduct, publication, and reporting [2,3]. Much of this waste appears to be avoidable or remediable, but there are few proposed solutions.

The annual Cochrane-REWARD prize aims to highlight underused remedies and the need to invest in research to identify problems and find solutions. The prize was first awarded in 2017.

Cochrane is now calling for nominations for the 2018 prize. Nominated initiatives must address at least one of the five stages of research; have pilot data showing that they can lower waste; have the potential to be scaled up globally; and be able to estimate their potential impact on research waste.

Nominations should be submitted by 15 May 2018. Two prizes will be awarded: a first prize of £1500 and a scond prize of £1000. Other shortlisted candidates will also be highlighted to help disseminate good ideas.

The winners of the 2018 prize will be announced at the Cochrane Colloquium, Edinburgh, 16-18 September 2018.

Find more information about the prize and how to submit a nomination at Cochrane (PDF)

References

[1] Chalmers I, Glasziou P. Avoidable waste in the production and reporting of research evidence. Lancet. 2009 Jul 4;374(9683):86-9.

[2] Macleod MR, Michie S, Roberts I, et al. Biomedical research: increasing value, reducing waste. Lancet. 2014 Jan 11;383(9912):101-4.

[3] Glasziou P, Altman DG, Bossuyt P, et al. Reducing waste from incomplete or unusable reports of biomedical research. Lancet. 2014 Jan 18;383(9913):267-76.