Wednesday, May 5, 2010

What Metrics Matter Most in Nonprofit Medical Research?


We want your input! From operational processes to research effectiveness, tell us what measures you think matter most in evaluating nonprofit disease research foundations and their impact on the discovery and development of new cures. Whether you’re a foundation, scientist, researcher, advisor, or investor, we want to hear from you.

A year ago, FasterCures launched the Philanthropy Advisory Service (PAS) to establish clear and transparent evaluation of nonprofit activities in medical research—helping philanthropists better understand and evaluate the R&D landscape, and strategically guide their investment dollars in high-impact areas. In its initial phase, PAS features the latest medical research developments and objective analysis of key nonprofit disease research organizations in Alzheimer’s disease, malaria, multiple sclerosis, and tuberculosis.

In developing this resource, FasterCures created an evaluation tool to help measure the performance of such organizations, looking at everything from accountability to collaboration to overall contributions to the field. With a year into this effort, we’re taking another look at the framework to learn how we can make it an even more effective tool—not just for use by philanthropists looking to evaluate investment opportunities, but also for organizations seeking ways enhance their effectiveness.
PAS was developed by FasterCures and supported by grants from the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Click here to review our metrics and tell us how we can make them better and stronger. We appreciate your input and believe that, together, we can inform and increase the flow of philanthropic dollars to this critical field of research.
Related resources:
  • “From Social Entrepreneurship to ‘Cure Entrepreneurship’” (April 2009) PDF of Full Report
  • "Entrepreneurs For Cures: The Critical Need for Innovative Approaches to Disease Research"(May 2008) White Paper (PDF)

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