>> Certainly, large budgets have been spent in the past (e.g., for cardiovascular research). Budgets for healthcare research have also been allocated by the federal government, health insurance funds, and even the German Medical Association. But never before have sums in the hundreds of millions been involved.
The funds were to be spent within four years. However, it is also noticeable that this substantial budget is currently accompanied by a lack of detailed objectives. One would normally expect such a large program to begin with a well-founded set of goals.
This also increases the demands on the program's implementation, as it essentially has to develop its own objectives or, through a smart funding policy, ensure that the program yields the greatest possible benefit. A closer look reveals several challenges that must be overcome if the program is to be successful.
The dimension
The draft of the VSG (Healthcare Strengthening Act) faithfully incorporates the announcement made in the 2013 coalition agreement and stipulates that €75 million per year, totaling €300 million, should be allocated to healthcare research for the four years from 2016 to 2019. A further condition is that any unused funds at the end of a fiscal year should be returned to the health fund and the health insurance companies. This is the largest single allocation of funds ever made available for this purpose.
How much money is 75 million? As a first approximation, this sum can be divided by the personnel costs, which are calculated as the "gross employer salary" per employee per year. If we set this amount at 100,000 euros, 750 health services researchers can be employed in this program. Truly a large number. Presumably, all available specialists will be occupied with this program for four years. In reality, therefore, many other people will also be involved in this program: doctors, economists, social scientists, statisticians, etc. This should be seen as an opportunity to allocate as much expertise as possible.
How many projects can be funded?
Traditional project budgets in health services research in Germany are typically small. The 33 projects funded by the BMBF to date had an average project volume of €0.3 million and an average duration of 2.6 years. This results in an annual funding volume (hereinafter referred to as "intensity") of €0.1 million. In relation to the aforementioned order of magnitude...
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