You would be hard pressed to find a research program as productive and cost-effective as Cochrane Canada. With an annual budget of around $2 million, Cochrane Canada contributes 10% of Cochrane reviews globally. Cochrane pays for the infrastructure to support volunteer researchers through each step of the systematic review process, a very efficient model that enables strict quality control while keeping the price per review very low compared to a research grant.

For example, at a cost of just over $5 million, Cochrane Canada supported 178 reviews and 154 updates between 2010 and 2015. To fund these reviews at the market rate would have cost around $33 million. That is the gold standard of health evidence at 20% of the cost.  The traditional operating-grant model does not achieve this level of efficiency. Over its seven years, CIHR’s Knowledge Synthesis program funded 202 syntheses at a cost of over $17 million.

Want to learn more? Check out our Funding and Support page.