Special project funding

Special project funding

1. Introduction

The special projects funds has been adopted by WONCA Europe as a strategy for assisting and promoting research in general practice/family practice within Europe. It is designed to support research proposals, which cover the broad content of the discipline, in accordance with its new definition and core competences (WONCA Europe 2002). 

2. The scope of the Special Projects Fund

It aims to foster the research capacity of the discipline in Europe and serves the new targets of WONCA Europe, which have been recently refined. The new call for the Special Projects Fund comes timely, while the new research, educational and quality assurance agenda is discussed by WONCA Europe and the three core networks: EGPRN, EURACT and EQuiP. 

3. Relevant WONCA documents for review

WONCA World, WONCA Europe and the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) have produced several important documents relevant to the research policy, priorities and barriers which researchers should review prior to considering an application to the funding call. These include:

(a)        The new definition of General Practice/Family Medicine (WONCA Europe 2002).

(b)        The new targets of WONCA Europe.

(c)        The Kingston paper (Improving Health Care Globally: A Critical Review of the Necessity of Family Medicine Research and Recommendations to Build Research Capacity, by C. Van Weel and W. Rosser, Annals of Family Medicine 2004;2:S5-S16).

(d)        The EGPRN paper (Setting priorities and identifying barriers for general practice research in Europe: Results from an EGPRW meeting. by C. Lionis, H.E. Stoffers, E. Hummers-Pradier, F. Griffiths, D. Rotar-Pavlic, J.J. Rethans. Family Practice 2004; 21: 587-593). 

4. Eligibility criteria

Only proposals which fulfill the three following criteria should be considered as eligible for funding:

(a)     Their aim and objectives are in accordance with the refined WONCA Europe targets.

(b)     They contribute to the further development of the research capacity of the discipline within the national or regional level.

(c)     They promote international co-operation. This requires a participation of two at least colleges or Institutes or academic departments of GP/FM in Europe or other regions. 

5. Submitting a proposal to WONCA Europe

Proposals are considered twice a year; in the spring and autumn.  All applications must reach the WONCA Europe secretariat by 1^st May for the spring round and by 1^st November for the autumn. A four member committee has been appointed for scoring the research proposals; its main tasks are to evaluate the applications and report to the WONCA Executive Board. A maximum of $5,000 may be awarded for each successful application. 

6. Evaluation criteria

The proposals' evaluation should be based on concrete criteria. The following should be more specifically observed:

(a) The aim should be clear and well stated.

(b) The research questions should be clearly presented.

(c) The research proposal should be original.

(d) The proposal should be within the wider context of the discipline of general practice/family medicine, as it has been defined by WONCA Europe.

(e) The methods should be appropriate (in the case of quantitative studies) and corroborated by other sources (in the case of qualitative studies).

(f) The expected results should be adding to the European value and have clear implications for the clinical care and daily practice.

(g) There should be an international partnership of at least two European partners or one European and one non European partner from other WONCA Regions. 

7. Guidelines for submitting a proposal

(a)   Background: Check whether your proposal introduces the subject clearly and explores its necessity and implications for the discipline of general practice/family medicine. Check also whether the used term of general practice/family medicine is in accordance with the new definition of the discipline (WONCA Europe 2002).

(b)   Aim and objectives: Check if the aim/objectives are clear.

(c)   Setting and methods: Check if the setting where the research is going to be implemented is described and if the methods used are appropriate and tailored for the stated research questions.

(d)   Partnership: Confirm whether the partnership is eligible and fulfils the established criteria.

(e)   Evaluation criteria: Check if your proposal has included a set of indicators of success for the project.

(f)     Expected results and actions for dissemination: Clearly indicate the expected results, the value they could add and their potential implication for clinical care and practice. Check if actions for publicity and dissemination are mentioned in the proposal.

(g)   Ethical issues, safety and regulatory issues: Check whether your proposal has assured permission of relevant Ethical committees and discuss safety and other relevant European or national regulations. For those proposals, which include clinical trials check if the European Directorate ENTR/F2/BL D (2003) has been followed.

(h)   Resources and cost: Indicate clearly the estimated budget and provide detailed information on the different resources of the project expenses.

 This text has been composed by Prof. Christos Lionis
and approved by the Executive Board of WONCA Europe at the Ljubljana meeting (February 5, 2005).