Researching our research

Researching our research 2006-2011

We know that Arthritis Australia research is highly valued by the public and the philanthropic community. Strong and growing support from our various benefactors and the foundations that contribute to our research fund is testament to this. What we haven’t been able to articulate, until now, is exactly what our research funding has delivered, and promises to deliver, for people with arthritis.

The Researching our Research report represents the first in-depth evaluation of the impacts of Arthritis Australia’s research funding. We set out to assess, as objectively as possible, the many benefits and achievements that our research investment has produced, and has the potential to deliver into the future.

The most valuable outcome of this exercise is the establishment of a research achievement baseline – a reference against which the ‘paybacks’ of future Arthritis Australia research can be measured.

Periodic evaluation of our research portfolio over the coming years will allow us not only to benchmark our research performance over time, but to trace the evolution of the research we fund, helping us to understand how our research contributes to the development of products and policies that benefit people with arthritis. This knowledge will help us to shape funding policy and build a long-term research funding strategy for Arthritis Australia, delivering real results for arthritis sufferers well into the future.

Click to view Researching our Research 2006-2011

Researching our research –
Research case studies 2006-2011

The commitment and innovative spirit of Arthritis Australia’s researchers was a stand-out finding of the Research Retrospective survey. Our seed-funding approach has initiated many important projects and established the careers of some highly creative and visionary researchers. Projects as diverse as the trial of a drug to halt the development of osteoarthritis, an analysis of the burdens of arthritis on Australian women, and the establishment of a ‘biobank’ to help find the causes of childhood arthritis have all been kick-started with funding from Arthritis Australia.

The Research case studies 2006-2011 serve to put faces to some of Arthritis Australia’s most successful research stories over recent years. These projects and many more continue to develop and move closer to their goal of improving the lives of people with arthritic disease.

Arthritis Australia congratulates all of our researchers on their achievements, and looks forward to supporting more world-class research and a new generation of talented researchers into the future.

Click to view Researching our Research – Research case studies 2006-2011