The funding market for nursing research

Abstract

The finance for nursing research is obtained from a funding market where the nursing profession competes with other groups for limited resources. In order to compete effectively in that market, nursing needs to understand the nature of the market and the importance of the professional and social networks which underpin it. This paper aims to enhance that understanding in two ways. Firstly it presents a descriptive profile of the main types of funding agencies relevant to nursing (government departments, the Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Health Education Council, the locally organized research schemes of the regions, private charities and industry) and summarizes the position of nursing in each sector. Secondly, the paper analyses the way in which the social networks of the funding market monitor and control the competition for research resources and how the nursing profession can best approach those social networks.