This report analyses existing competitive research funding mechanisms and their effectiveness, taking into account a variety of contextual factors. It focuses on the efficiency of funding allocation mechanisms relative to their objectives. The main elements of this project have been an extensive survey of individual funding schemes in different countries, complemented with targeted interviews. Findings from the survey and interviews, completed with contextual data on national research funding trends, were analysed to identify major challenges for competitive funding processes and to propose options to overcome them.

This report is aimed both at the research funding community and policy-makers wishing to adapt competitive research funding strategies to different objectives. It includes a number of policy recommendations, which engage different actors and are derived from the analysis including identification of gaps in the available data and information.