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Research funder trials grant allocation by partial randomisation. Send updates to t.stafford@sheffield.ac.uk or hbw@researchonresearch.org
This sheet linked via http://bit.ly/PRtrials
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Based on an intial survey in The Experimental Research Funder’s Handbook (2022)
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See case studies
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FunderDatesStatusSchemeFundingNewsReports
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Health Research Council of New Zealand2013-2025 (?)discontinuedExplorer Grants schemeE92k/award
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VolkswagenStiftung2017-2020trial completedExperiment!E120k/awardhttps://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/funding/funding-offer/experiment-search-bold-research-ideas-completed
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Austrian Science Fund (FWF)2019-ongoing1000 Ideas ProgrammeE150k/award
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Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)2018-trial completed, use adoptedall schemesFrancs 910m in 2022https://www.snf.ch/en/JyifP2I9SUo8CPxI/news/news-210331-drawing-lots-as-a-tie-breaker
Heyard, R., Ott, M., Salanti, G., & Egger, M. (2022). Rethinking the funding line at the Swiss national science foundation: Bayesian ranking and lottery. Statistics and Public Policy, 9(1), 110-121.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2330443X.2022.2086190
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Novo Nordisk Fonden2022-2025trial ongoing
Project Grants & Exploratory Interdisciplinary Synergy Grants
$800k/awardhttps://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/q-a-a-randomized-approach-to-awarding-grants-69741
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British Academy2022-2025trial ongoingSmall Research Grants£10k/awardhttps://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/news-comment-the-british-academy-is-trialling-a-new-fairer-method-of-selecting-its-small-research-grants-heres-why/ and https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/promising-results-from-first-year-of-innovative-grant-awarding-trial/
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UKRI / NERC2022-trial ongoingExploring the Frontiers of Environmental Science£4m totalhttps://www.ukri.org/news/nerc-to-trial-a-new-assessment-process-for-funding-applications/
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Wellcome2023-trial ongoingInstitutional Funding for Research Culture£1m/awardhttps://wellcome.org/grant-funding/schemes/Institutional-Funding-for-Research-Culture
Lewis-Wilson, S., Towers, S., & Wykeham, H. (2023). The luck of the draw: Wellcome's Institutional Fund for Research Culture. Wellcome Open Research, 8(525), 525.
https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/8-525
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Nesta2019-2020completedExplorations Initiativeshttps://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/explorations-initiatives-2020/key-takeaways/
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University of Leeds2023completedEnhancing Research Culture (internal)£382k total
Davies, C., & Ingram, H. (2023). A partially randomised approach to internal funding allocation: A pilot by the University of Leeds’ Research Culture team. https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/208005/
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UMC Utrecht/Ministry of OCW2023Completed?€2.5 m total, 11 awardsOnderzoeksbeurzen via loting als primeur - UMC Utrecht
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UKRIfrom 2025?multiple, including CRCRM
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Carnegie TrustResearch Incentive Grantshttps://carnegie-trust.org/partial-randomisation-trial-for-research-incentive-grants/
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Statistical Society of AustraliaSince 2021https://www.statsoc.org.au/top_ups
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Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-Research and Open Science (AIMOS)
Since 2022https://aimos.community/scholarships/2022
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International Society for Clinical Biostatistics (ISCB)Coming in 2025
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Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) in New Zealand2024 -ongoing
Whitinga Fellowships (one-off, now closed) and the Tāwhia
te Mana Fellowships (first selection round in 2024).
Selection method is at https://github.com/Royal-Society-of-New-Zealand/mana-tuapapa-selection
Te Mana fellowships full lottery in 2024 round, partial lottery in 2025
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Dana Foundation2025??" small professional development awards"https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70160
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Carnegie Trust2024stopped early
Research Incentive Grants https://carnegie-trust.org/award-schemes/research-incentive-grants/
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