The world’s largest cancer charity Cancer Research UK announces they are the latest funder to join the Researchfish community, which is rapidly transforming the way research outputs are captured and reported globally.

Cancer Research UK becomes the 71st funding body, alongside 12 leading universities and over 6,000 researchers to use Researchfish, to consistently track and evaluate the outcomes of multiple research projects. 

With Cancer Research UK on board, Researchfish will now track the outputs of around £4.5 billion in research funding.

Researchfish, a ground-breaking online research outcomes system, grew out of the MRC’s e-Val system in 2009.

Cancer Research UK helped to develop the programme, in collaboration with a working party of six charities, to provide a single forum for researchers (PIs) to log the results of their research - instantly saving valuable time and money on grants administration.

The facility removes the need for PIs to report repeatedly across multiple funders, freeing up more of their time to spend on actual research and delivering value for money for funders.  This also significantly improves tracking and evaluation for funders and universities, enabling them to collate information from multiple researchers and track progress with individual projects over a number of years - thus bringing mutual benefits to all three user groups.   The MRC currently tracks more than £2.5 billion of research investment through Researchfish.

Jo Reynolds, Director of Reporting from Cancer Research UK said:

“This is a great example of how cooperation between funders can vastly improve how we all understand the outcomes and impact of the research that we fund. Research is a collective effort and how we can gather the results collectively. For Cancer Research UK, the information we collect through Researchfish will be instrumental in helping us demonstrate how the millions of pounds donated to us every year make a difference to patients and the public. We are delighted to be working with Researchfish and the 70 other funders using the system.”
 
Researchfish spokesperson, Frances Buck said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Cancer Research UK to join our exciting and rapidly expanding community, furthering the effectiveness of their impact tracking and their evaluation of the pioneering work that they fund.  The collaboration with Researchfish will help with Cancer Research UK’s strategic planning of future research areas, helping to focus the charity’s resources as effectively as possible. We are delighted to support Cancer Research UK in its vital fight against cancer.”

Researchfish fees are paid by the funding organisations who are members, with universities making a nominal contribution to cover the costs of technical assistance. Individual researchers use the software free of charge.

Source: CRUK