I’ve been able to watch the crowdfunding phenomenon up close: My husband is a Kickstarter addict, and he, like millions of others, funds projects that speak to his passions and social priorities. In recent years, some non-profits have applied the crowdfunding model to clinical trials (something he hasn't funded yet), and others may follow suit as federal-funding dollars dries up. Last week, Nature Medicine published an article that describes the first few years of those efforts and the questions they bring up.
As outlined in the piece, critics argue that the system unfairly penalizes those that may not have a large online social network to use to publicize their funding efforts, while proponents say it makes it possible for donors to connect more directly with the research and it increases transparency of research funding. As one source explains:
“One key thing is tangibility,” says Catherine Ferguson, Innovation Project Lead at Cancer Research UK, “It's an inherent part of crowdfunding that isn't inherent in regular funding.” Whether it's a particular type of cancer or a particular therapy, crowdfunding allows for a “more direct relationship with both the researcher and the research,” she adds, emphasizing that this directed approach is good for maintaining relationships with donors.
Cancer Research UK, which we've written about before, was one of the early advocates of clinical trial crowdfunding. It recently concluded it first effort to crowdfund a clinical trial to study a vaccine for Epstein-Barr virus in cancer patients. The group fell far short of their goal, raising only six percent of the £40,000 ($61,000) goal on their Indiegogo campaign, so it returned the funds to donors. Again, from the article:
The organization chose a so-called fixed-funding model, in which they chose a goal amount but kept none of the funds that were raised if the goal wasn't met. “It felt disingenuous to keep some of the money but not make the research happen,” said Ferguson. “We really wanted to emphasize that the money was for a specific project and if the project couldn't be fully funded, then why keep the money?” Because the campaign wasn't successful, the funds raised were returned to those who pledged the money, but Ferguson said that many of the donors reached out to make contributions to the organizations anyway.
Other organizations are using slightly different models, and the coming months, or maybe years, will reveal whether any are able to successfully fund clinical trials through this new avenue.
Previously: New crowdfunding sites apply Kickstarter model to health and medicine, Can crowdfunding boost public support and financing for scientific research? and Crowdsourcing the identification of cancer cells
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