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| PREFACE | ||
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This report presents the results of a two-and-a-half-day workshop organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsored by the Funding First Program of the Mary Woodard Lasker Trust and cosponsored by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Funding First is a new education and advocacy program of the Mary Woodard Lasker Trust. Its goal is to stimulate a long-range national commitment to funding medical research. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is an independent private foundation established to advance the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities. The workshop, entitled “How to Fund Science: The Future of Medical Research,” was held February 14-16 at the Aspen Institute’s Wye River Conference Centers. Workshop participants were selected on the basis of their knowledge and experience and the institutional perspectives that they brought to the table. The group heard expert presentations, which were followed by plenary discussions, and then by breakout groups where recommendations for action were debated. A list of workshop participants and the program agenda can be found at the end of this report. The views represented at the meeting were diverse and no effort was made to force consensus on the group. However, a sense of the meeting developed, which is reflected in the findings and recommendations of this report. Participants recognized the importance of sufficient and assured funding for medical research, defined in the broadest possible sense. While they were aware of the primacy of the appropriations process for the funding of medical research, most felt that secondary sources of funding outside the regular discretionary budget could help to assure steady and uninterrupted funding of medical research and supported initiatives aimed at developing such sources. This report was circulated in draft to the participants, and the final version has incorporated comments and suggestions received in response to the draft. Readers should note, however, that neither the individuals who took part in the meeting nor the organizations with which they are affiliated have given universal approval of specific recommendations. The Honorable
Mark O. Hatfield Dr. Leon E.
Rosenberg Dr. Albert H.
Teich
© 1999 American Association for the Advancement of Science |
