Academic output from EU-funded health research projects

Michael Galsworthy and colleagues’ Correspondence “Academic output of 9 years of EU investment into health research” (Sept 15, p 971) leaves the impression that health research projects funded by the European Union (EU) have no or extremely limited academic output. Last year, the European Commission did an impact assessment on all health projects funded between 2002 and 2010. It was not based on an internet search of peer-reviewed publications, but on a questionnaire sent to all participants in past projects. This assessment shows that, for this period, 1200 projects generated an estimated 70 000 PubMed-listed publications. Although all EU-funded projects have to report on their results, publication in peer-reviewed scientifi c journals, although relevant for certain types of project, is not an obligation. Citations in academic journals are just one criterion with which to assess the value and impact of projects. Other criteria, depending on the project in question, might include the development of new drug candidates, patent applications, new medical products and therapies, clinical trial results, new large-scale databases, and standards for improved treatment. Furthermore, at the moment there is a fairly weak requirement for projects to make reference to their grant agreements in their publications (hence the drawback of using internet searches to try to capture this information). On the more general suggestion about a central database, the Commission relies on the e-infrastructure project OpenAIRE, which is used to deposit and access peer-reviewed articles and datasets arising from some current EU-funded projects. The Commission also intends to mandate open access to all peer-reviewed publications arising from EU-funded research (under Horizon 2020).