1. Why does the cancer research survey include projects funded in 2005, 2006 and 2007?

Many organizations have different grant cycles and fiscal years. The selection of calendar 2005 for the first year of the survey was intended to standardize data collection to one 12-month period, which also coincided with the fiscal year for the CCRA. In the second and third surveys, we continued with our calendar year cycle.

2. Why doesn’t the survey include all organizations in Canada that fund cancer research?

The first survey started with members and affiliated groups for its base year of data collection, and was expanded to other funder organizations within the governmental and voluntary sectors in the second and third years. Our intention is to continue to expand the scope of the survey.

3. Shouldn’t hospital foundations that support cancer research be included in the survey?

It is recognized that some of the larger hospital foundations are significant funders of cancer research, and we hope to include some of the major foundations in future iterations of the survey.

4. Why doesn’t the survey include commercially/industry funded cancer research?

Data from commercial/industry funders are typically protected because of potential proprietary concerns. We are exploring ways to estimate this investment.

5. When will the 2008 survey be available?

We are currently in the process of collecting 2008 data, and anticipate release of our third report in the fall of 2010.