oa Measuring The Return On Investment For Research At Sidra

General consensus exists that biomedical research is a key determinant of innovation, health, and economic wellbeing. However, the answer to the question how do we determine and quantify the value and the impact of research is apparently simple, while a thoughtful and analytical answer quickly becomes very probing and difficult to address. Qatar has dedicated itself to transitioning from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy and Sidra Medical and Research Center is envisioned to become a beacon of learning and a world-class institution of its kind in the MENA region. A unique opportunity exists at Sidra for the development of a comprehensive system to capture the return on investment (ROI) for research on knowledge, the economy, and on health outcomes. This would enable Sidra to establish itself as a leader in the field of impact assessment, ahead of many other countries also grappling with this thorny problem. In fact, Sidra's status as a startup creates a rare situation where measurement and analysis of ROI can be initiated from a baseline. Work can then be done prospectively rather than trying to gather information retroactively, a difficult obstacle that institutions that have attempted to implement similar systems have had to try to overcome. In order to take advantage of this opportunity at Sidra, we propose creating a core system consisting of a smart, web-based, auto-populated "Sidra Biosketch". This system will interact with internal enterprise resource planning, grants and proposal management systems, as well as external publication, patent, startup and commercial license databases (e.g., PubMed). This system takes into consideration two critical factors. First, it minimizes the administrative burden on investigators and administrators. Second, it does not solely measure stochastically by counting numbers of publications, citations, etc. Rather, it focuses and relies heavily on content and contextual assessment to enable Sidra to fully understand exactly what research is being done, where it is being done, by whom, and with what collaborators. The impact on knowledge, economic and health outcomes can then be mapped through dynamic network analyses, natural language processing, and topic modeling approaches. This approach to measuring the impact of Sidra research will maximize efficiency of input and analysis as well as the quality of outputs and results. Meanwhile, this system will also enable Sidra to make decisions that will enhance resource allocation and allow for better assessment of its contribution to progress in science, the economy, and health outcomes in Qatar and worldwide.