Cochrane-REWARD prize for reducing waste in health research



Cochrane is now calling for nominations for the 2018 prize.

The Lancet series on adding value and reducing waste in research has documented that much research is wasted because its outcomes cannot be used. The waste occurs during 5 stages of research production: question selection, study design, research conduct, publication, and reporting. This type of research waste has been estimated at a global loss of around $170 billion per year. Much of this waste appears to be avoidable or remediable, but there is little recognition of the need to develop and implement the needed remedies.

The Cochrane-REWARD prize is intended to stimulate and promote research to address the issue of research waste, highlighting both underused "remedies" and the need to invest in research to identify problems and solutions to them.

The prize is open to any person or organization that has tested and implemented strategies to reduce waste in one of the five stages of research production in the area of health (defined as the range of behavioural, biological, socio-economic and environmental factors that influence the health status of individuals or populations).

All nominations will be assessed using the following criteria:



  1. The nominee has addressed at least one of the 5 stages of research waste (questions, design, conduct, publication, reporting) in the area of health;

  2. The nominee has pilot or more definitive data showing the initiative can lower waste;

  3. The initiative can be scaled up;

  4. The estimated potential reduction in research waste that the initiative might achieve.


Nominations will be assessed by a panel of 10 members, who will select two entries to win a funding award, paid over the next two years.

First prize will be awarded £3000 (£1500 per year); 2nd prize will be awarded funding of £2000 (£1000 per year).

Deadline for nominations is May 15th, 2018.  The winners will be announced at the Cochrane Colloquium, Edinburgh, 16-18 September, 2018.

Interested parties should read through the full details and apply using the entry form here.



- Monday 29th January, 2018 -

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