A successful crowdfunding project for eHealth research on grown-up congenital heart disease patients

Koole, M. A. C.; Kauw, Dirkjan; Winter, Michiel M.; Schuuring, Mark J.

doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2018.10.015

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…However, our findings differ somewhat from those of an eHealth study on congenital heart disease, where unknown donors only started to contribute after observing some initial funding success [21]. We believe that the continuous preliminary campaign with attention-grabbing videos on social media in the weeks preceding the start of the crowdfunding campaign was responsible for the early buy-in by unknown donors.…”

Section: Contributorscontrasting

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Novel Funding Strategies for Innovative Medical Research: The HORAO Crowdfunding Campaign

Schucht¹,

Roccaro-Waldmeyer²,

Murek³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

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Background The rise of the internet and social media has boosted online crowdfunding as a novel strategy to raise funds for kick-starting projects, but it is rarely used in science. Objective We report on an online crowdfunding campaign launched in the context of the neuroscience project HORAO. The aim of HORAO was to develop a noninvasive real-time method to visualize neuronal fiber tracts during brain surgery in order to better delineate tumors and to identify crucial cerebral landmarks. The revenue from the crowdfunding campaign was to be used to sponsor a crowdsourcing campaign for the HORAO project. Methods We ran a 7-week reward-based crowdfunding campaign on a national crowdfunding platform, offering optional material and experiential rewards in return for a contribution toward raising our target of Swiss francs (CHF) 50,000 in financial support (roughly equivalent to US $50,000 at the time of the campaign). We used various owned media (websites and social media), as well as earned media (press releases and news articles) to raise awareness about our project. Results The production of an explanatory video took 60 hours, and 31 posts were published on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). The campaign raised a total of CHF 69,109. Approximately half of all donations came from donors who forwent a reward (CHF 28,786, 48.74%); the other half came from donors who chose experiential and material rewards in similar proportions (CHF 14,958, 25.33% and CHF 15,315.69, 25.93%, respectively). Of those with an identifiable relationship to the crowdfunding team, patients and their relatives contributed the largest sum (CHF 17,820, 30.17%), followed by friends and family (CHF 9288, 15.73%) and work colleagues (CHF 6028, 10.21%), while 43.89% of funds came from donors who were either anonymous or had an unknown relationship to the crowdfunding team. Patients and their relatives made the largest donations, with a median value of CHF 200 (IQR 90). Conclusions Crowdfunding proved to be a successful strategy to fund a neuroscience project and to raise awareness of a specific clinical problem. Focusing on potential donors with a personal interest in the issue, such as patients and their relatives in our project, is likely to increase funding success. Compared with traditional grant applications, new skills are needed to explain medical challenges to the crowd through video messages and social media.

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Section: Contributorscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Contributorssupporting

confidence: 90%

Exploring Novel Funding Strategies for Innovative Medical Research: The HORAO Crowdfunding Campaign

Schucht¹,

Roccaro-Waldmeyer²,

Murek³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our findings thus agree with the general observation that the initial donations in crowdfunding campaigns typically stem from the project creators' own social networks [21,22]. However, our findings differ somewhat from those of an eHealth study on congenital heart disease, where unknown donors only started to contribute after observing some initial funding success [21]. We believe that the continuous preliminary campaign with attention-grabbing videos on social media in the weeks preceding the start of the crowdfunding campaign was responsible for the early buy-in by unknown donors.…”

Section: Contributorssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…However, unknown donors also started to contribute from the very first week. Our findings thus agree with the general observation that the initial donations in crowdfunding campaigns typically stem from the project creators' own social networks [21,22]. However, our findings differ somewhat from those of an eHealth study on congenital heart disease, where unknown donors only started to contribute after observing some initial funding success [21].…”

Section: Contributorssupporting

confidence: 79%

Exploring Novel Funding Strategies for Innovative Medical Research: The HORAO Crowdfunding Campaign (Preprint)

Schucht¹,

Roccaro-Waldmeyer²,

Murek³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND The rise of the internet and of social media has boosted online crowdfunding as a novel strategy to raise funds for kick-starting projects, but as yet it is rarely used in science. OBJECTIVE We report on an online crowdfunding campaign launched in the context of the neuroscience project HORAO. HORAO’s aim is to develop a non-invasive real-time method to visualize neuronal fiber tracts during brain surgery in order to better delineate tumors and to identify crucial cerebral landmarks. The revenue from the crowdfunding campaign was to be used to sponsor a crowdsourcing campaign for the HORAO project. METHODS We ran a 7-week reward-based crowdfunding campaign on a national crowdfunding platform, offering both material and experiential rewards in return for a contribution toward raising our target of CHF 50,000 in financial support. We used various owned media (websites and social media) as well as earned media (press releases and news articles) to raise awareness about our project. RESULTS The production of an explanatory video took 60 hours, and 31 posts were published on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). The campaign raised a total of CHF 69,109. Approximately half of all donations came from donors who forwent a reward (49%); the other half came from donors who chose experiential and material rewards in similar amounts parts (26% and 25%, respectively). Of those with an identifiable relationship to the crowdfunding team, patients and their relatives contributed the largest sum (30%), followed by friends and family (16%) and work colleagues (10%), while 44% of funds came from donors who were either anonymous or had an unknown relationship to the crowdfunding team. Patients and their relatives made the largest donations, with a median value of CHF 200 (interquartile range [IQR] = 90). CONCLUSIONS Crowdfunding proved to be a successful strategy to fund a neuroscience project and to raise awareness of a specific clinical problem. Focusing on potential donors with a personal interest in the issue, such as patients and their relatives in our project, is likely to increase funding success. Compared to traditional grant applications, new skills are needed to explain medical challenges to the crowd through video messages and social media.

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“…10 Crowdfunding platforms focus on serving researchers in high-income countries (HICs). 11,12 13 However, there is a substantial need for crowdfunding in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). 14 LMIC researchers are often disadvantaged in applying for research grants compared to their counterparts in HICs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crowdfunding for health research: A global systematic review, qualitative evidence synthesis and TDR pilot for LMIC researchers

Kpokiri

Sri-Pathmanathan

Shrestha

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundMany exceptional researchers, especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) face structural disadvantages in applying for research grants. Public engagement and crowdfunding make it possible for researchers to directly seek support from the public, by engaging large groups of people who make small contributions to support a project. This manuscript synthesizes global qualitative evidence and describes a WHO-TDR public engagement and crowdfunding pilot programme.MethodsWe searched six databases for primary qualitative and mixed-methods research. We used a thematic synthesis approach and assessed our findings using the GRADE-CERQual approach. A crowdfunding approach to finance research studies was tested through a pilot programme, with a focus on infectious diseases of poverty. TDR Global mentors provided support for five finalists to engage the public and develop crowdfunding campaigns.ResultsNine studies were included in the qualitative evidence synthesis. Themes were developed into seven key findings, including the need for extensive public engagement, the potential for crowdfunding to open a communication channel between researchers and the public, key correlates of crowdfunding success and the risks of crowdfunding health research with associated mitigation strategies. The TDR pilot programme received 121 entries from 37 countries. Five LMIC-based researchers received training and joined a working group. Three researchers launched their crowdfunding campaigns, met their goals and received substantial monetary and non-monetary contributions.ConclusionPublic engagement provides a foundation for effective crowdfunding for health research. Our evidence synthesis and pilot data provide practical strategies for LMIC researchers to engage the public and conduct crowdfunding campaigns.

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A successful crowdfunding project for eHealth research on grown-up congenital heart disease patients

Cited by 14 publications

References 16 publications

Exploring Novel Funding Strategies for Innovative Medical Research: The HORAO Crowdfunding Campaign

Exploring Novel Funding Strategies for Innovative Medical Research: The HORAO Crowdfunding Campaign

Exploring Novel Funding Strategies for Innovative Medical Research: The HORAO Crowdfunding Campaign (Preprint)

Crowdfunding for health research: A global systematic review, qualitative evidence synthesis and TDR pilot for LMIC researchers

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