• Nelson Merchan, David N Bernstein, Noorullah Maqsoodi, Tochukwu Ikpeze, and Addisu Mesfin.
• Department of Orthopaedic -Surgery, University of Rochester School -of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY.
• Spine. 2021 Dec 1; 46 (23): E1269E1273E1269-E1273.

Study DesignRetrospective, observational -study.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS), Scoliosis Research Society (SRS), and North America Spine Society (NASS) grants as quantified by the number of publications generated and federal grants obtained (National Institute of Health [NIH], Department of Defense [DOD]).Summary Of Background DataThe CSR, SRS, and NASS, have awarded numerous research grants over the past three decades.MethodsThrough publicly available data we identified grants awarded by the Spine Societies. We collected the type of grant awarded, the Principal Investigator information, dollar amount of the grant, number of publications in PubMed from each grant, number of citations, and the publication journal. The NIH and DOD website were queried to determine which grantees subsequently received either NIH or DoD funding.ResultsFrom 1989 to 2016: 81 (CSRS), 126 (SRS), and 93 (NASS) grants were awarded. From these grants 206 publications acknowledged receiving financial support from the spine societies. The SRS funded 100 papers, NASS 62 papers, and CSRS 44 papers. A total of 32 NIH grants and four DOD grants were subsequently awarded. The conversion rate to NIH grants was 15% (n = 12 CSRS), 7.9% (n = 10 SRS), and 11% (n = 10 NASS). The conversion rate to DOD grants was 3.7% (n = 3 CSRS), 0.8% (n = 1 SRS), and 0% (n = 0 NASS). ROI of spine society grant dollars per future NIH and DoD grants were the lowest for CSRS (Dollars Per NIH Grant: $207,434; Dollars Per DoD Grant: $829,734). Male investigators received 85% of CSRS grants, 75% of SRS grants, and 83% of NASS grants.ConclusionCSRS grants appear to have the highest ROI of all spine society grants when evaluating subsequent NIH and DOD funding. However, the overall conversion rate to NIH and DOD grants remains low.Level of Evidence: 3.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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