Study reveals: research and philanthropy play pivotal role in cancer battle

The study, Donors without borders: Rethinking Childhood Cancer Research Funding in Australia, undertaken by the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) and the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation (ALCCRF), found that there is strong competition for the donor dollar in Australia, but also found that that the philanthropy landscape in Australia is fragmented, complex and crowded.

The report also found that new thinking is required about how Australia approaches childhood cancer research, given the rarity of childhood cancer, the new knowledge about ‘cancer’, the high costs of research and the extensive development time required for new therapies.

“Our research found that ‘health and medical research is from Mars and philanthropy is from Venus’,” said Project Director Brenda Santiago.

“It found that while it is clear that investing in childhood cancer research is a gamble, increased collaboration is able to dramatically improve the odds.”

ALCCRF Founding Chair and Trustee Dr Joe Collins said that “The report highlights the importance of and need for different forms of collaboration across all borders in order to help children ‘slay the dragon’ and achieve 100 per cent survival rates for children with cancer.”

The report engaged key opinion leaders in childhood cancer research, philanthropy, the medical and health sciences and government across the country.