What are calls for proposals?
The first step in starting trials within the KCE Trials programme is identifying research questions that are important for the quality and efficiency of the Belgian health care system. To do so, calls for proposals are advertised regularly to give the opportunity to the stakeholders of the Belgian health care system to suggest possible research questions for the KCE Trials programme. Calls for proposals are posted on the KCE Trials website and fall within one of the three different workstreams.
Three different workstreams
- Commissioned workstream: a ‘top-down’ approach which focuses on funding trials that will answer clinical questions which have been identified and prioritised for their importance to the patients and the healthcare system.
- Investigator-led workstream: a ‘bottom-up’ approach, which begins with open calls where clinicians can propose clinical questions in any topic area.
- International workstream: KCE Trials funds Belgian participation in international trials or will participate to international calls for trials that answer questions of importance for the Belgian patients and healthcare system.
Research teams that have the capacity to perform the trial themselves, can submit a proposal to the investigator-led or international workstreams.
People who cannot perform clinical trials themselves, including researchers, professionals working in healthcare, patients and patient groups, members of the public and other stakeholders such as government institutions, can propose research topics to the commissioned workstream. After selection of the most relevant research questions, KCE Trials then publishes a commissioning brief to find and select a research team to perform the trial.
For more information on the selection process, see here.
