Abdoul H, Perrey C, Tubach F, Amiel P, Durand-Zaleski I, Alberti C. Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest in Academic Grant Evaluation: a Qualitative Study of Multiple Stakeholders in France, PLoS One, 2012 April 9, 7(4), e 35247
Peer review is the most widely used method for evaluating grant applications in clinical research. Criticisms of peer review include lack of equity, suspicion of biases, and conflicts of interest (CoI). CoIs raise questions of fairness, transparency, and trust in grant allocation. Few observational studies have assessed these issues. We report the results of a qualitative study on reviewers’ and applicants’ perceptions and experiences of CoIs in reviews of French academic grant applications.