Research: For the Health of the Nation and the World
Research!America's annual report, Shape the Debate: Put Research for Health on the National Agenda 
, documents the health research advocacy organization's activities and accomplishments of 2007.
President & Chair's Letter
Advocacy for health research needs a breakthrough. Research!America and many others have worked harder than ever to make the case for research in the face of misplaced priorities for federal resources, economic distress, action stalled by partisanship, and health care costs that continue to rise.
We were deeply disappointed to end 2007 with little progress on appropriations for the agencies or progress on the policies we champion- including no advances for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and no passage of a genetic non-discrimination bill.
To lay groundwork for future action, Research!America has accomplished a great deal in increasing attention to research this year. We are reaching out to policymakers and media and sustaining our partnerships with the Campaign for Public Health and Campaign for Medical Research. We have issued new public opinion data, including the first-ever Hispanic poll on health research. We held well-attended, well-reviewed workshops and forums around the nation and redesigned our Web site (www.researchamerica.org). We expanded the base of research champions in our Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research. Research leaders in other nations continue to seek our counsel, and our board and staff leaders are increasingly asked to lead advocacy for research at the most strategic levels.
What can we do to reach an advocacy breakthrough? One of our top priorities in 2008 is to make research for health and scientific innovation a top priority for our nation's next president. With continued support from partners, we will build on the successes of our voter guides-Your Candidates- Your Health (www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org) and Your Congress-Your Health (www.yourcongress yourhealth.org)-to help researchers, patient advocates, industry leaders and citizens assess the positions of candidates and members of Congress on health and health research-in the presidential primaries, general election and beyond.
We will continue to help others learn to be advocates. We see increased interest in making advocacy a regular, valued part of the research scientist's role, and this can be the year we drive toward the tipping point of a majority of researchers participating regularly in public outreach and advocacy.
We live in a time of unprecedented scientific opportunity, yet our investment in research is not keeping pace. Federally and privately funded research must be equipped to fulfill public expectations for a better quality of life, affordable health care, economic prosperity and access to the right treatment at the right time.
We will champion the science of health care delivery. We must deliver on what we already know from medical research. Research!America is preparing to ramp-up our advocacy for the many important components of health services research, while continuing to advocate for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We will continue to seek partners in the business world, linking research to better health for employees-and to the bottom line. We will urge real backing for investment in science through appropriations to the already-authorized America COMPETES Act. Our economic destiny is, without question, tied to our investment in scientific research. Research offers the promise of better health and better-paying jobs for a better future. At stake is our standing in the world and our children's standard of living.
There is no more important time than now, and no more important voice than yours. We each have the ability to shape the debate-and put research for health high on the national agenda!
The Honorable John Edward Porter, Chair
Mary Woolley, President and CEO
Previous Years' Annual Reports
2006 Annual Report
2005 Annual Report
2004 Annual Report
2003 Annual Report
2002 Annual Report
2001 Annual Report
2000 Annual Report
For a copy of our Form 990, contact Michael Coburn, COO.