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Home / Pro Bono Program

PRO BONO PROGRAM

Pro Bono Statistical Analysis
for Clinical Research

Each year OnlineSPSS selects three clinical studies and provides the complete statistical analysis of one manuscript at no cost to the research team: the analysis plan, the analysis, and the methods and results sections, ready for submission.

THE PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

Three studies selected each year

Cancer research, HTA, medical technology and neuroscience

Data already collected, one manuscript, a named target journal

Apply by Email

Applications close June 30, 2027

THE PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

Three studies selected each year

Cancer research, HTA, medical technology and neuroscience

Data already collected, one manuscript, a named target journal

SCOPE

The Analytical Component of One Manuscript

The program picks up a study once its data are collected and carries the statistical side of the manuscript through to submission.

WHAT WE DO

From dataset to submitted manuscript

  • A statistical analysis plan agreed with the team before any analysis is run
  • Data preparation, the full analysis, and every assumption check
  • Tables and figures in the target journal's format
  • The statistical methods and results sections, written for the manuscript
  • Response to reviewer comments on the statistics, through one round of revision
  • A review by our in-house PhD-level statisticians before submission

WHAT THE STUDY BRINGS

A completed dataset and a destination

  • Data already collected, cleaned to the point of being analyzable, with a variable list
  • Ethics or IRB approval already in place
  • A research question and a target journal, preferably a leading journal in the field
  • A corresponding author who will work with us and approve the plan
  • A realistic timeline to submission

Study design, sample size planning and data collection sit outside the program. If your study is at one of those stages, we are glad to support it as a regular project.

FIELDS

Four Areas of Clinical Research

We select studies from four defined fields. A study that sits between two of them, such as a digital biomarker trial in Parkinson's disease, is welcome under either.

Cancer Research

Survival and time-to-event analysis, treatment comparisons, registry and cohort studies, biomarker and prognostic models.

Health Technology Assessment

Indirect and network comparisons, survival extrapolation, cost-effectiveness inputs and the evidence reimbursement bodies expect.

Wearable & Digital Health Technology

Validation and agreement studies, sensor and app data, repeated measures and digital endpoints against clinical reference standards.

Neuroscience

Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions: clinical scales, longitudinal change, imaging-derived measures and intervention studies.

REQUIREMENTS

What We Look For in a Study

Six things we ask for. They let us judge a study fairly, and most of them you will already have.

  1. Data collected, or nearly soCollection is complete, or will be by a date you can name. The dataset can be shared in SPSS, Excel, CSV, R or Stata format.
  2. Ethics approval in placeIRB or ethics committee approval for the study, covering publication of the results.
  3. One manuscript, with a journal in mindTell us where the manuscript is headed. We give preference to studies aimed at leading journals in their field, but a well-chosen specialist journal is a good answer too.
  4. One of the four fieldsCancer research, health technology assessment, wearable and digital health technology, or neuroscience.
  5. A research team at an institutionA corresponding author at a university, hospital, research institute or healthcare organization, who will be the day-to-day contact for the program.
  6. A realistic timelineAn intended submission date, ideally within twelve months of selection.

HOW IT WORKS

From Application to Submission

Applications are read as they arrive, and three studies are selected before the program closes on June 30, 2027.

1
Apply by email

One email with the short brief described below. No form to fill in, and nothing to attach at this stage.

2
Review and decision

A statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews every application and replies within two weeks, with a decision or a question.

3
Terms agreed, statistician assigned

The team receives a short collaboration note: the statistician assigned to your study, the plan for the work and the program terms, to confirm before data are shared.

4
Analysis, review, submission

Analysis plan, analysis, methods and results, with an internal review before submission, then one round of revision after reviewer comments.

PROGRAM TERMS

Five Terms, Shared in Advance

The same terms for every selected study, so that nothing is a surprise at submission.

  1. Three studies a year receive the complete statistical analysis of one manuscript at no cost to the research team.
  2. The work is done under the same confidentiality as every OnlineSPSS project.
  3. Authorship of the manuscript remains with the research team, and OnlineSPSS does not claim any intellectual contribution.
  4. The published paper acknowledges OnlineSPSS with the sentence:
    "Statistical analysis was provided by OnlineSPSS through its pro bono program for clinical research. OnlineSPSS had no role in study design, data collection or the decision to publish."
  5. The study is named on this site only with the team's written consent and after publication.

APPLY

One Email, One Brief

Send the brief to the address below. It is read by a statistically trained Research Coordinator, who replies within two weeks.

info@onlinespss.com

Subject line: Pro Bono Program: [study title]

Applications close June 30, 2027. Please do not send data at this stage; it is shared only after selection, under the program's confidentiality terms.

  1. Study title and fieldOne of the four fields above
  2. Design and sample sizeOne line: cohort, trial, validation study, registry; number of participants
  3. Data status and ethics approvalCollection complete or completion date; approval reference
  4. Research question and target journalThe question the manuscript answers and where it will be submitted
  5. TimelineIntended submission date and any deadline behind it
  6. Summary, up to 250 wordsBackground, aim, main outcomes and the analyses you expect to need
  7. Corresponding authorName, position, institution, email

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions About the Program

To contribute to published clinical research in the four fields above, and to support research teams with the statistical side of their manuscript. The acknowledgment term is the form of credit for that work, and authorship remains with the research team.

Only the acknowledgment sentence in term 4. The five program terms are the whole agreement: there is no obligation to use OnlineSPSS for later work, and nothing is published about the study on this site unless the team gives written consent after the paper appears.

An in-house OnlineSPSS statistician, assigned to your study after selection. The collaboration note confirms who it is before any data are exchanged, and the work is reviewed internally before submission.

Yes, if collection will be complete by a date you can name in the application and the analysis can start by then. Studies that are still being designed, or that need support with sample size or data collection, are outside the program, and we are glad to support them as regular projects.

The reply tells you the decision either way. A study that is not selected can be submitted again in the next program year, and the same study is welcome at any time as a regular project.

The program is limited to cancer research, health technology assessment, wearable and digital health technology, and neuroscience, because a defined scope lets each study be matched to the right expertise. A study in another clinical field is welcome as a regular project.

Working on a study outside the program? Request an assessment for a regular project →