CLARA benefits from a significant level of primarily public funding, which comes from the French state and from local authorities in both regions.
The French state
The French state, both at the central level of the National Cancer Institute and at the decentralized level, through various funds (FNADT), is one of CLARA's major funding providers. The National Cancer Institute (INCa), through its operating subsidies, supports CLARA's Network Management in running and coordinating the network. Nevertheless, INCa's primary function, as regards the research aspect of the Cancer Plan, is to encourage the emergence and funding of new projets in specified areas of research, via competitive calls for projets.
Local authorities
CLARA has distinguished itself from the 6 other cancer research networks, thanks to the amount of multi-year funding granted by its local authorities, in particular those of Rhône-Alpes (the Region, Greater Lyon, the Rhône County, the Loire County and Saint-Etienne Métropole) and, to a lesser degree, those of Auvergne (the Region, Clermont Communauté and the Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, Cantal and Haute-Loire counties).
Concerning Rhône-Alpes, most of the funding is earmarked for investments (equipment and construction) for the platforms; Greater Lyon significantly contributes to the Proof of Concept program. In Auvergne, we can observe a better balance between funding for investments and funding for operating expenses.
The motivations of the local funding providers are clear. The aim is to promote research to benefit cancer patients by speeding up the transfer of knowledge and discoveries from the scientific world to the business sphere so that new treatments can be used more quickly. At the same time, the aim is also to promote economic development, to encourage the founding of new firms and to boost employment. This is perfectly consistent with the mission of these local authorities.
