The time and money spent attending small scientific meetings is more than paid back through accelerated research, suggests a survey by a conference organizer.

Researchers who attended Keystone symposia on molecular and cell biology held during 2004 and 2005 later saved six weeks of research time and US$6,000 in funding, according to median figures from the survey. The data represent a rare attempt to quantify just how effectively small meetings spur research.

At the meetings, 85% of scientists anticipated that information they gathered would save them time and money in the lab, but only 42% later reported experiencing such savings. And the savings estimates ranged widely — from 1 week to 2 years and from $50 to $2.5 million.

Meeting attendees said that conferences that are small and highly interactive, such as the Keystone symposia, have particularly high pay-offs compared with larger, more impersonal meetings.

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