A program of small grants to dental students to attract beginning researchers to the field of quality assurance has shown that recruitment from an existing student pool is rapid and inexpensive and works best when it uses volunteers, has short cycles and rapid turnaround, and uses the dental communication network. (MSE)

Alternative sources and innovative programs are suggested to improve or maintain adequate research support, including hard funding in the institution's operating budget, private gifts, Biomedical Research Support Grants from the National Institutes of Health, and applied research supported by industrial clients. (MSE)