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NICHD
Research Centers/Network Program Review:
National Cooperative Program for Infertility Research (NCPIR)
PI: Barry
Bozeman
 Evaluation Objectives
The purpose of this study is to use
Research Value Mapping (RVM) methods for a
full-scale review of the National Cooperative Program for Infertility Research
(NCPIR) centers. The NCPIR centers have
three goals: (1) Expedite the development of new diagnostics and treatments for
human infertility, with an emphasis on human research applications; (2) Provide
a setting for training of clinician-scientists with expertise in translational
research, and encourage them to remain productive in infertility research; (3)
develop capacity for disseminating findings on infertility research, and
outreach to health professionals and consumers. In connection with those NCPIR goals, the
proposed research examines the following questions:
- Do the NCPIR centers serve as a “national resource” for
infertility research and, if so, to what extent and in what ways?
- What is the program’s capacity to form linkages with other
centers and network programs and how does the program influence other
researchers in the reproductive sciences?
- What is the effectiveness of the NCPIR centers in training
clinician-scientists and contributing to their career trajectories in
infertility research?
- How does the organization structure of NCPIR centers compare to
those of other NIH and non-NIH research programs and centers? Should the NCPIR structures be changed
to influence program outcomes and, if so, how should they be changed and
how can such change be accomplished?
In addition to examining these questions,
the proposed research also seeks to determine the utility of RVM evaluation
methods, their most suitable application to NICHD evaluation, their strengths
and limitations and their relation to existing approaches, chiefly bibliometric
in nature.
Evaluation Users
The findings from this study are aimed at
multiple audiences and will be presented in a manner suitable for multiple
audiences. The three groups to whom the
results are targeted include the NICHD leadership and staff with interests and
responsibilities for research centers and network programs, persons involved in
the planning and management of the NCPIR centers and programs, and persons at
NIH (other than those associated with NCPIR) who are interested in possibly
evaluating their own centers and network programs and who wish to gauge the
suitability of the approaches implemented here.
Dissemination of Results
The contractor will provide three
preliminary reports, each based on one of the cornerstone methods employed in
the proposed research: case studies, user network analysis and CV
analysis. A final report will include
analysis of the six NCPIR review questions, documentation of methods used and
an executive summary. A briefing will be
prepared including a set of slides that may be used for the multiple audiences
for the evaluation. The results will be
disseminated to each of the audiences identified above and this will include
distributing paper copies as well as posting of the final report on the NICHD
website. Once finalized, the final report will be presented to NICHD leadership
and NCPIR stakeholders.
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