Background
The California Breast Cancer Research Program
(CBCRP) is the largest state-funded breast cancer research effort in the
nation and the fourth largest breast cancer research program in the
country. Our mission is to eliminate breast cancer by leading innovation
in research, communication, and
collaboration in the California scientific and lay communities. The
CBCRP was founded in 1993, when breast cancer activists, scientists,
clinicians, state legislators, and University of California officials
collaborated to win passage in the state legislature of the California
Breast Cancer Act. Funded primarily by a tax on tobacco products, the
CBCRP has awarded more than $164 million for 672 research projects
at 73 institutions throughout the state.
The CBCRP is administered by the University of California, Office of the President. The Breast Cancer Research Council, an advisory committee to the CBCRP, sets our overall objectives, strategies, vision, and research priorities. The council is made up of scientists and clinicians, as well as representatives from non-profit health organizations, private industry, and breast cancer survivor/advocacy groups.
The Community Research Collaboration (CRC) Awards,
developed in
1996, bring women most affected by breast cancer together with
experienced research scientists to study breast cancer-related
issues
that are of interest to both. These awards require a partnership
between community-based organizations (such as breast cancer
advocacy organizations, community clinics, organizations serving
women with breast cancer, or organizations serving communities
of
women affected by the disease) and research scientists. The
partnerships work together to identify the research question,
develop
the research plan, carry out the research, interpret the results,
and
disseminate information to scientists and the public. The CBCRP
has
invested over $8.5 million in 39 CRC projects between 1997 and
2005,
5% of our funding for breast cancer research.
Our first evaluation of our CRC Awards, “Community Research Collaboration Awards: Report on the Evaluation/Capacity Expansion Project,” in 2001, found that:
- Women most affected by breast cancer appeared to be empowered as full partners in the research process;
- Populations rarely included in research, such as ethnic and racial minority women and lesbians, were being included.
Our first evaluation also recommended that we conduct this second evaluation to find out more about the impact of our CRC Awards on the people who conducted the research, on the communities they serve, and on health services and policy. Future evaluations will examine the characteristics of the collaborations, and the influence of these characteristics on the outcomes of the research.
