Future Directions
The Council and Program staff are proud of the achievements of the first CBCRP funding cycle and confident of the progress the research funded in this cycle will bring to the fight against breast cancer. These projects are viewed, however, as the first step of many for this Program. As each step is taken, previous steps must be reviewed. At the conclusion of Cycle I, the Council performed an extensive review of the accomplishments of the Program, and developed a number of immediate, short-term and long-term goals including a refinement of the priorities and funding mechanisms.
Immediate Goals: Outreach
A need identified by the Council was development of outreach strategies to inform stakeholders in the Program, including breast cancer patient advocates, non-profit health organizations, grass roots community-based organizations, clinicians, and researchers from the biotechnology, academic, and private research institute arena. The following approaches were implemented:
- The Council appointed an Outreach Subcommittee, whose members are working with Program staff to (1) increase and diversify the Program's mailing list, (2) develop and design a CBCRP Newsletter, and (3) write the Cycle II Call for Applications and Application Packet to be “user-friendly.”
- CBCRP Coordinator Kavanaugh-Lynch and Chair Shinagawa are meeting individually and together with stakeholders around the State in order to open a dialogue between the CBCRP staff / Council and the California breast cancer community, and to receive input from the community about the Program.
- The Council appointed a Publicity Subcom- mittee, whose members work with Program staff to (1) make a formal announcement of Cycle I Grant Awardees, and (2) develop strategies to inform stakeholders about the accomplishments of the program and to inform potential applicants about the avail- ability of research funding.
Short-term Goals: Cycle II
The Council maintained the four major research priorities from Cycle I:
- Etiology of Breast Cancer
- Pathogenesis of Breast Cancer
- Prevention of Breast Cancer
- Earlier Detection of Breast Cancer
And added two new priorities in Cycle II:
- Innovative Treatment Modalities for Breast Cancer
- Innovative Models of Care for Breast Cancer
The Council added the latter two priorities as a result of their identification of these areas as underfunded by other agencies.
The Research Council maintained the six funding mechanisms from Cycle I:
- Research Project Award
- Innovative Developmental and Exploratory Award (IDEA)
- New Investigator Award
- Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
- Sabbatical Award
- Training Program Award
And added one new mechanism in Cycle II:
- Innovative Treatment and Models of Care Awards
Research Project Awards in the discipline of epidemiology were increased to maximum direct costs of $125,000 per year for three years. All other Research Project Awards have a maximum direct cost funding level of $100,000 per year for three years. Funding levels for the remaining awards mechanisms were left unchanged from Cycle I. The Innovative Treatment and Models of Care Award was added to provide awards in the areas of preclinical studies, clinical medicine (treatment) and health services (models of care) for research into innovative treatment and care strategies which are not yet sufficiently developed for full-scale clinical trials. These awards offer a funding period of two years, and a maximum direct cost funding level of $100,000 per year.
The Cycle II Call for Applications was released on October 1, 1995. Deadline for applications was set for January 12, 1996 with a funding start date of June 1, 1996.
Long-Term Goals: CYCLE III
During the latter half of 1995, the Council worked on the development of research priorities and funding mechanisms for Cycle III. This approach was adopted in order to implement short-term changes to the Program (in Cycle II), as well as to develop long-term strategies for continued Program evolution. It was felt that information gleaned from the applications received in Cycle II, in addition to historical knowledge from Cycle I, would better position the Council and Program staff to implement more far-reaching changes in Cycle III. Towards this end, the Council decided to hold an Advisory Meeting of California breast cancer stakeholders in early 1996 in order to gain a broad-based perspective and input regarding Cycle III research priorities and funding mechanisms. It is expected that the Council will use the input received from this meeting, along with the experience of the first two cycles, to develop and implement new funding priorities and mechanisms which will complement the research funded in Cycles I and II.
AND BEYOND...
The Breast Cancer Research Program is a dynamic program, and will continue to evolve in order to fulfill its mission and goals. Two major areas of focus for the Council and staff in this past year and the coming year are enhanced outreach and linkage. It is the goal of the Council not only to increase interest and awareness in CBCRP among all Californians who are involved in breast cancer issues, but also to build relationships with and create vehicles for those stakeholders to provide input into the Program. We believe the 1996 advisory meeting will be a major step in this direction.
Therefore, the Council and staff are developing ideas for initiating and facilitating linkages between community-based advocates and agencies, for-profit organizations, breast cancer clinics, clinicians and other health care providers, and researchers. We are optimistic that implementation of policies and award mechanisms to encourage these linkages will reap far-reaching and long-lasting benefits for all Californians in the battle to conquer breast cancer.
