Improving the CBCRP through Evaluation
California taxpayers deserve to have the funds they provide for breast cancer research spent wisely. That’s why the California Breast Cancer Research Program is conducting a multi-year, formal evaluation of the entire program. Evaluation helps the program target research dollars where they will do the most to reduce and end the suffering caused by breast cancer.
Over the past several years, the CBCRP has evaluated several of its award types: the Community Research Collaboration awards, the Postdoctoral Fellowship awards, the New Investigator awards, and the Innovative, Developmental, Exploratory Awards (IDEAs). The results of these evaluations were used by the CBCRP’s advisory Breast Cancer Research Council to set priorities. These evaluations are available in print to the public and can also be viewed on the Program Web site.
During 2006, the CBCRP conducted a survey of the experts who review grant proposals. The results will be used to make any needed improvements in the review process. The Program also created a framework for evaluating a type of grant the CBCRP will offer for the first time in 2007, the Translational Research award. There are many barriers to conducting translational research, which moves a finding from basic science quickly toward treatment, diagnosis, prevention, public policy or another application that can impact breast cancer. If the CBCRP does not receive enough quality applications to conduct translational research, changes may be needed in outreach, technical assistance, application materials, or review procedures.
Evaluation Leading to Improvement
Formal evaluations are used to improve the CBCRP. Examples of changes in the program made as a result of evaluations include:
- The CBCRP’s first formal evaluation of the program’s Community Research Collaborations, in 2000, led to a multi-year effort that has increased the number of community organizations and scientific researchers collaborating on breast cancer research questions of interest to communities of California women. This effort is discussed more fully in this report in the section titled “Collaborating with Breast Cancer Activists and California Communities.”
- The CBCRP's second formal evaluation the Community Research Collaborations, conducted in 2005, highlighted a problem facing the research teams. Once they had successfully tested an intervention, they encountered difficulty applying their research results because of lack of funds. This led to the CBCRP providing a new grant opportunity, where successful research teams can apply for an additional grant to make their results available to other programs, apply their results to changing public policy, or make the public more aware of their results.
- A three-year priority-setting process led the CBCRP to discontinue award types that were not meeting the program’s goals and invest 30 percent of its funds for five years to answer crucial questions about the influence of the environment on breast cancer, and to uncover the reasons why some groups in California bear more of the burden of the disease.
- CBCRP staff and the Program’s advisory council informally evaluated how CBCRP-funded research gets translated into new medications, new detection methods, new programs to support patients, policy changes, or other actions that have an impact on breast cancer. As a result, applicants for CBCRP research grants are now required to describe the steps necessary to translate their research project into action that impacts the disease.
