Science Convener for Program Initiatives
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Non-technical overview of the research topic and relevance to breast cancer:
 
 Breast cancer affects women of all ages and races. Yet approximately 80 percent of women who develop breast cancer
 
 have no family history of the disease. Scientific understanding of what is causing the disease remains far from complete.
 
 California Breast Cancer Research Program’s (CBCRP) first round of strategic planning for program-directed funds, the
 
 Special Research Initiatives (2004-2010), laid important groundwork to open up the field of scientific research related to
 
 understanding potential risk factors for the disease. That effort focused on the role of environmental exposures and health
 
 disparities in increasing the risk for the disease. The second round of strategic planning, California Breast Cancer
 
 Prevention Initiative (2011-2015), advanced the field, taking on a greater emphasis on prevention. The third round of
 
 strategic planning, set to launch in 2016, will create opportunities to continue some of the important work that came out of
 
 these two efforts, as well as identify new research priorities for CBCRP’s funding into the future.
 
 
 
 
 
 Research question(s) or central hypotheses:
 
 What are the best ways for CBCRP to devote 50% of its funds to coordinated, directed and collaborative research
 
 strategies over a five-year period (2016-2021) in three topical areas:
 
 -Identification and elimination of environmental contributors to breast cancer.
 
 - Identification and elimination of fundamental causes of health disparities, with a focus on breast cancer in
 
 California.
 
 - Development and testing of population-level prevention interventions that incorporate approaches that address the
 
 needs of the underserved and/or populations experiencing disparities in the burden of breast cancer. 
 
 
 
 
 
 General methodology:
 
 Commonweal will partner with CBCRP staff to facilitate a strategic planning process that is driven by the expertise of a
 
 Steering Committee, Strategy Advisors and community stakeholders to identify CBCRP’s priorities for program initiated
 
 funding. The process will include an evaluation of the impact of SRI and CBCPI to date and an update of scientific
 
 developments in the field since CBCPI. These will inform the development of a series of concept proposals for CBCRP’s
 
 program directed research funds in the coming years. Additionally, an evaluation of the process will be completed by an
 
 external evaluation team.
 
 
 
 
 
 Innovative elements:
 
 This will be the third time CBCRP has undergone an intensive strategic planning process to assign a significant portion of
 
 its funding to program directed research. As such, this effort will build on lessons from the previous efforts. For the first
 
 time, an external evaluation team will participate throughout the five-year process to assess whether the approach is
 
 working effectively. Additionally, there will be an evaluation process to help CBCRP identify short, medium and longerterm
 
 outcomes to assess the impact of their investments. Additionally, the leadership model will be different from the
 
 previous planning process, where the convener and CBCRP will develop a collaborative leadership model for carrying out
 
 the process, with final recommendations on research strategies to be reached by the consensus of the Steering Committee.
 
 
 
 
 
 Advocacy involvement and relevance to the human issues associated with breast cancer:
 
 A community engagement plan is core to the implementation of this effort. Steering Committee members and Strategic
 
 Advisors will include people with expertise in the impact of breast cancer on marginalized communities. Opportunities for
 
 community input and feedback will be made available throughout the project.