Center for Innovative NeuroTech Advancement (CINTA) - Outreach Core

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Abstract - OUTREACH CORE The Outreach Core will be the public face and communications center for CINTA. Under the direction of the CINTA Coordination Team and the Steering Committee, and with logistical support from the Administrative Core, the Outreach Core is responsible for broad outreach to a diverse community of stakeholders using a variety of methods including needs assessments, solicitation announcements, news and education, research dissemination, and collaboration with the other funded hubs. Capturing and amplifying the voices of patients, caregivers, and diverse, underrepresented communities will be a central guiding principle. CIMIT has decades of experience in translational research and multidisciplinary collaboration. Since its founding in 1998, CIMIT has supported nearly 800 innovative projects, including annual needs assessments, issuance of solicitations, customized innovator support, and targeted dissemination of relevant information. The proposed CINTA Outreach Core will build upon the experience and lessons learned from supporting these NIH programs and will add further process innovations. CINTA will conduct annual needs assessments and stakeholder outreach to support the areas of interests of the NIH Participating Organizations. Strategies for conducting annual needs assessments will be based on input from the Steering Committee and Consumer Advisory Board. These panels have been constituted to broadly reflect the areas of emphasis of the NIH Participating Organizations. CINTA will use methods that CIMIT has employed in past years and will also broadly engage stakeholders by use of social media and Zoom focus groups for identifying unmet needs for disorders of the nervous system. These sessions will include the perspectives of patient advocates, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, professional societies, the academic research community, industry, payers, and others. Results of annual needs assessments will be presented to CINTA leadership to develop appropriate criteria for performance specifications where technology-based solutions would have the highest impact to address identified unmet needs. Specifications will be included in the solicitation and will be used as review criteria by the Evaluation Core. The Outreach Core will augment efforts by Mentor Teams, consultants, and subject matter experts to train funded teams, including conducting an “Investor Forum” to connect subproject teams with potential investors. CINTA will collaborate with other hubs to plan annual meetings and publications for sharing outcomes and lessons learned. CINTA will facilitate communications among funded hubs and internal dissemination of outcomes and lessons learned. If desired, CINTA will be pleased to construct and maintain a Blueprint MedTech: Incubator Hubs program-specific website to be shared among the other hubs. Creating a public narrative for both the Blueprint MedTech: Incubator Hubs program and for awardees is critical to success. Press releases for program launch can be developed and disseminated through email, social media, and, optionally, via a press wire service or press list.