Leadership, Planning and Evaluation

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LEADERSHIP, PLANNING AND EVALUATION: ABSTRACT The Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC) conducts formal planning and evaluation activities, under the oversight of the SCC director and senior leadership team, to advance its mission of eliminating cancer in Oklahoma (SCC catchment area) and beyond. Planning and evaluation are critically important for a matrix cancer center like the SCC to ensure optimal coordination, integration, and effectiveness of SCC activities and resource allocation. The following core strategic priorities inform the goals, tactics, and metrics for all SCC research components: 1) enhancing breadth, depth, and impact of cancer-focused research; 2) fostering the translation of discoveries into the clinical or community setting; 3) designing and conducting hypothesis-driven trials to improve outcomes for people with or at risk for cancer; 4) promoting intra- and inter-programmatic collaboration and transdisciplinary team science; 5) enhancing COE to address priority cancers and cancer problems prevalent in the SCC catchment area; 6) increasing training and mentorship opportunities for students and faculty; and 7) enhancing the presence of underrepresented minority persons and women among SCC leadership and membership, and in pipeline programs. For oversight, planning, and evaluation of research activities, SCC Director Robert Mannel, MD has assembled an experienced senior leadership team of associate directors (ADs) who oversee the following functions: basic research (Danny Dhanasekaran, PhD); translational research (Priyabrata Mukherjee, PhD); clinical research (Kathleen Moore, MD); community outreach and engagement (Mark Doescher, MD); education, training, and career enhancement (Rajagopal Ramesh, PhD); diversity, equity, and inclusion (Joan Walker, MD); and research administration (Wade Williams, PhD). Since Mannel’s appointment as SCC director in 2006, strategic planning and evaluation has played a central role in the development of the SCC. The standing Research Leadership Committee (RLC) and Research Steering Committee (RSC), which are comprised of leaders for all research components at the SCC, provide regular forums for planning and evaluating progress. In addition, research leadership is well represented in SCC clinical planning and evaluation. External input from scientific and community advisory boards augment these planning and evaluation activities. New strategic initiatives emerging from planning discussions during the reporting period include: research program realignment (2018); strategic partnerships with the Oklahoma Center for Geroscience (2018) and Harold Hamm Diabetes Center (2019); new initiatives to enhance SCC research focused on catchment area priority cancers and prevalent cancer problems (2019); increased engagement with OU Norman to foster cancer-focused research and collaborations (2020); establishing a new AD position for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and broad planning for how to enhance DEI among SCC leadership and membership, and in pipeline education programs (2021).