Evaluation Core

Summary The purpose of this proposed FIRST Cohort program is to transform our institutional culture at ISMMS by building a self-reinforcing community of scientists committed to diversity and inclusive excellence. The goal of the Evaluation Core (EC) is to develop a multi-method, multi-level, iterative evaluation plan to assess the success and impact of our FIRST Cohort Program on the FIRST faculty and on our institution. Our EC team offers expertise in the mixed-method approaches required to ensure optimal evaluation of ongoing institutional change. Our evaluations of our FIRST Program will be guided by a hybrid model combining the validated PRECEDE- PROCEED and Social Ecological Models (SEM). Briefly, we will evaluate whether our program’s activities lead to the expected outcomes including: 1) the FIRST cohort’s research success; 2) enhanced inclusive excellence; and 3) sustainable institutional culture change. Applying the PRECEDE-PROCEED and SEM models, we will conduct regular, iterative evaluations to assess whether our Administrative and Faculty Development Cores are meeting their targeted short-term and long-term milestones. Aggregated results from our evaluations will be shared among all Cores to refine program activities and guide institutional policy. Accordingly, we propose the following three Specific Aims. Aim 1. Test the primary hypothesis, as defined by the FIRST Cohort RFA, that a Cohort/cluster model of faculty hiring will achieve significant improvements in institutional culture and research success. Aim 2. Develop and implement an iterative evaluation plan to assess the FIRST Cohort program implementation processes and short-term outcomes. Aim 3. Work with the FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC) to identify and harmonize a set of common data elements. To achieve these aims, we will use validated observation strategies, qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, and assessment measures. Our activities will be further supported by our Office of the Chief Research Informatics Officer (CRIO), which provides a comprehensive set of external and internal IT resources that will facilitate our data collection and management activities. Our EC plan includes procedures that allow us to redirect resources as needed to best meet our program goals. We will collaborate with our Administrative Core, Faculty Development Core, and the CEC across the entire 5-year program. In addition, we will ensure that planning, monitoring, evaluation, and tracking of program activities will be continuous, shared as negotiated, and reported to the FIRST CEC. Altogether, these activities will advance the scientific study of comprehensive strategies that can promote and sustain a culture of inclusive excellence in order to better achieve an environment in which our FIRST Cohort faculty and all members of our national academic community can thrive.