The NIH Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI): National and Public Health Impact as Measured by Collaborative Scientific Excellence, Investigator Development, and Community Engagement

Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program in response to the Congressional language in House Report 98-911 to establish research centers in predominantly minority institutions that offered doctoral degrees in the health professions and/or health-related sciences. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) recognizes the critical role of the RCMI in conducting biomedical research and providing healthcare to communities impacted by health disparities. The RCMI Coordinating Center (RCMI-CC) supports the Consortium of 23 competitively funded RCMI Centers, with a collaborative infrastructure, to stimulate research partnerships and harness the research talents of the many gifted scientists and health professionals to collectively support investigator development, and advance health disparities research. Objectives: This manuscript presents the national and public health impact of the RCMI-CC as it works to help RCMI achieve their primary goals. Methods: We describe the organization of the RCMI Consortium and evaluate the impact of the overall RCMI Program, as measured by highly competitive NIH awards, high-impact publications, and other metrics. Results/Impact: In addition to the competitive research R01 and equivalent awards, publications, and patents, RCMI-CC implementation of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), and health services research in RCMI–clinical research networks, collectively highlight the national and public health impact, as measured by collaborative scientific excellence, investigator development, and community engagement. Conclusions: The RCMI-CC and RCMI Consortium collectively demonstrate national and public health impact, with externally validated quantifiable metrics and return on investment.