Evaluation and Tracking

The CTSI Evaluation and Tracking team includes Russell Bauer, Ph.D., Lead; Henry Carretta, MPH, PhD; Glenn Israel, Ph.D., Co-Lead; Chris McCarty, Ph.D.;  Yulia Strekalova, PhD; and Jeanine Turner, PhD, supported by three staff: Ed Neu, CTSI Director of Information Management; Claire Baralt, CTSI Director of Strategy and Planning; and Grant Macdonnell, FSU database lead. The Evaluation team uses a Developmental Evaluation approach to assess the UF CTSI’s performance in five key domains:

• Alignment: The degree to which program activity is aligned with/furthers the overall strategic goals of UF CTSI.
• Productivity: Program-based metrics such as grant awards, publications or (in the case of service centers) number of investigators assisted, number of service events.
• Linkages: How programs are linked to the UF CTSI, the CTSA network, and other relevant university programs and activities.
• Impact: How program activities have improved the research translation environment.
• Financial and Social Return on Investment (ROI): For service centers, a cost-recovery model may satisfy the ROI dimension, while for other programs, data or success stories on how the research process has changed, been streamlined, or made more accessible to stakeholders may suffice.

CTSI evaluation stakeholders include the NIH/NCATS, CTSI governance groups and CTSI management. The CTSI’s yearly evaluation cycle includes (a) program-based reviews, program-specific evaluation reports, and follow-up meetings, (b) a yearly survey of investigators that measures use and satisfaction with CTSI services, and evaluates the status of current scientific challenges and opportunities such as team science and collaboration, (c) preparation of report summaries for discussion at the yearly External Advisory Committee meeting, and (d) integration of data from (a-c) into a yearly progress report that informs NIH/NCATS of our overall progress and provides key input for CTSI leadership decisions regarding operations, budget, and resource allocation.

The CTSI Evaluation team also partners with external organizations, such as the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR), to conduct specialized analyses. BEBR has provided key expertise in evaluating economic impact, assisting in survey methodology, and providing methods such as social network analysis that enables evaluation of developing collaborative networks.

In addition, the CTSI Evaluation team will participate in the development, collection and utilization of common metrics identified for the national Clinical and Translational Science Award program.