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Continuing NCI's Commitment to Community Based Outreach and DisseminationEnsuring that communities, particularly those that are underserved, have continued access to the work of the NCI and critical cancer information, is a cornerstone of the Institute’s mandate to disseminate and interpret cancer information. Outreach is a responsibility that should be integrated as a key component into all of NCI’s community-based activities. Building on the experience of the Cancer Information Service (CIS) Partnership Program, NCI is actively integrating outreach activities into its community-based investments, including the:
These are existing programs with proven track records in the community. Integrating the experience gained from NCI’s CIS Partnership Program into NCI disparities research, a sustainable National Outreach Network will be created and maintained within local communities. If you have questions, please send an email to ncioutreach@mail.nih.gov Frequently Asked QuestionsUpdated 8.4.09
How will NCI’s new National Outreach Network be implemented?NCI will use appropriate funding mechanisms to augment existing programs with Community Health Educators. These individuals will assist patients in underserved communities as they receive, process, and understand health related information and services. In FY 2010, NCI will provide administrative supplements to the Minority Institutions/Cancer Center Partnership (MI/CCP), the Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP), the Minority Based Community Clinical Oncology Program (MB-CCOP), the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) pilot, and the NCI Cancer Centers to further augment and reinforce this National Outreach Network. Once implemented, this network of community outreach activities will ensure broad coverage for NCI's community outreach efforts to those populations most vulnerable to cancer. This phased supplement approach will also allow for a seamless transition between the end of the CIS Partnership Program and the positioning of these NCI resources. Community Outreach Cores For example, the next iteration of NCI's Community Networks Program (CNP-II) includes a Community Outreach Core. The focus of the CNPs is on reducing cancer health disparities through community-based participatory education, training, outreach, and research among racial/ethnically diverse and underserved populations. It is, therefore, appropriate that we expand the community outreach efforts within it. Specifically, this new core provides continued staff and resources for outreach, education, and dissemination to NCI-funded research programs based in the community. A Community Outreach Core is also being employed within the re-issuance of the MI/CCP Request for Applications (RFA). This approach enables NCI's research programs to perform their unique outreach mission, as well as support NCI in meeting the cancer control needs in communities. We anticipate that the CNP-II RFA will be published in September, applications received in December, and awards made in 2010. In addition, Community Outreach Cores will be added to the re-issuance requests for the MI/CCP, PNRP, MB-CCOP, NCCCP pilot and the NCI Cancer Center programs. Please check this Web site frequently for updates. Who will be coordinating the implementation of the National Outreach Network?NCI’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) will serve as the coordinator for these activities and will collaborate with others to define an infrastructure that best supports the cancer control needs of the community and our partners. NCI’s Office of Communications and Education (OCE), that previously managed the CIS Partnership Program, will coordinate with CRCHD through the transition and implementation process for the new outreach model. To contact CRCHD regarding the National Outreach Network, please send an email to ncioutreach@mail.nih.gov. Will the NCI Contact Center still be available?The CIS Contact Center allows the public to connect directly to the Institute. The Contact Center provides an entry point to the NCI that is like none other. In addition, the Contact Center has recently expanded its services to reach non-English speaking populations. An active procurement process is underway to identify one contractor for the provision of services related to NCI’s Contact Center services. All questions regarding the contact center procurement should be addressed to NCI’s Office of Acquisitions. Please refer to the public announcement in FedBizOpps for contact information.
What will happen to the current NCI resources and ongoing programs like Cancer 101 and Using What Works?NCI will continue to provide resources and materials to the public and they will still be available through www.cancer.gov as well as the Contact Center (1–800–4–CANCER). In addition, programs like those mentioned above, as well as others like the Clinical Trials Education Series, are part of NCI’s inventory of communications tools. NCI is in the process of refining these and other tools and considering ways to implement them and make them available for use by our partners. Why was the decision made to not continue the CIS Partnership Program in its current format?The decision not to continue the CIS Partnership Program, as it has been defined for the last decade, was not one that was hastily or easily made. And while NCI’s commitment to working in the community has never been limited to the CIS Partnership Program, the program has become a familiar partner to many. We’ve heard from many of you, expressing support for the CIS Partnership Program and offering advice for NCI’s role in education, outreach, and research dissemination. Will the formal planning process previously discussed continue?NCI is focusing its current efforts on aligning existing resources and identifying new supports to expedite full integration of outreach activities into its community-based research programs. These efforts will ensure continued support of the community at the conclusion of the CIS Partnership Program contracts and will create greater cohesion with NCI’s research mission. While we will not be undertaking formalized planning processes for additional activities at this time, we continue to welcome community input and seek to work together to provide better health outcomes through these already successful programs. What will happen to ongoing research involving the CIS Program?NCI has and will continue to support research that contributes to cancer control, cancer communications, and contribute to our evidence-base of dissemination science. NCI will continue to solicit proposals through its standard mechanisms for research in community-based cancer programming, dissemination research, communications research, and cancer control interventions research. Since the Partnership program is not being renewed, how will the existing contract tasks be completed?NCI expects that all current contractors will uphold their contractual obligations through the end of their contracts in January, 2010. For more specific information related to existing contracts, CIS staff and contracting institutions should contact the appropriate NCI Contracting Officer or contract specialist. Who will be working with the current CIS partners after January 2010?Collaboration is, and will remain, key to NCI’s success in achieving our mission to reduce the burden of cancer. Continuing collaborations with organizations with which NCI has existing relationships and forging new partnerships with other organizations with similar goals will be central in our efforts to reach out to those populations that are most vulnerable to the impact of cancer. NCI alone could never meet all the information needs of our diverse cancer community. We recognize that the only way we can make progress is to work through collaborations. There are several efforts underway to expand NCI’s community outreach capacity starting with NCI’s community-based research programs, such as the Community Networks Program, also known as CNP-II. Many of those activities are managed within NCI’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD). CRCHD will serve as the coordinators for these activities and will collaborate with others to define an infrastructure that best supports the cancer control needs of the community and our partners. If you have additional questions, please send an email to ncioutreach@mail.nih.gov
Last Updated 8/05/2009 |
