? ADMINSTRATIVE CORE The Administrative Core will work to maximize the impact of the OPAL Center's work. The Administrative Core will support and coordinate the efforts of all investigators and units to create synergies among the Center's activities. The Core will foster interdisciplinary collaboration, manage a pilot project program, support training opportunities, monitor Center activities and monitor progress, plan for future research projects, and disseminate information about the Center and the results of its efforts. The OPAL Center's Administrative Core will accomplish its goals through the following activities: 1. Support Center activities to facilitate innovative, transdisciplinary translation research that will lead to improved treatments, services, and outcomes for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Administrative Core will provide administrative support to the Methods Core, all research projects, the Scientific Steering Committee, and the Stakeholders Advisory Board. 2. Foster interdisciplinary synergies among research disciplines and the Center's cores. The Administrative Core will foster communication among its investigators and communicate about administrative needs. 3. Solicit, select, and support pilot projects. Each year the OPAL Administrative Core will solicit applications for a competitive process to conduct Center-funded pilot studies that extend its scientific reach and take advantage of Center resources and synergies. 4. Support training opportunities. We will train researchers to conduct T2 translational research that focuses on improving treatments, services, and their delivery, with a goal of improving patient-centered outcomes in schizophrenia. 5. Communicate OPAL's aims and activities and disseminate information about the Center and the results of its efforts. The Administrative Core will use its website, newsletter, and a listserv to communicate about all of its activities and research findings. 6. Monitor and evaluate center progress. The Administrative Core will oversee evaluations of each project, the Methods Core and its Units, and of the overall Center. 7. Plan for future projects. The Administrative Core will work with the Scientific Steering Committee to develop a strategic plan that identifies goals and steps to achieve these goals.
