The future success of medical research involves the seamless and expedient bidirectional translation of findings from bench to bedside to practice. Affiliated institutions in Colorado seek to gather and integrate clinical and translational expertise in Colorado into a distinct academic site with resources for advancing health care and improving the public health. The overall goal of the Colorado CTSA planning grant is to structure a comprehensive strategy for establishing a CTS Center or Institute in Colorado. In considering this process, extensive thought is given to the breadth of resources needed for efficient translation of findings in all areas to effective health practices, capitalizing on mature resources here. During the planning phase, working groups and affiliated institutions will remain flexible while focusing on the mission to establish the CTS Center of Institute that provides outstanding service, stimulates collaborative research, and offers exceptional educational opportunities. We have assembled a Planning Team (Executive Steering Committee ? and Working Groups) of committed individuals with extensive experience in all facets of translational ? research. Conceptually, we envision a Center of Institute that is a comprehensive home for clinical and ? translational research and education.
Our Specific Aims for the planning grant phase are: ? Specific Aim 1: Define the optimum content of the Colorado CTSA. We have convened nine working ? groups to accomplish this goal. Each working group is charged with defining the optimum content and scope for the proposed CTSA in a specific resource area. ? Specific Aim 2: Determine the organizational, administrative, and governance structure of the ? Colorado CTSA. We have assembled an Executive Steering Committee that will oversee the working ? groups during the planning phase, and that will be responsible for determining the final organizational ? structure and administrative/leadership positions for the proposed CTSA. All affiliated institutional leadership will collaborate to define the most efficient governance structure. Two potential governance structures will be considered - a Center or an Institute, both involving some consortium agreement with a lead institution. ? Specific Aim 3: Define the goals for the transformation process. There are four major goals for the ? transformation process that will be accomplished during the CTSA planning phase. These are 1) integration of existing infrastructure; 2) expansion of resources for the broad applicability of translational research; 3) full definition of the research education, training and career development component; and 4) complete description of implementation procedures. This defined approach will streamline and focus the planning process. ? ? ?
