RAND Coordinating Center: Program Evaluation

While there is a general consensus that solutions to existing and future health problems will require the encouragement and expansion of interdisciplinary research and training, models of successful interdisciplinary research centers in geriatrics are limited. Institutional grantees of this program can serve as an important means for understanding how best to build interdisciplinary initiatives across a broad range of problems and disciplines

For Round 1 of the initiative, the RAND team crafted an evaluation strategy designed to yield meaningful information about the development and activities of the centers, barriers encountered by the interdisciplinary teams, strategies employed to overcome these barriers, and broader learning about the ideal composition and function of interdisciplinary research centers and their impact upon individuals' research careers. The evaluation team took a multi-faceted approach that included a process and outcome evaluation of the centers' efforts; an evaluation of the RAND Coordinating Center's role in enhancing the success of the centers; and an exploratory study of factors impacting the development of and pathways to interdisciplinary research careers in geriatrics. The evaluation team conducted a number of data collection activities, including collecting center progress reports, conducting focus groups with junior investigators at funded centers, surveying CDI and booster session participants, interviewing directors and junior investigators at funded centers, and interviewing directors and junior investigators at comparison sites.

RAND produced a report that describes the primary components of the overall initiative, details the activities of the funded centers, describes the results of these efforts, presents the lessons learned, and provides recommendations for how the program should move forward.