Involvement and Engagement

The CTSI is where advancing today’s discoveries to improve health for all through engagement of all communities as a core value. 

In line with our commitment, the CTSI leadership will: 

• Reflect our community and foster a workplace that respects and affirms the value of every person.  
• Be role models of cultural humility and facilitate learning, discussion and awareness of the impact of race, ethnicity, gender, ability and religion, on the culture of our workplace.  
• Create a fully representative space for the conduct of clinical and translational research.  
• Uphold these accompanying values and ethical considerations as a shared responsibility of all personnel within the CTSI.
• Identify core learning experiences and foundational training modules that are recommended for all CTSI-supported faculty and staff to address cultural humility and responsiveness.

To date we have taken the following actions:  

• Developed a health for all lens that will guide all CTSI programs and initiatives.  
• Coordinated working groups to provide a framework to update the CTSI website for transparency. 
• Compiled a list of courses for training. 

Future actions: 

• Ensure that CTSI personnel become stewards in advancing today’s discoveries to improve health for all through inclusion and engagement of all communities and contribute to a culture of belonging for all. 
• Provide quarterly updates of working group progress

The CTSI promotes data-driven and empirically supported approaches.

In efforts to understand the reach of the work of the CTSI, leadership will:

• Identify a set of common demographic data elements to be collected by all programs.
• Determine a method for collecting the identified data elements.
• Pilot test and refine the collection process in two-to-three program areas.
• Deploy the data collection tool throughout all CTSI programs.
• Draft a report template and develop a timeline for publishing reports related to improving health for all.
• Issue reports that will be used to evaluate strengths and challenges within programs to achieving the goal of advancing today’s discoveries to improve health for all through inclusion and engagement of all communities and contributing to a culture of belonging for all.  

To date we have taken the following actions:

• Drafted an initial set of data variables for collection that are under review and discussion. Aligning these variables with those collected by the Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University and the National Institutes of Health.  
• Discussing platforms for data collection so that the process meets the needs across programs.

Future actions:

• Build the data collection infrastructure with pilot testing in a few CTSI programs.
• Revision of the data collection instrument, with full roll out for all CTSI programs.
• Data collection across all programs.
• Develop a template for reporting health for all data collected to CTSI leadership.
• Issue annual reports that will be used to evaluate strengths and challenges to the CTSI's better health for all goals.

The CTSI will evaluate its programs and provide targeted support for research to reduce health disparities.

In line with our commitment of better health for all, the CTSI Programs and Services will:

• Engage community members in the research process through training and collaboration.
• Provide services that support investigators in developing research studies to improve health for all
• Dedicate funding to support clinical translational research that aims to improve health for all.

To date we have taken the following actions:

• Implemented a Community Scientist Academy (CSA) program to introduce community members to the basics of research.
• Implemented a community reviewer program, called The Academy of Community Reviewers (ACR), to train community members to review grant proposals and engage research teams as collaborators.
• Compile a list of community trainees for future collaboration in research activities.
• Provide investigators recruitment and community engagement consultation to aid in recruiting under-represented eligible study participants and community partners.
• Created the Executive Committee on Lifespan Research and provided over 60 consultations to help researchers engage under-represented populations.

Future actions:

• Expand the accessibility of the Community Scientist Academy and Academy of Community Reviewers programs to more under-represented populations by offering online program engagement.  
• Develop toolkits to aid investigators in recruiting study participants of under-represented populations reflective of disease burden.
• Require clinical investigators applying for CTSI funding to provide strategies for recruiting under-represented populations that are representative of disease burden.
• Require applicants for all CTSI funding mechanisms to describe the potential impact of the proposed or initiated research on health disparities in under-represented populations.
• Design and implement an innovative approach to ethics review of data science projects to evaluate improvements and model fairness and mitigation of bias in data models which alleviates health disparities.

The CTSI supports the development of a culturally responsive and accessible scientific community across the translational research workforce.

The CTSI workforce development team identifies issues that have widened health disparities from those who are under-served and under-represented. Our hope is that by providing representation within the Clinical and Translational Research (CTR)/Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) workforce, that we can help diminish this health disparity gap within our communities. 

The CTSI Workforce Development Team will:

• Foster a strong workplace environment within the CTSI leadership, faculty and staff by recruiting and retaining individuals from under-represented backgrounds in its workforce.
• Provide tools and methods to CTR/CTS teams to support the broader research community.  
• Provide educational opportunities to those who are under-served and under-represented to increase their engagement and knowledge in CTR/CTS and increase their interest in being an active CTR/CTS workforce members.

To date we have taken the following actions:

• Influenced and adopted the equitable mission statement developed by the CTSI Leadership Group.
• Optimized language for Ohio State Clinical Research job descriptions.
• Established and provide bi-annual Clinical Research Career webinars for active and aspiring clinical research professionals.  
• Contribute to workforce development improvements through multi-hub collaboration, research and dissemination.
• Incorporate promotional and recruitment materials that reflect the equal opportunity we seek.
• Launched a CRP Newsletter which incorporates equitable opportunities and connections.

Future Actions:

• Identify mentorship and sponsorship opportunities for individuals to progress into leadership positions by partnering with existing leadership.
• Connect CTSI members with mentoring opportunities associated with initiatives across Ohio State’s campus that aim to increase inclusion in the biomedical research pipeline of those from backgrounds that have typically been under-represented in biomedical research (e.g. rural and minority students).
• Promote increasing the Clinical Research Professional (CRP) workforce through education, training, partnerships and innovation.  
• Identify measurable outcomes to assess our workforce development impact.
• Build strong collaborations with the other CTSI areas (Leadership and Culture, Research and Assessment and Evaluation) to support their goals and the mission.
• Develop educational materials for the Academy of Community Researchers (ACR) and other public-facing training materials in Scarlet Canvas that enhance development of community members and CRPs.