# Tracking & Evaluation Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · 2021 · $220,023

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: TRACKING AND EVALUATION CORE
 The Tracking and Evaluation (T&E) Key Component Activity (KCA) provides LA CaTS Center leadership
with actionable evaluations to facilitate data-driven decisions for shaping initiatives and directing resources to
impact areas aligned with the Center's mission and theme. Before receiving funding in 2012, most LA CaTS
Center KCAs existed primarily on paper and were not yet functioning. When the Center received funding four
years ago, a tracking plan was in place within the first month of ramp-up that focused on: (a) ensuring effective
cross-institutional and cross-KCA communication; (b) monitoring progress of all 10 KCAs, including the
implementation of pilot grant and education trainee programs; and, (c) identifying challenges for KCAs, which
Center leadership addressed. Among T&E achievements to-date are the analyses and recommendations that
lead to (a) the implementation of a web-based request-for-services system that increased KCA efficiencies to
provide services and ability to collect metric data recommended by our External Advisory Committee; (b)
increased compliance among investigators for acknowledging the LA CaTS Center in publications; and, (c)
executing successful Center-wide awareness-raising and marketing strategies. In year 4 of the initial funding
cycle, Center leadership agreed that tracking and evaluation activities needed independence, and provided the
necessary resources to “spin off” the T&E function, which now serves as a separate KCA.
 For the second five-year funding round, the T&E Core will support the LA CaTS Center's overarching
goal to improve health outcomes and address disparities in Louisiana by collecting useful data and providing
the PI with evaluations so leadership can determine progress, identify new opportunities or challenges and
make adjustments to programmatic initiatives. The T&E Core will work with all KCAs to develop metrics, then
ensure documentation and performance measurement. In addition to an annual evaluation, we work with the
Cyberinfrastructure Enhancement Core, Biomedical Informatics Core as well as other KCAs on innovations
such as: a web accessible dashboard to provide timely data trends and metric analytics; and, collaboration
visualizations. The T&E Core proposes the following three Specific Aims: 1) To execute an internal tracking
and evaluation plan that ensures ongoing monitoring and informative interim assessments at both the KCA-
level and Center-wide level for both new and continuing initiatives; 2) To expand existing tools and continue to
develop or implement innovative approaches for collecting and capturing data, tracking progress, enhancing
collaborations, and providing analyses for identifying or enhancing organizational strengths; and, 3) To
oversee an annual evaluation at the Center-level and KCA-level that includes assessing services structure and
delivery; budget implementation; resource allocation; and, demand, function, utilization...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201621
- **Project number:** 5U54GM104940-06
- **Recipient organization:** LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Sylvia H Goldman
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $220,023
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-08-15 → 2022-08-04

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201621

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201621, Tracking & Evaluation Core (5U54GM104940-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201621. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*