# UAB/TU FIRST Evaluation Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2023 · $201,446

## Abstract

The overall goal of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)/Tuskegee University (TU) Faculty
Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Partnership is to capitalize on the
complementary strengths of both partners to create systemic and sustainable cultural change to further support
inclusive excellence at both institutions. The goal of the Evaluation Core is to clearly and objectively
demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of UAB/TU FIRST Partnership activities as well as collaborate with
the FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC) and other funded grantees to identify and harmonize a
set of common data elements informing the transformation of “culture at NIH-funded extramural institutions by
building self-reinforcing community of scientist committed to diversity and inclusive excellence.”
 Given the complexity of this initiative, the evaluation will be conducted by two Co-Leads with extensive
experience in the evaluation of large collaborative initiatives. They will bring this history and a successful
integrated approach to assess achievement of programmatic goals. The specific aims of the Evaluation Core
are: 1) to conduct ongoing process evaluations to track the UAB/TU FIRST Partnership activities; 2) to conduct
impact and outcome evaluations to assure that the immediate and long-term goals and specific aims of the
UAB/TU FIRST Partnership are being met and to test whether the program achieves significant improvements
in metrics of institutional culture and diversity; and 3) to collaborate with the FIRST CEC and other funded
grantees to identify metrics, harmonize a set of common data elements, and provide data for evaluation of the
FIRST Cohort program.
 The UAB/TU FIRST Partnership will utilize the Logic Model and its inputs, outputs and outcomes to
assess progress. For our program, steps of the Logic Model translate into the following chain of activities:
1) strengthening of the existing collaborative UAB/TU relationships; 2) strengthening the institutional climate of
diversity and inclusive excellence at both institutions; 3) implementation of practices and policies that support
sustainable cultural change, including the establishment of an Office of Integrated Research Support and
Research Navigators; 4) recruitment of clusters of Benjamin-Carver Scientists who are committed to advancing
diversity, equity, and inclusion; 5) provision of support for Benjamin-Carver Scientists; 6) development of a
plan for sustainability of the program; 7) decreasing isolation, increasing community building, and fostering
development of new faculty, which, in turn, will lead to: 8) faculty retention; 9) an increase in productivity in
terms scholarly activities (grants and publications); 10) an increase in collaboration (e.g., development of new
multi-PI investigations, cluster faculty engaging non-cluster faculty, collaborations with communities); and
ultimately, 11) an increase in impact through the establishment of an ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10705184
- **Project number:** 5U54CA267746-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** ISABEL C SCARINCI
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $201,446
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-22 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10705184

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10705184, UAB/TU FIRST Evaluation Core (5U54CA267746-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10705184. Licensed CC0.

---

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