# CONNECT: Collaborative Network for Nurturing Ecosystems of Common Fund Team Science

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2024 · $493,553

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY - EVALUATION CORE
The Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) seeks to revolutionize biomedical research through strategic
investments in informatics tools, personnel, and data. The Evaluation Core will be responsible for performing an
annual evaluation of the CFDE, assessing the program's progress toward its goals. For high-visibility CF
programs, undergoing such assessments can enhance their reputation, increase impact, and foster positive
outcomes. The Evaluation Core will produce annual reports aggregating metrics, interpreting findings, and
issuing recommendations while providing advice and guidance based on the evaluation process. We propose a
stakeholder and community informed continuous evaluation and improvement process across the CFDE, utilizing
our expertise in automated systems, data integration, and stakeholder engagement. Working under the Office of
Strategic Coordination (OSC) and in collaboration with NIH staff, we will achieve the following aims: 1) establish
evaluation metrics aligned with CFDE principles through stakeholder engagement, 2) implement processes that
continually integrate resources to gather metrics across CF programs, including the CFDE, 3) develop a report
generator for CF programs and the CFDE to provide dashboards and continuously-updated reports to project
leaders and stakeholders; 4) engage with CF programs and the CFDE to provide guidance based on findings
from evaluation metrics, understand gaps in metrics and reports, and ensure continuous improvement. Inspired
by the agile framework, our approach supports annual evaluations while offering immediate feedback for CFDE
components. This strategy maximizes the core's impact by generating metrics informed by diverse perspectives,
developing software and automation for evaluating CFDE components, creating integrated reports combining
narrative interpretation with quantitative metrics, and implementing agile practices for continuous improvement.
Our proposed Evaluation Core will provide impartial, transparent, and constructive guidance. Our focus on
collaboratively developing principle-guided metrics through stakeholder engagement ensures a smooth
evaluation process, eliminating unexpected outcomes and fostering a sense of fairness.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10876610
- **Project number:** 1U54OD036472-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Casey S Greene
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $493,553
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10876610

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10876610, CONNECT: Collaborative Network for Nurturing Ecosystems of Common Fund Team Science (1U54OD036472-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10876610. Licensed CC0.

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