# Evaluation Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2024 · $208,762

## Abstract

CORE SUMMARY – EVALUATION CORE
The FIIRRE Evaluation Core provides the assessment and evaluation expertise to measure the overall impact
of the Faculty Initiative for Improved Recruitment, Retention and Experience (FIIRRE) and the achievement of
aims for each of the Cores. The Evaluation Core is led by two experienced program evaluators (Dr. Michelle
Bryan and Pamela Gillam), with expertise in quality improvement, strategic planning facilitation, critical race
theory and intersectionality, and program evaluation within educational settings. The Core’s evaluation plan
harnesses the strengths of two well-established evaluation and monitoring frameworks—Utilization Focused
Evaluation and Equity-Focused Developmental Evaluation. Importantly, the entire evaluation will be conducted
from a Culturally Responsive Evaluation approach, recognizing that culturally defined beliefs and values are
central elements of evaluation. These evaluation frameworks and approach align with the overall program
framework for FIIRRE, the Systems of Career Influences Model that depicts the interrelationship between
systems of organizational policies, practices, and culture and personal choice decisions and their impact on
career advancement. Grounding our evaluation plan in established theory ensures that our approach is
practical, flexible, and comprehensive. The Evaluation Core will accomplish the following aims: (1) Monitor and
evaluate Core activities and provide timely feedback to FIIRRE leadership to improve quality and increase
efficiency; (2) Engage institutional leadership to align FIIRRE and institution-wide evaluation strategies and
activities towards achieving inclusive excellence; (3) Determine the impact and effectiveness of FIIRRE in
achieving its goals, including assessment against benchmarks of culture change, faculty development, and
career advancement; and (4) Engage with FIRST awardees and the FIRST Coordination and Evaluation
Center in building the evidence for implementing and sustaining cultures of inclusive excellence. A variety of
qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches support our work plan, recognizing that flexibility and
feasibility are necessary to optimize participation by key stakeholders (e.g., FIIRRE faculty cohort) and ensure
the sustainability of data collection (and reporting) efforts. The Evaluation Core will actively participate in the
FIIRRE Leadership Team, as well as work closely with the Internal and External Advisory Councils, and
institutional leaders to provide evaluation feedback, assist with adjustment of specific programmatic activities,
and adjust tracking and evaluation processes over time to guide decision-making and accountability. Given the
momentum established by UofSC’s institutional leaders over the past two years towards achieving inclusive
excellence, FIIRRE can serve as the “incubator” to test existing and new strategies and methods that achieve
inclusive excellence at multiple levels – individual, ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10927257
- **Project number:** 5U54CA272171-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle Bryan
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $208,762
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-03-12

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10927257

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10927257, Evaluation Core (5U54CA272171-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10927257. Licensed CC0.

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