Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
create the caBIG cancer center deployment program. NCI-designated cancer
centers that were interested could apply to receive a supplement to their
primary cancer center grant equivalent to half of a full-time equivalent to
support biomedical informatics deployments at their sites. To qualify, the sites
would need to provide a matching level of support, designate a full-time staff
member to lead the deployment [this person was generally referred to as a
center deployment lead (CDL)], work with caBIG staff to create a strategy
for biomedical informatics, deploy at least one application to caGrid, and begin
the process of implementing that strategy by the conclusion of the fi rst year
of funding. Funding was renewable twice, for a total of three years. An impor-
tant point about the deployment is that this activity was meant to support
biomedical informatics, not caBIG per se. Obviously, caBIG software was
available to the deployment sites, but sites did not have to use that caBIG
software, even for the system that was deployed to caGrid. Sites could choose
to utilize caBIG tools if it met their needs (adopt a tool) or they could choose
to use non-caBIG technology to connect to caGrid by implementing APIs with
semantics (adapt a tool) either by hand or using existing toolkits such as the
caCORE SDK (see earlier). All told, 68 NCI-designated cancer centers (59
in year 1, 6 in year two, and 3 in year 3) and all 10 NCCCP organizations
(that did not receive a separate supplement) decided to participate in the
deployment.
Deploying sites went through a three-part process to assist with the creation
of their strategic plan for biomedical informatics. In the fi rst phase, the sites
completed an IT readiness self-assessment. This assessment was designed to
help assess their capabilities to deploy enterprise systems, develop custom
extensions to software, and support the tools that they did deploy as well as
assess their existing capabilities to support biomedical informatics. This docu-
ment was evaluated by caBIG staff members who would then be able to
provide advice to centers during the later steps of the deployment process.
Next, each site produced a goals document that covered the types of capabili-
ties desired, including a set of goals for data sharing. This document (which
needed to be signed by the cancer center director) was used as the basis for
the fi nal component, an implementation plan for biomedical informatics (also
signed by the cancer center director).
To ensure that the deployment proceeded smoothly, caBIG provided a
variety of resources to assist sites that were carrying out the deployment. First,
a group of staff members was provided to manage the deployment, providing
a clear point of access to caBIG senior leadership, program staff, software
developers, and deployment experts. During the fi rst year (when the need was
considered the greatest), a team of deployment specialists was maintained to
provide technical assistance to cancer centers and to transfer knowledge to
those sites. The caBIG knowledge centers (and other parts of the enterprise
support network) were also marshaled to support the deployment. Finally, a
series of center deployment lead-centric activities were scheduled to help
nucleate a community of practice. These included a monthly teleconference
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