Transcript Charting a Course for NCI Designation and Beyond

If only I had had a better
Cancer Center Administrator
Small Cancer Centers
Do It All
April 2, 2011
Andrew S. Kraft, MD, Director
Defining “Small”
A combination of factors could be indicative
of “small”
- Size of center within parent institution
- Total NCI funding
- # of Programs
- Size of CCSG Grant
- # of Shared Resources
- CCSG Membership
- # of Annual New Pts
6 Cardinal Rules for
Small Cancer Centers
1- You must sell your Cancer Center
2- Less is more – (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe)
3- Challenge the challenges
4- Unique trumps highly used
5- Collaborate or get out of the kitchen
6- Think differently
1- Sell A Small Cancer Center!
 Geographic burden
 Unique cancer population (e.g., underserved)
 A special scientific expertise
 “Value added” to the existing network of
NCI designated centers
 A passionate statement for why you have a
great Cancer Center
Now, that clinical trial is closed, but we do have
a big special coming up.
2-Less is More
 Rapid clinical trial approval
 Humans answer the phone
 Nimble and can create new programs
 Eager to collaborate nation wide
 Programs that are unique and well-integrated
Membership in a small Cancer Center
requires a certain transformation.
3-Challenge the Challenges
 Get a long-term, focused institutional
commitment (cancer needs to be the top
institutional priority)
 Develop recruiting strategies based on highly
focused research; offer a bigger package
 Share shared resources with others –
small centers cannot do everything
4- Unique Trumps Highly Used
 Less is more!!
 A highly-used, unimaginative, common,
boring, everyday, normal shared resource
will not score well (4-5)
 You need to have unique programs to
justify yourself (3-4)
This is a pretty unique Cancer Center
– don’t you think?
I’m not spying – I’m just checking on
my collaborators…
5-Collaborate or Get Out of the
Kitchen
 Leave your personal and “institutional”
ego outside
 For a small CCSG you need to demonstrate:
– one vision
– central leadership
– interdisciplinary/inter-institutional
scientific programs and trials effort
– cross-campus access to
shared resources
We’re still working together…no?
6-Think Differently
 We need increased options for support of
clinical trials study coordination
 Small centers could benefit from more
flexible consortium arrangements
 Support for Centers to utilize other Centers
shared resources
 Recognize inter-institutional collaborations
in PPGs, SPORES, and other large
interdisciplinary collaborations
Bring in the Big Guns for
Cancer Center Support Grant Submission
Advice from A First Time,
Small NCI Center
 “Nail” six essential characteristics,
planning & evaluation, PRMS, administration,
developmental funds, senior leadership
 Think outside the box to demonstrate
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary
collaborations
(COBRE, U54s, P20s, inter-institutional
collaborations on P01s and P50s)
Cancer Center Sr. Leadership
Just remember spell SMALL in caps and bold