TY - JOUR
T1 - Research Consortium on Children with Chronic Conditions (RCCCC)
T2 - A vehicle for interdisciplinary collaborative research
AU - Pless, I. B.
AU - Stein, Ruth E.K.
AU - Walker, Deborah Klein
N1 - Funding Information:
From its onset the group was interdisciplinary. The professional backgrounds included pediatrics, public health, education, sociology, public policy, economics, and psychology. Although individual members changed somewhat over time, the interdisciplinary mix did not. The melding of disciplines produced products with considerable added value and enriched the thinking of other members of the group. More recently, emphasis on promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in particular theme areas has been promoted by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research [] and by the NIH Roadmap for medical research [, ].
PY - 2010/1
Y1 - 2010/1
N2 - To describe the evolution, accomplishments, and limitations of a research consortium after 25 years of existence. A narrative historical account supplemented by data documenting citations to all group papers. In 1980 the Research Consortium on Children with Chronic Conditions was established. Since then, we have met 2-3 times a year to discuss issues related to research and policies for children with special health care needs. We describe the origin of the Consortium, its operation, and some of its accomplishments, as well as the difficulties it encountered. Our interactions helped promote and sustain research on an emerging topic and did so in an interdisciplinary manner. We include a citation analysis suggesting that group papers published by Consortium members are reasonably well cited by others. We believe our work has been of value in developing influencing research, clinical practice, and policy. This paper is intended to serve as a guide for others who believe that this type of interaction can do much to promote an emerging field. However, it also highlights some of the difficulties in forging and maintaining a productive, research-focused relationship over an extended period of time. The most important lesson learned is that a small group of committed individuals able to meet on a regular basis can accelerate movement in a new field. However, unless stable funding can be secured, maintaining a consortium is truly challenging.
AB - To describe the evolution, accomplishments, and limitations of a research consortium after 25 years of existence. A narrative historical account supplemented by data documenting citations to all group papers. In 1980 the Research Consortium on Children with Chronic Conditions was established. Since then, we have met 2-3 times a year to discuss issues related to research and policies for children with special health care needs. We describe the origin of the Consortium, its operation, and some of its accomplishments, as well as the difficulties it encountered. Our interactions helped promote and sustain research on an emerging topic and did so in an interdisciplinary manner. We include a citation analysis suggesting that group papers published by Consortium members are reasonably well cited by others. We believe our work has been of value in developing influencing research, clinical practice, and policy. This paper is intended to serve as a guide for others who believe that this type of interaction can do much to promote an emerging field. However, it also highlights some of the difficulties in forging and maintaining a productive, research-focused relationship over an extended period of time. The most important lesson learned is that a small group of committed individuals able to meet on a regular basis can accelerate movement in a new field. However, unless stable funding can be secured, maintaining a consortium is truly challenging.
KW - Chronic conditions
KW - Interdisciplinary
KW - Knowledge transfer
KW - Research consortium
KW - Socio-emotional impacts
KW - Special health care needs
KW - Translational research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=73649143889&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=73649143889&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10995-009-0484-z
DO - 10.1007/s10995-009-0484-z
M3 - Review article
C2 - 19701701
AN - SCOPUS:73649143889
SN - 1092-7875
VL - 14
SP - 9
EP - 19
JO - Maternal and Child Health Journal
JF - Maternal and Child Health Journal
IS - 1
ER -
