Form 3 AFFILIATED PARTNER TELEPHONE INTERVIEW GUIDE

Attachment 4

Affiliated Partners Telephone Interview Guide

4. Affiliated Partners

SCTC Telephone Interview Guide

OMB No: 0925-XXXX

Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

Collection of this information is authorized by The Public Health Service Act, Section 411 (42 USC 285a). Rights of study participants are protected by The Privacy Act of 1974. Participation is voluntary, and there are no penalties for not participating or withdrawing from the study at any time. Refusal to participate will not affect your benefits in any way. The information collected in this study will be kept private to the extent provided by law. Names and other identifiers will not appear in any report of the study. Information provided will be combined for all study participants and reported as summaries. You are being contacted to participate in this data collection so that we can evaluate the State and Community Tobacco Control (SCTC) Research Initiative.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: NIH, Project Clearance Branch, 6705 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7974, Bethesda, MD 20892-7974, ATTN: PRA (0925-XXXX). Do not return the completed form to this address.

[NOTE: During these Affiliated Partner interviews, we will individualize the questions so that we ask specifically about the core project partnership between the Partner and their university-based Core project team. This is reflected in the blank _________ spaces and insertion points for <name of SCTC University / Center>. To the extent possible, we will probe to determine if and how far beyond that direct collaboration to the broader SCTC initiative the Partners’ interactions extend.]

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this telephone interview focused on your organization’s involvement in the ____________ Project with __________ University / Center. As you probably know, this project is being sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. My name is ___________ and I work for a company called Westat, an independent research firm located in Rockville, Maryland. Westat was contracted by NCI to conduct these interviews as part of a larger assessment.

As was explained in the initial invitation, your participation is voluntary and you can choose to not respond to any question for any reason. But keep in mind that the information you provide will be kept private to the extent provided by law. The information collected will be analyzed and published in aggregate form and we will not identify any individuals in any report or presentation.

Your participation will help provide valuable information that will assist NCI and NIH in making decisions regarding future program activities and their structure.

The interview will take approximately 40 minutes. We would like to audio-record it to ensure accuracy. Only the Westat team will have access to the recording for analytical purposes and the recording will be destroyed once the project is completed. Do I have your permission to continue?

Today’s conversation is going to cover your impressions of the overall SCTC initiative as well as your specific impressions of your Core Project <NAME>. By overall SCTC initiative we mean all of the individuals and institutions involved including all seven of the university based research centers, the coordinating center, and the affiliated partners. By Affiliated Partners we are referring to SCTC collaborators who are not SCTC grantees and are based outside of funded research centers. Affiliated partners can include representatives at state or local tobacco control programs, public health and community based organizations, Federal or State agencies, organizations hired to consult on SCTC projects or workgroups, as well as other academic institutions.

A. CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLABORATION

1. When did you begin your collaborative relationship with <name of SCTC University / Center> on the _______ project?

• Does this collaboration pre-date the launch of SCTC in 2010?

• About how many of your colleagues at <Name of Partner Org> are also involved?

2. In what ways, if any, has your organization been involved in this project?

Probes:

• Developing or supporting the initial grant application for this project

• Providing input on the design or specific research aims of this project

• Conducting the project and/or assisting with project management

• Providing access to research study participants

• Conveying the perspective and input of constituency groups to research scientists

3. Thinking about your role as a partner on the ______ project, with whom do you tend to work with most frequently or exchange information and/or materials?

[Collect names of individuals, their roles/positions, and organizational affiliations]

Probe for:

• Staff at partnering university / center

• Staff at other university / centers affiliated with SCTC

• Other practice or policy partners such as agencies at state or local level, Departments of Health, advocacy organizations, CBOs, or other agencies

3a. Which of the above connections to other partners were created since the start of the SCTC initiative and which are pre-existing partnerships?

• Probe to determine the degree to which Affiliated Partners are a bridge to local community organizations.

4. Thinking about this project and your partnership with <name of SCTC University / Center>, what factors seem to have promoted collaboration with the University and the other project partners? What factors seem to have inhibited collaboration?

5. From your perspective, in what ways can NCI assist with the collaboration between scientists and organizations like yours in order to increase effectiveness and success of interactions between researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders?

B. PROCESSES AND ACTIVITIES

[Skip Question 6. if answer was provided in response to Q2]

6. How, if at all, were you involved in the development of project products? Through what processes and activities?

• How active a role did your organization play? For example, directly involved in product development, helping to shape their overall design, or providing feedback to others?

• Can you please provide an illustrative example?

7. Can you describe how decisions are made among members of the collaboration with respect to product development?

8. Is there a plan for disseminating research products and results to relevant stakeholders and the community? If YES, how were you involved in developing the dissemination plan and/or dissemination activities for this project?

9. How would you describe your organization’s role with respect to disseminating the results and products developed as part of the _______ project to relevant audiences?

10. Can you describe how decisions are made among members of the collaboration with respect to dissemination of products?

• Have dissemination strategies and/or target audiences changed since the original application was submitted? If so, how, why, and who led that decision-making?

11. Which partner(s) is taking the lead with respect to the dissemination of products?

12. In what ways can NCI help promote product dissemination in the future?

C. PRODUCTS

[NOTE: The following questions may be more or less relevant depending on the types of products involved in each project.]

13. To the best of your knowledge how are local perspectives and cultural orientations reflected in the project’s products?

• Can you please provide an illustrative example?

14. In what ways were products tailored or customized to different audiences? Which aspects of the products got tailored?

• Was it their content, their format, or the strategy for how they will be disseminated?

• When did this take place? (Front end; mid-way; back end)

• Who (which partner) provided the impetus, input, or data on which to tailor products?

15. At this juncture, what are your impressions of the products emerging from the project?

• Do you believe the end users will find them useful? Relevant? Effective?

• How will you measure success in this case?

CONCLUSION

16. From your perspective, what constitutes a successful partnership between research scientists and affiliated partners such as yourself <or name of organization>?

Probe on:

• Selection of team members

• Mutual respect, trust, and understand among team members

• Clarity and alignment on goals

• Open communication and clearly defined processes

• Synergy between collaborating individuals and institutions

• Dissemination of research products/findings

17. What did YOU expect to gain through collaboratively partnering on this project?

• Were your expectations met?

• Do you feel that the project’s goals were achieved?

18. Did participation as a project partner provide you and your organization with any opportunities to learn and grow?

[If NO] Why not? What were the obstacles?

[If YES] In what ways did your organization learn and grow?

[Obtain examples that might include the following]:

• Networking

• Access to new resources

• Access to expert advice

• Opportunities to build organizational capacity

• Opportunities to communicate the needs of your constituency groups to research scientists and/or influence the direction of scientific research