CARRA members participate in a variety of NCI activities involving scientific research and the communication of research results. Categories of these NCI activities are listed in the table below. NCI staff members have requested the participation of CARRA members in their activities 742 times since the start of the CARRA program in September 2001.

Please note:

  1. The total number of times CARRA members have participated in NCI activities is greater than the total number of NCI staff requests below, because an activity may need the participation of one or multiple CARRA members.
  2. The number of meetings, events, project components, etc. which CARRA members have participated in is greater than the number of requests made by NCI staff because a single request can involve participation on one or multiple dates over a year or more.
  3. The CARRA program is continuously working on additional ways to quantify and report the levels of CARRA participation in NCI's work.

Type of Activity

Number of NCI Staff Requests

Peer Review Activities - (the review and evaluation of grant applications to determine scientific and technical merit)
  • Committees (a standing committee that meets more than once)

18
  • Meetings (a one-time meeting)

322
  • Site Visits (site visits to potential grantees)

61

Non-Peer Review Activities -
  • Committees (a standing committee that meets more than once)

72
  • Editorial Boards (editorial board for NCI publications)

5
  • Educational Materials Development (review of print, electronic, or other medium educational materials)

102
  • Meetings (a one-time meeting)

68
  • Progress Review Group (PRG) (panels of 20 to 30 prominent members of the scientific, medical, and advocacy communities that assess the state of the science for a single type of cancer or group of closely related cancers and make recommendations for future research)

5
  • Research Tool Development (review of surveys, interview guides, or other types of research tools)

2
  • Website Usability Testing (review of website for readability and ease of navigation)

27
  • Workshops(a one-time meeting where discussion and learning are the primary activities)

22
  • Other (any activity that does not fit into one of the above categories, including non peer-review related informed consent review)

38

Total:

742

Last Updated on October 1, 2008
Fiscal Year 2006-2008


This graph displays the number of requests the CARRA Program received for advocate involvement from Sept. 2007 to Sept. 2008. Most requests, numbering 15, occurred in September 2008. Fewest requests, numbering 7, were received in December 2007.

Institute staff request CARRA member participation for research and related activities that are strengthened and enriched with the perspective of patients, survivors, family members, and caregivers.

Fiscal Years 2002-2008


This pie chart shows the % of CARRA Members requested per NCI activity between FY 2002 and 2008. Most activities (67%) involved the participation of one advocate. 14% involved 2 advocates; 6% involved 3-4; 13% involved 5 or more advocates.

CARRA members participate in research and related activities at the request of NCI staff. A closer look at the number of requests reveals that approximately one-third are asking for participation by multiple consumer advocates. The CARRA program consistently provides more than enough names to fill the programmatic requirements of the complete request. Then the NCI staff member selects the CARRA consumer advocate(s) who best match(es) the needs of their activity.

This pie chart displays the percentage of CARRA requests that are for one-time activities versus ongoing activities. The majority of requests (83%) are for one-time activities; the remaining 17% are for ongoing activities.

Most NCI staff requests are seeking CARRA member involvement in a one-time activity, such as a single peer review meeting or a single web usability session. Others involve numerous interactions in projects over months or years, such as advocate representatives on standing review committees and on workgroups for caBIG, the NCI Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid.

The following seven diagrams illustrate the proportion of CARRA requests for a range of NCI activities over Fiscal Years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Much of the variation from year to year reflects programmatic or administrative changes in NCI's work.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in FY 2002 by activity category. 46% were for peer review meetings, 18% for peer review site visits, 12% educational materials, 7% for committees, and 5% for usability testing.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in FY 2003 by activity category. 47% of requests were for peer review meetings, 26% for peer review site visits, 7% for educational materials, and 2% for usability testing.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in FY 2004 by activity. 46% were for peer review meetings, 14% for educational materials, 13% for committees, 7% for peer review site visits, 7% for usability testing, and 5% for non-peer review meetings.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in Fiscal Year 2005 by activity category. 55% were for peer review meetings, 17% for educational materials, 8% for workshops, 4% for committees, and 4% for non-peer review meetings.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in Fiscal Year 2006 by activity category. 47% were for peer review meetings, 12% for educational materials, 9% for workshops, 7% for committees, and 6% for non-peer review meetings.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in Fiscal Year 2007 by activity category. 34% were for peer review meetings, 20% for educational materials, 14% for committees, and 14% for non-peer review meetings.

This pie chart shows the % of CARRA requests in FY 2008 by activity category. 33% were for peer review meetings (33%), 26% for non-peer review meetings, 14% for educational materials, 14% for committees, and 4% for usability testing.