Community Participation
caBIG® is the first systematic and comprehensive approach to managing cancer information. From its inception, caBIG® was envisioned as a partnership with the cancer community and other stakeholders.
As of the end of 2008, more than 50 cancer centers and 150 other organizations – over 1000 people in all – are working collaboratively on caBIG®. Please visit the Resources section of this site to download a list of participating institutions. Among the participants are:
NCI-Designated Cancer Centers
caBIG® was conceived, designed, and developed in partnership with the NCI-designated cancer centers. Teams from the cancer centers and their communities are involved in the development and testing of tools and other resources that are part of the ongoing design of caBIG®.
Individuals
Scientists, informaticists, and others in the cancer community who have needs addressed by caBIG® participate in the program through their involvement in workspaces, ongoing caBIG® meetings and teleconferences, and other activities. Patient advocates have been actively involved in all areas of caBIG® from the beginning, to ensure that the needs of patients are addressed.
Government
caBIG® was conceived by the leadership of the National Cancer Institute, and is being implemented by NCI’s Center for Bioinformatics and Information Technology (CBIIT). caBIG® has become the underlying information infrastructure for all of NCI’s advanced technology initiatives, including the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, the Clinical Proteomic Technologies Initiative, The Cancer Genome Atlas, and NCI’s clinical trials activities.
In addition, caBIG® can serve as a model for information-sharing needs in other areas of biomedical research, within the National Institutes of Health, other federal health agencies, as well as outside the government.
Industry and Other Partners
NCI welcomes the involvement of commercial and other groups as part of caBIG®. Currently, many commercial organizations and nonprofit organizations participate in caBIG® activities. These organizations include information technology companies, large-scale software vendors, pharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology companies, as well as small, specialized ventures. Participation varies from occasional involvement in open meetings to regular involvement with specific caBIG® workspace activities. Some vendors are modifying their products to be caBIG® compatible. Key standards development organizations, such as Health Level 7 (HL7) and Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), are also engaged.
If you are interested in working on the caBIG® technical program, please visit the caBIG® participants’ website.
