Leadership, Planning and Evaluation

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The significant accomplishments of the Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) in this funding period are evidence of the effectiveness and productivity of a reconfigured and highly engaged senior leadership, an enhanced leadership structure, and impactful planning and evaluation processes. Following his 2018 appointment, the SCI Director, Steven Artandi, MD, PhD, adapted leadership roles and structure to maximize the impact and contributions of the SCI in a highly matrixed organization. Artandi has transformed the leadership structure by recruiting and appointing new leaders to key Associate Director positions and broadened input from across the organization to gain rapid consensus on important strategic goals and the development of new scientific initiatives. Artandi led the first integrated SCI Strategic Plan encompassing the tripartite—research, education, and clinical missions. The SCI Strategic Plan identified 5 priority areas: Community Engagement, Population Sciences, Training and Education, Clinical Research, and Translational Science. Implementation of the SCI Strategic Plan is achieved by the robust leadership structure comprised of the Director’s Leadership Cabinet, the SCI Executive Committee, the Research Program Leaders Committee, the leaders of the Clinical Research Groups, and committees for SCI Pilot Awards, Shared Resources, Cancer Research Training and Education, and Community Outreach and Engagement. External guidance is provided by the External Advisory Board (EAB) and the Community Advisory Board (CAB). The transformative changes to Leadership, Planning and Evaluation (LP&E) have enabled impactful accomplishments: (1) recruitment or appointment of nine new Associate Directors, (2) appointment of a Deputy Director, (3) new efforts in cancer drug discovery, (4) strengthening of Population Sciences and forming a Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, (5) development of new SCI Shared Resources, (6) launching a new CAR-T effort, (7) revising and strengthening the Research Programs, (8) forming the CAB, (9) funding the COE Seed Grant Program, in collaboration with the CAB, and (10) updating the membership of the EAB. These accomplishments have enabled the SCI to catalyze its growth in salient metrics. During the current funding period, the LP&E capacity of the SCI has enabled remarkable progress in all aspects of our research, clinical, training, and community missions.