Health Research Alliance Inc

COMMITTED TO MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH

CONVENE MEMBERSHIP TO FOSTER COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION:HRA IS AN INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSE COMMUNITY THAT PROVIDES A FORUM FOR SHARING EFFECTIVE PRACTICES AND TOOLS, ALONG WITH A SAFE SPACE FOR LEARNING FROM FAILURES. LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER ULTIMATELY HELPS MEMBERS IMPROVE THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AND BUILD THEIR CAPACITY. OUT OF NECESSITY, IN 2021 WE CONTINUED TO HOLD VIRTUAL INSTEAD OF IN-PERSON MEETINGS. THE VALUE OF THIS WAS THE ABILITY TO INCLUDE MEMBERS WHO WOULDN'T NORMALLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND IN-PERSON, RESULTING IN AN INCREASE FROM ABOUT 100 ATTENDEES AT IN-PERSON MEETINGS TO ZOOM MEETINGS WITH 200 MEMBERS ATTENDING SOME OF THE SESSIONS. THE SPRING MEETING ADDRESSED VERY TIMELY ISSUES SPARKED BY THE PANDEMIC, SUCH AS "HOSTING VIRTUAL EVENTS AND "THE FUTURE WORKPLACE: POST-PANDEMIC WORKFORCE AND THE DISRUPTION IN THE WORKPLACE." BUT THE MEETING ALSO ADDRESSED OTHER VERY IMPORTANT AND CHALLENGING ISSUES WHICH ARE JUST AS URGENT FOR FUNDERS TO TACKLE. THESE INCLUDED "FOSTERING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSIVENESS WITHIN THE RESEARCH WORKFORCE AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE "NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE'S TOOLKIT FOR FOSTERING OPEN SCIENCE PRACTICES AND "DATA SHARING AND DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS." THE FALL MEETING ALSO ADDRESSED MANY OF THE MOST THE CHALLENGING ISSUES OF OUR TIME INCLUDING "UNPACKING SYSTEMIC RACISM: A WORKSHOP TO HELP FUNDERS FOSTER EQUITY", "ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT", "SCIENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA", AND "ENGAGING AWARDEES." TO INCREASE MEMBERS' CAPACITY TO ELIMINATE BIAS AND INCREASE EQUITY ACROSS THEIR GRANTMAKING LIFECYCLE, WE HOSTED 3 VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS BY THE BME COMMUNITY THAT HELPED US LEARN TO FOCUS ON APPLICANT'S ASSETS AND LEARNED ABOUT HOLISTIC GRANT REVIEW FROM THE AAMC. WE CONTINUED TO HOST VIRTUAL CEO ROUNDTABLES SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR WHICH LED TO OTHER ACTIVITIES SUCH AS HOSTING TARGETED WEBINARS AND CREATING RESOURCES. WE ALSO CREATED A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR STAFF AT HRA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS. OUR FIRST VIRTUAL WORKSHOP WAS "UNDERSTANDING YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE" TO INCREASE INDIVIDUAL SKILLS AND TO FACILITATE NETWORKING AND PEER MENTORING.

SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND PRACTICES TO SHARE RESEARCH, DATA, AND ANALYSIS:IN 2021, OUR MOST SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY WAS DEVELOPING HRA'S 2021 STRATEGIC PLAN. THE PLAN SETS OUT 4 GOALS AND THE STRATEGIES RECOMMENDED TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS. THE PLAN WILL HELP LEADERSHIP AND STAFF ALLOCATE RESOURCES APPROPRIATELY. WE ALSO FOCUSED ATTENTIONS ON HRA ANALYZER, HRA'S PROPRIETARY DATABASE THAT PROVIDES DATA-DRIVEN ANALYSIS ENABLING MEMBERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THEIR GRANTMAKING PRACTICES. IN 2021 HRA HOSTED "LUNCH AND LEARN" SESSIONS TO HELP HRA MEMBERS UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF HRA ANALYZER. WEBINARS INCLUDED LEARNING HOW TO UPLOAD DATA; USING THE DATABASE FOR GAP ANALYSES TO BETTER TARGET LIMITED FUNDS; EVALUATING PROGRESS AND DEVELOPING NEW PROGRAMS TO ADVANCE A MORE EQUITABLE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE; IDENTIFYING COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS OR REVIEWERS; AND MANY OTHER USE CASES. OPEN SCHOLARSHIP CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE IMPORTANT TO HRA MEMBERS AS WELL AS OTHER FUNDERS, WHICH CAN BE FACILITATED BY HRA OPEN, A PLATFORM DEVELOPED BY HRA TO ENABLE PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER RESEARCH OUTPUTS TO BE MADE OPEN AND FREELY ACCESSIBLE NOT ONLY TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY BUT TO ANYONE. IN ADDITION TO ENABLING MEMBERS' OPEN SCIENCE POLICIES, HRA OPEN HAS LED NEW FUNDERS TO JOIN HRA MAINLY TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS INFRASTRUCTURE. HRA ALSO SURVEYED OUR MEMBERSHIP TO UNDERSTAND THE PANDEMIC'S ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACTS ON REVENUE, RESEARCH GRANTS AND PROGRAMMING AND PUBLISHED THAT ANALYSIS. WE PUBLISHED A REPORT OF THE FINDINGS WHICH HAS INFORMED MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS' STRATEGIC PLANS.

GATHER AND DISSEMINATE KNOWLEDGE TO FOSTER INNOVATIVE GRANTMAKING AND ADDRESS CHALLENGES IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH:THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ENTERPRISE EXPERIENCED A YEAR OF RECKONING IN 2020. THE PANDEMIC, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL UNCERTAINTIES, AND THE URGENCY OF ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC RACIAL AND REGIONAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC INEQUITIES ALL ADD TO LONGSTANDING CONCERNS ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ENTERPRISE. HRA BELIEVED AS DID MOST OF THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY - THAT WE NEED A NEW VISION FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE. SO, TO HELP REIMAGINE THAT FUTURE, IN 2021 HRA LAUNCHED THE "REIMAGINE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE" ESSAY CHALLENGE. WE INVITED THE COMMUNITY TO SUBMIT IDEAS THAT RE-COMMIT TO SERVING SOCIETY AND ACHIEVING AN EQUITABLE, DIVERSE, AND CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT. DURING 2021 WE HELD THE COMPETITION AND ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS AND HONORABLE MENTIONS. IN ADDITION TO THAT MOMENTOUS UNDERTAKING, HRA'S WORKING GROUPS (REBRANDED AS "LEARNING COMMUNITIES" CONTINUED TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, KNOWLEDGE, TOOLS, AND OPPORTUNITIES ON SPECIFIC TOPICS SUCH AS STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS TO CONVEY ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT; THE "RESEARCH ETHICS REVIEW BOARD" AS A NEW MODEL FOR THE INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD; THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE CAREERS OF WOMEN; BUILDING STRONGER DRUG AND OTHER THERAPY DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS; AND THE FEDERAL POLICY FOR DATA SHARING. THE COMMUNITIES ALSO CONTINUED THEIR WORK BY CONVENING REGULARLY VIA ZOOM, CREATING TOOLS, AND COLLECTING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO SHARE WITH THE MEMBERS. THESE COMMUNITIES DIVE DEEP INTO ISSUES THAT IMPACT OUR MEMBERS, AND DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS, IDENTIFY RESOURCES, OR FACILITATE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT HRA AND HRA MEMBERS CAN IMPLEMENT OR SUPPORT TO MAKE PROGRESS IN VARIOUS AREAS. COMMUNITIES ARE CREATED WHEN A NEED ARISES (AS HAPPENED WITH THE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION WORKING GROUP IN 2020) BUT ALSO SUNSET WHEN THE APPLICABILITY TO HRA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASES (SUCH AS WITH BOTH THE TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE AND POLICY AND DISCOVERY SCIENCE WORKING GROUPS.)