NCARE’s

Cores

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Administrative Core

The Administrative Core provided day-to-day and long-term direction and support for NCARE, whose overarching goal is to ameliorate alcohol use disorders among American Indians and Alaska Native people. Core members implemented an integrated management plan to ensure the success of NCARE’s research projects, cores, and academic and community partnerships. They also collaborated with NCARE investigators and staff on the planning, review, and evaluation of all funded activities. They supported the implementation of key strategic decisions, research regulatory processes, data sharing plans, and data transfer protocols. Their work was tightly integrated with several committees that kept NCARE aligned with its scientific aims and community mission: the Steering Committee, the Program Advisory Committee, the Working Group, the Data Safety and Monitoring Board, the Publications and Presentations Committee, and the Community Action Board.

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Research Methods Core

The Research Methods Core worked closely with the investigative team of each research project on study design, sample selection, measurement strategies, data collection, data analysis, and communication of findings. Core members also provided support and mentorship in analytic methods for NCARE Fellows and recipients of pilot project funding. As needed, they facilitated the simplest possible analyses or applied extremely complex analytic tools, including experimental approaches, to explore novel lines of inquiry. Core members had well-honed skills in communicating analytic results to audiences with varying levels of quantitative training, such as community members, community leaders, health care providers, and health policy makers.

Information Dissemination Core

The Information Dissemination Core used both traditional and innovative methods to communicate the results of NCARE research projects and provide education on alcohol use disorders and appropriate treatment options. Their audience included Native individuals, Native communities, and Native organizations, as well as the health care providers and government organizations that serve them. Core members were committed to supporting well-informed life choices and responding to urgent community needs by disseminating accurate information on alcohol use disorders and the most effective ways to treat them.

Pilot Project Core

The Pilot Project Core implemented one of NCARE’s central strategies: to nurture innovative research on health inequities due to alcohol use disorders among American Indians and Alaska Native people. Its concerns encompassed prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and consequences across the lifespan. It supported a total of 8 pilot projects during course of NCARE funding. This approach was designed to foster an ecosystem of innovative research by providing centralized services to early stage investigators across the nation. Pilot funding seeded emerging research areas, explored new methodologies, and pursued regional and national collaborations with the potential to evolve into independently funded research or demonstration projects.