Grant Success for Early-Career Faculty in Patient-Oriented Research: Difference-in-Differences Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary Mentored Research Training Program

Abstract

Purpose: Since 2004, the Clinical Faculty Scholars Program (CFSP) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has provided intensive interdisciplinary mentoring and structured training for early-career clinical faculty from multiple disciplines conducting patient-oriented clinical and outcomes research. This study evaluated the two-year program's effects by comparing grant outcomes for CFSP participants and a matched comparison cohort of other junior faculty.

Method: Using 2000-2011 institutional grant and employment data, a cohort of 25 scholars was matched to a cohort of 125 comparison faculty (using time in rank and pre-period grant dollars awarded). A quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design was used to identify the CFSP effect on grant outcomes. Grant outcomes were measured by counts and dollars of grant proposals and awards as principal investigator. Outcomes were compared within cohorts over time (pre- vs. post-period) and across cohorts.

Results: From pre- to post-period, mean annual counts and dollars of grant awards increased significantly for both cohorts, but mean annual dollars increased significantly more for the CFSP than for the comparison cohort (delta $83,427 vs. $27,343, P < .01). Mean annual counts of grant proposals also increased significantly more for the CFSP than for the comparison cohort: 0.42 to 2.34 (delta 1.91) versus 0.77 to 1.07 (delta 0.30), P < .01.

Conclusions: Institutional investment in mentored research training for junior faculty provided significant grant award gains that began after one year of CFSP participation and persisted over time. The CFSP is a financially sustainable program with effects that are predictable, significant, and enduring.

Figure 1

Steps taken to create the Clinical Faculty Scholars Program (CFSP) cohort and the matched comparison faculty cohort used in this study. The final CFSP cohort included 25 scholars and the matched comparison cohort included 125 early-career faculty. For additional details and an example, see Supplemental Digital Appendix 1 at [LWW INSERT LINK].

Figure 2

Percentage of faculty in the Clinical Faculty Scholars Program (CFSP) cohort (n = 25) and comparison cohort (n = 125) with at least one grant proposal or grant award, by period. For descriptions of the pre- and post-periods, cohort matching process, and data sources, see the Method section.

Figure 3

Grant proposals, grant awards, and persistence, by period: Clinical Faculty Scholars Program (CFSP) cohort (n = 25) and comparison faculty cohort (n = 125). For descriptions of the pre- and post-periods, cohort matching process, and data sources, see the Method section.

Figure 4

Log (cumulative dollars awarded + $1) mean dollars by year, Clinical Faculty Scholars Program (CFSP) cohort versus comparison faculty cohort (n = 125). The CFSP program is a two-year program. For these calculations, time = 0 was set as the midpoint of the CFSP program or matched equivalent period. For descriptions of the pre- and post-periods, cohort matching process, data sources, and calculations, see the Method section.