A description of the ABCD organizational structure and communication framework

Abstract

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study is designed to be the largest study of brain development and child health in the United States, performing comprehensive assessments of 11,500 children repeatedly for 10 years. An endeavor of this magnitude requires an organized framework of governance and communication that promotes collaborative decision-making and dissemination of information. The ABCD consortium structure, built upon the Matrix Management approach of organizational theory, facilitates the integration of input from all institutions, numerous internal workgroups and committees, federal partners, and external advisory groups to make use of a broad range of expertise to ensure the study's success.

Keywords: Adolescence; Development; Governance; Longitudinal; Neuroimaging; Organizational framework.

Fig. 1

The ABCD consortium consists of a Coordinating Center (orange), Data Analysis and Informatics Center (green), federal collaborators (grey), and 21 data collection sites comprised of standalone research sites, and coordinated research hubs (connected by dotted lines) in which multiple institutions are members of a single grant award. Sites receiving direct funding are shown in dark blue, and subcontracted sites are shown in light blue. Note: NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse); NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism); NCI (National Cancer Institute); NICHD (Eunice Kennedy Shriver Nation Institute of Child Health and Development); NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health); NIMHD (National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities); NINDS (Nation Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke); OBSSR (NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research); ORWH (NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health); CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); NIJ (National Institute of Justice), NEA (National Endowment for the Arts, and NSF (National Science Foundation) (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).

Fig. 2

ABCD committees, advisory groups, and workgroups. The Coordinating Center oversees committees responsible for non-imaging protocol elements and policy and communications activities (orange). The Data Analysis and Informatics Center oversees committees related to informatics and neuroimaging acquisition and analysis (green). The Coordinating Center and Data Analysis and Informatics Center collaboratively oversee groups that involve design, data usage policy, and informatics (blended colors) (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).

Fig. 3

ABCD governance structure. The ABCD oversight groups (red) advise the Consortium. The External Advisory Board makes recommendations to the Coordinating Center, Data Analysis and Informatics Center, research project sites, and the federal collaborators regarding scientific program progress and related activities. The Observational Study Monitoring Board provides broad oversight and advice to the NIH administering institute regarding issues of bioethics and safety policies and regulations. The Operations Group integrates information flowing from the consortium workgroups, committees, and advisory groups; develops proposals and reports; and presents these to the Council of Investigators for their information and input. Except when consortium consensus is very high, all proposals and protocols are submitted to the Steering Committee for review and approval. The Operations Group is also responsible to oversee implementation of decisions (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).

Fig. 4

ABCD process and information flow. Decision making in ABCD incorporates mechanisms and structures that take advantage of expertise across sites and within focused teams. This figure demonstrates how ideas and information are integrated from workgroups, advisory groups, and standing committees through the Operations Group to the Council of Investigators. The workgroups include representation from the Coordinating Center, Data Analysis and Informatics Center, all of the research sites, and federal partners. Note: Orange = Coordinating Center; green = Data Analysis and Informatics Center; blue = data collection sites; grey = federal collaborators (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).