Discussion

Presentation 311 FORGING ALLIANCES TO MEET FUTURE RESEARCH AND TRAINING NEEDS JOHNRUFHNxPhD National Institutes of Health Abstract: There are countless challenges in meeting the future needs of the biomedical research community. In an era of flattened research budgets, the overarching concern has become how more can be done with less. One approach, still novel for the biomedical research community but proven successful for the commercial sector, is the establishment of strategic alliances. Among federal entities, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH) have as their goal the improvement of the health of the nation's minorities through support for alliances between academic research institutions. These partnerships serve to maximize an institution's opportunity for success, especially with regard to research and training. There are many different opportunities for institutions to establish partnerships, especially among minority institutions , and between minority and majority institutions. Features of successful alliances are described, working partnership models identified, and other opportunities explored. Key words: Biomedical research, training, National Institutes of Health, Office of Research on Minority Health As the 21st century nears, the biomedical research community finds itself with one foot in the past and one in the future. A number of diseases and disabihties persist without a visible treatment, cure, or preventive measure. On the other hand, new scientific opportunities have emerged from current research successes, such as the human genome project. At this crucial crossroads in time, the research community must face the challenge of adequately anticipating and meeting future research needs, such as educating and training the next generation of scientists, as well as maintaining and improving the physical infrastructure of an adequate number of academic research facilities. In an era of flattened research budgets, one overarching concern has become "How can we do more with less?" Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved · Vol. 8, No. 3 · 1997 312 Forging Alliances In order to meet future research needs, it is necessary to creatively restructure present conceptions of how biomedical research and tiaining will be conducted in the next millennium. Although the sdentific community can feel secure in using the knowledge gained from critical evaluations of what has worked and what has not, it can learn from some useful problem-solving models used in other segments of sodety. These may help point the way toward a more successful biomedical research and tiaining strategy, espedally when resources are constrained. One approach, novel for the biomedical research community but proven successful for the business sector, is the establishment of strategic alliances. Understanding Existing Models Our sodety has entered an era of corporate restructuring, mandated by the emergence of "global markets," a notion that was brought to national attention more than 20 years ago when the United States faced an oil embargo. American assembly line workers suddenly found themselves competing against counterparts from other parts of the globe who were willing to work for an entire year on what a U.S. employee was paid for one week. Corporate CEOs learned that overseas counterparts were not hamstrung by the strict regulatory environment experienced in the United States. Stocks of U.S. companies were suddenly vulnerable to bear markets in countries that traded shares while New York was asleep. Some U.S. companies responded to this challenge by downsizing in an attempt to generate profits as they reached the bottom line. Downsizing was characterized by reductions in the number of employees and in research and devdopment spending, as well as the selling off of assets and operating divisions. Often these strategies proved to be an abysmal failure. Other U.S. companies took a more positive and long-term approach, seeking instead to "rightsize." This strategy relied much more on long-term planning and analysis of present and future markets. The capadties of operating divisions and employees were also assessed. Inasmuch as some corporate features are eliminated in rightsizing, they are often leveraged through the establishment of a series of strategic alliances. For example, in the telecommunications arena there are a staggering number of alliances. Partnerships between software designers, chip manufacturers, telephone service providers, publishers, television networks, and movie studios are all structured to expand opportunity. Closer to...