NCI designated cancer center funding not influenced by organizational structure

Abstract

Background: National Cancer Institutes (NCI) designated cancer centers use one of three organizational structures. The hypothesis of this study is that there are differences in the amount of annual NCI funding per faculty member based on a cancer center’s organizational structure. The study also considers the impact of secondary factors (i.e. the existence of a clinical program, the region and the size of the city in which the cancer center is located) on funding and the number of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators at each cancer center. Methods: Online research and telephone interviews with each cancer center were used to gather information, including: organizational structure, the presence of a clinical program, the number of faculty members, and the number of Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators. Statistical tests were used to assess the impact which organizational structure has on the amount of funding per faculty member and number of HHMI investigators. Results: Of the 63 cancer centers, 44 use a matrix structure, 16 have a freestanding structure, and 3 have a Department of Oncology structure. Kruskal-Wallis tests reveal no statistically significant differences in the amount of funding per faculty member or the number of HHMI investigators between cancers with a matrix, freestanding or Department of Oncology structure. Conclusion: While the results seem to suggest that the organizational structure of a given cancer center does not impact the amount of NCI funding or number of HHMI investigators which it attracts, the existence of this relationship is likely masked by the small sample size in this study. Further studies may be appropriate to examine the effect organizational structure has on other measurements which are relevant to cancer centers, such as quality and quantity of research produced.