Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Volume 2, Number 3, 1997
NIDRR currently funds eighteen projects that constitute its Model Spinal Cord Injury Model System (MSCIS) Program. MSCIS project directors meet twice a year to discuss their individual and overall progress and challenges. The NCDDR director was invited to discuss the subject of dissemination with this group at its December 1996 meeting. MSCIS projects have organized themselves around committees that address specific types of issues. The MSCIS Dissemination Committee addresses ways in which spinal cord injury information and related data can be usefully made available to those who can use it. Discussions between the NCDDR and the Dissemination Committee began an effort to build a gateway on the WWW that would display the nature and scope of NIDRR's MSCIS and also would begin to establish a common outlet that could be used by MSCIS projects to disseminate information they felt was relevant.
Working cooperatively with the MSCIS Dissemination Committee, initial "drafts" of the informational components were developed. These were categorized into three phases for development purposes.
At the Summer 1997 meeting of the MSCIS, the full membership was oriented to the current status of the gateway. Most parts associated with phases one and two have been initiated. The orientation provided an opportunity to show this type of gateway system as a way in which MSCIS projects can show their unique contributions to the accepted treatment and management of spinal cord injury. The Chair of the Dissemination Committee is Bruce Becker, M.D., Principal Investigator of the Model Spinal Cord Injury System at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. Dr. Becker made these comments about the effort to date:
"We are excited about the opportunities that the web gateway offers to the members of the model systems in communication. More importantly, the site offers an opportunity for the external world to understand the ongoing efforts of the model systems to improve health care for spinal injured patients, to access information arising from within each of the model systems research and educational programs, and to provide input to help shape the systems of the future."
A member of the Dissemination Committee, Lesley M. Hudson, M.A., Co-Project Director of the Georgia Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System, has this to say about the new gateway:
"In spite of the fact that the model system program is over 25 years old, it has always remained current by embracing emerging technology that enhances its function. With the www opportunity, the 18 currently funded systems can truly work as one system nationwide. Information can be shared very quickly, dialogue will be facilitated, and feedback can be instantaneous. This should encourage an acceleration of the work of the model system and increase its efficiency. External to the system itself, the www provides a new and exciting opportunity to disseminate information gathered over nearly three decades. The possibilities are virtually endless!!!"
The NCDDR's Project Officer, Ellen Blasiotti, states the following about this example of gateway development:
"It is a great pleasure to see the information 'gateway' concept take shape with the MSCIS. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of a series of information activities that will significantly enrich NIDRR's dissemination efforts. Through the exceptional work of the NCDDR and the Model Spinal Cord Injury System projects, a dynamic collaboration has taken place, which is increasing the flow of information about research, not only among SCI colleagues, but within the larger rehabilitation and research communities, and with the public.
The 'gateway' concept is a 'win-win-win' proposition. First, it is a powerful tool to use in presenting the topics of rehabilitation research to the public in a new way. With its various levels of information and its links to many resources, the 'gateway' can practically become a self-guided tour of as little or as much information as the consumer desires. Second, for researchers, it provides a place to showcase the results of research in an untraditional venue and with richer description. Lastly, the 'gateway' allows NIDRR to combine the results of individual projects to show the world a 'patchwork quilt' of information that, organized and presented over time, will make evident the patterns of the NIDRR research investment as a whole."
The MSCIS Gateway has recently been activated and you can access it via the WWW at the following URL:
http://www.ncddr.org/rpp/hf/hfdw/mscis/
This site continues to grow and develop through the participation of MSCIS project staff. All members of the MSCIS will be oriented to the website this summer and will begin to suggest additions to the gateway, through the leadership of the Dissemination Committee.
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NIDRR Project Number: H133A990008
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