223: Linking Publications to NIH Center Grants: Not Nearly as Simple as it Sounds

A top-line evaluation metric for centers funded by NIH (e.g., Clinical & Translational Science/Research Awards) is number of publications linked to funding numbers. Like many center-grant recipient’s, the West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI) works to continuously improve processes that identify publications and increase linked publication counts. Initially funded in 2012, WVCTSI has 2,832 publications linked in NIH Reporter, 2,570 publications linked in Dimensions, and MyNCBI shows a different number, so we question how NIH operationally defines “linked”. We will share our process using four platforms to identify “linked” publications and publications for which linking should be explored because investigators utilized grant-supported resources. Implementing this process, we identified 525 publications in our current funding cycle for which linking should be explored. Sharing our challenges, processes, and platforms utilized to address those challenges will be valuable to evaluators nationwide who work on large center grants.

Evana Dooty – Graduate Student Researcher, WVCTSI; Mohammad Raquib – Graduate Student Researcher, WVCTSI