The collaboration of all eleven partners and their research teams within the National Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) has achieved very good measurable results. Moreover, the energy of all partners and their research teams, incorporated into NICR, has enabled its impact to transcend far beyond the borders of our national academic environment or standard bibliometrics.
NICR was founded (marketers would say ‘It’s in the NICR’s DNA…’) in order to bring together leading national institutions in cancer research, join their expertise, and create a platform that can not only deliver excellent results in both basic and applied research and aid their transfer, but also influence the scientific environment on the national level. In the course of project implementation, we have been managing to meet these targets. This is attested both a look into open-access databases and by NICR’s contribution to patients, educational institutions, and the state as a whole. These things are also regularly mentioned in the reports of our International Scientific Advisory Board.
Collaboration with the state administration and policy formation
Of key importance in this respect is NICR’s collaboration with the state authorities. It was in fact one of the project indicators defined by the provider in its call. It shows that NICR is not only a scientific institution: through its experts it is also a partner capable of dialogue about the form and content of healthcare policies, doctoral programmes, or even the system of grant tenders. NICR thus participates in expert consultations, provides data and expertise for strategic decisions pertaining to cancer care, and functions as a partner to both the Czech Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, and the Ministry Science, Research, and Innovation. Last year, we have organised for the state’s political representation, with the support of the Prague City Hall, a one-day colloquium in the Old Town Hall. Communication across departments (and their political representatives) is another important factor of the social legitimacy of NICR – and it is a good indicator of the need for communication between the academic community and the state administration.
Dialogue with other national institutes
That such dialogue is taking place is attested by a collaboration of several national institutes that were created as part of the EXCELES programme. They cooperate on issues outside their scientific focus proper, such as various subjects of general social interest and issues pertaining to support by the state administration. One can see it, for instance, in the seminar organised by NICR and the National Institute for Research on Socioeconomic Impacts of Diseases and Systemic Risks (with the support of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic, with which NICR had signed a memorandum of understanding); this seminar was dedicated to cancer prevention and screening, with focus on defining further joint projects linking biomedicine and the social sciences.
Active role towards patients
An important contribution of the NICR are its activities aimed at patients and patient organisations. Although we focus on academic oncology, that is, basic and translational research, we do not stay closed in the labs. Quite the opposite: our popularisation programmes, educational activities, and direct communication with patient organisations show that science does not serve only the scientists. Our activities help patients to achieve a better understanding of modern treatment approaches, they help develop trust and comprehension of the meaning of the scientific process, and contribute to the development of a truly participatory healthcare, where the voice of patients becomes a respected part of the whole. Moreover, we view these activities as adding meaningful content to what ‘Europe’ calls ‘dissemination of scientific results’.
Education and support of the new generation of scientists
No less important is the consortium’s orientation on education and the young generation. NICR is developing collaboration with schools at various levels – from secondary schools to universities – and it strives to actively involve students in scientific activities. It offers them participation in student scientific activities, supports young researchers, and opens to them the door to top-level biomedical science. By the way, at the end of the summer holidays, NICR had organised a summer school for talented secondary-school students at institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Charles University. Undertakings such as this contribute to the education of a new generation of competent experts without whom long-term development of Czech oncology cannot not be sustained.
Synergy between universities, the academia, and the clinical practice
The success of NICR is founded on its design: it is a project based on a partnership across sectors and institutions. On the one hand, there are the universities, which bring education capacities and new talents, on the other hand, there is the Czech Academy of Sciences with its excellent basic science. And no less important is the project’s support by healthcare institutions. One of the NICR’s partners is the Masaryk Institute for Oncology, while other oncology institutions participate as so-called partners without contribution. This synergy is a unique example of interdepartmental cooperation that brings together healthcare, education, and science.
NICR as the stabilising element of society
NICR is not only a scientific institution but also a stabilising element of social development. It contributes to strengthening the healthcare policy of the state, develops human potential through education, provides translation of research results to patient care, and proves that in cancer care, the Czech Republic is capable of keeping pace with the world’s leaders. We are currently participating, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, on a definition of a call named ‘Mission Cancer’, which should take place on the platform of a RIS3 strategy. On top of that, we are entering, based on the invitation of the Ministry for Science, Research, and Innovation, into a dialogue about the principles of open science, and with the Council for Research, Development, and Innovation, we will take part in a discussion about the ethical aspects of science. Alongside this, researchers participating in the NICR are naturally also involved in the functioning of various boards and panels of grant agencies and specialised societies on an individual basis.
Strategic importance into the future
The future of our institute is therefore strategically important not only for its scientific results, but also from the social and political perspective. A continued existence of this project means preservation of a platform that can integrate various departments and provide to the society and the state services that would otherwise be unavailable in such an integrated form. NICR thus becomes not only a symbol of success of Czech science but also a key partner of the state in building a modern, sustainable, and science-based cancer care. And by the way, the sole reproof we get each year from our ISAB has to do with an unclear definition of our medium- and long-term planning. We believe, however, that thanks to a synergy of support from the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, the Czech Health Research Council (that has been established by the Ministry of Health), and the contribution of all other partners who think in terms of responsible management, NICR will not remain just a four-year promise but a sound and stable, albeit distributed and multi-centred, institution.
Aleksi Šedo, Director of the NICR