About

Program History

2013 - 2014: To meet the growing national demand for and to promote the dissemination of evidence-based approaches to optimize mentoring relationships, intensive Entering Mentoring facilitator training (aka train-the-trainer) workshops are developed and tested in conjunction with national meetings and conferences. These early facilitator training workshops are sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) and funded in part through a National Institutes of Health Research Conference Grant.

2015: The first National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN)-sponsored facilitator training for Entering Mentoring is held at the University of Minnesota. 

2016: The Facilitator Certification Program, under the direction of Stephanie House, is developed with funding from NRMN to provide recognition and support for Trained Facilitators who complete 8 or more hours of facilitator training.

2017: Under the direction of Kim Spencer and Emily Utzerath, the Facilitator Certification Program is restructured to increase outreach and expand implementation support by cultivating a community of practice for facilitators to support their local efforts in transforming the culture of research mentorship. 

The first NRMN-sponsored facilitator training for Entering Research is held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

2019: Funding for NRMN Phase 1 ends and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) assumes financial support for the program, which was renamed the Facilitator Recognition Program. Facilitator trainings for Entering Mentoring are offered through CIMER and facilitator trainings for Entering Research are offered through CIMER in partnership with the Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement (WISCIENCE) at UW-Madison. 

For a full history of the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of research mentor and mentee training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, visit the CIMER website: https://cimerproject.org/mission-history/

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the following groups for their contributions to facilitator training efforts:

• The Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Science of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1TR002373

• The Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement (WISCIENCE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

• The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U54GM119023

• The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

• The National Institutes of Health (R13) Conference Grant supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number GM106445-01

Publications

• Pfund C, Spencer KC, Asquith P, House SC, Miller S, Sorkness CA. Building national capacity for research mentor training: an evidence-based approach to training the trainers. CBE Life Sciences Education. 2015;14(2):ar24.

• Rogers J, Sorkness CA, Spencer K, Pfund C. Increasing research mentor training among biomedical researchers at Clinical and Translational Science Award hubs: The impact of the facilitator training initiative.  Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 2018;2(3):118-123.

• Spencer KC, McDaniels M, Utzerath E, Rogers JG, Sorkness CA, Asquith P, Pfund C. Building a sustainable national infrastructure to expand research mentor training. CBE Life Sciences Education. 2018;17(3):ar48.