Within the Office of Communications (OC) are these sub-offices:

• Office of the Director
• Cancer Content Management
• Cancer Information Service
• Media Relations and Public Affairs
• Technology Strategy and Applications

A snapshot of each office and its components follows. Examples of the products and services available from the offices are provided in later sections of the OC Web site.

Office of the Director

• Leads OC staff and offices.
• Plans, executes, and evaluates communications activities within OC and NCI.
• Collaborates with consumer research and communications research experts across NCI to utilize evidence-based communications approaches.

The Office of the Director includes:

Operations Branch

• Directs and leads OC operations such as budget, space, human resources, contracts, A-76, general administration.

Communications Strategy and Program Branch

• Develops and coordinates messages.
• Plans communications strategies.
• Utilizes evidence-based communications research.
• Brokers OC services to NCI Divisions, Offices, and Centers.

NCI Cancer Bulletin Team

• Produces the NCI Cancer Bulletin.

Office of Cancer Content Management

This office oversees the development, publication, maintenance, and updating of the majority of cancer information products disseminated by OC. It also manages the clearance process for all OC cancer information products and provides clearance support for the rest of NCI. In addition, staff in this office represent OC in NCI's Enterprise Vocabulary Services (EVS) Project and have responsibility for curation of the clinical terminology in NCI Thesaurus and Metathesaurus.

Cancer Content Management includes three branches:

• The International Cancer Research Databank Branch (ICRDB) coordinates information management activities, including information collection and synthesis, editorial processes, and data exchange to produce NCI's Physician Data Query (PDQ®) comprehensive cancer information database. ICRDB also facilitates access to cancer information for NCI staff through an electronic library and other tools.
• The Cancer Publications Branch creates and maintains cancer content for NCI's Web site and a range of NCI print publications designed to reach a wide spectrum of NCI "customers," including patients, health professionals, researchers, and the general public.
• The Publications Support Branch guides, coordinates, and procures design and production services to create publications, audiovisuals, and other media used to communicate NCI information. This branch is also the central source for policy about proper use of the NCI logo.

Office of Cancer Information Service

This office administers NCI's Cancer Information Service (CIS), a national network of 15 regional contracts located at cancer centers and universities. CIS serves the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Islands.

• Responds to the public's questions about cancer via telephone in English and Spanish (1-800-4-CANCER), web chat or instant messaging (LiveHelp), e-mail, and written correspondence.
• Operates NCI's Smoking Quitline (1-877-44U-QUIT).
• Supports the telecommunication infrastructure for the DHHS National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines, which routes calls to state-based quitline services through the 1-800-QUIT-NOW number.
• Provides smoking cessation counseling for states that do not operate a state-based quitline (currently 3 states and the District of Columbia).
• Oversees the CIS Partnership Program that collaborates with trusted local, regional, and national organizations to reach minority and medically underserved audiences and provides technical assistance to the cancer control efforts of the nation's states, tribes, and territories.
• Partners with behavioral and health communication researchers to develop and implement collaborative research studies to discover optimal cancer communication messages, channels, and strategies for the public.
• Manages the Public Inquiries Office (301-435-3848), which serves as NCI's public information office about NCI programs and activities.
• Manages CIS Central Support, which provides
  • Writing support
  • Publications ordering (through 1-800-4-CANCER) and distribution services
  • Web services (NCI Publications Locator, Partner Online Ordering, Publications Catalog, and CIS internet and intranet).

Office of Media Relations and Public Affairs

This office promotes the public's understanding of cancer research, programs, and NCI through relationships with journalists, opinion leaders, decision-makers, the scientific community, and organizations. The office includes two branches:

• The Media Relations Branch communicates research results and NCI priorities to the media and, ultimately, to the public. The Branch develops and distributes press-related materials to key media contacts, and hosts the NCI News Center on the Web. It holds Science Writers' Seminars for health reporters and editors on various cancer-related topics of interest and publishes an online publication called BenchMarks, which expands on topics discussed at the seminars.
• The Public Affairs Branch advances the public face of NCI and reinforces NCI's programs, priorities, and messages with internal and external constituents. This branch manages and promotes the NCI Exhibit Program, Health Communications Internship Program, and NCI Event-Cal, a weekly calendar of scientific meetings and lectures. The branch is also coordinating the NCI Speakers Bureau, which will provide appropriate NCI experts for meetings and conferences.

Office of Technology Strategy and Applications

This office designs, develops, and implements innovative communications technology solutions that enable the OC and the Institute to effectively disseminate the most credible, current, and comprehensive cancer-related information to all audiences.

• Designs and develops Web sites and application systems for OC and NCI based on proven methodologies.
• Creates NCI Web standards and style guides to unify and strengthen NCI's online brand globally and applies them to www.cancer.gov and other Web sites under the NCI umbrella.
• Maintains and operates secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure created for www.cancer.gov and other NCI Web-based projects and applications to ensure 24/7 availability.
• Researches and evaluates emerging technologies to implement the most promising solutions for maximizing access to cancer information for all NCI audiences.
• Designs, develops, and operates the software application systems for managing and distributing NCI's PDQ® database.

< Previous Section  |  Next Section >