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About START

The Strategic Tracking and Reporting Tool (START) is a knowledge management platform that NIH uses to collect, manage, and share primarily administrative data. Administrative data, as defined by the Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Reporting (OEPR), refers to data collected by NIH for program administration purposes. The platform allows groups at NIH to collect information that helps them track their progress towards goals and share that information with partners both inside and outside the agency. START also helps NIH staff to collect large amounts of administrative data in a centralized location, turn it into clear visuals, and create simple and targeted reports for everyone involved. As an innovative knowledge management platform, START is helping everyone from staff to leadership meet NIH's mission. It does this by making the process easier for those who provide data, sharing data more openly, and providing strong evidence to help with decision making. 

START Facts

  • START originally deployed in 2019 as a tool to track OEPR’s mission of supporting strategic planning at NIH.
  • To date, START supports >60 efforts across more than 27 NIH Institutes, Centers, and OD Offices (ICOs).
  • START offers a variety of products for NIH staff:
    • Strategic and operational plan deployment, tracking, and reporting.
    • Data collection, visualization, and report generation tools for ad hoc data requests and mandated reporting.
    • Document repository development and curation.
    • Project Management Suite.
  • Unique features of START products include:
    • Full control over all data calls, including data collection, data call deployment, and data submission management and review.
    • Back-end data organization that connects data regardless of type, time collected, etc.
    • Custom webforms for data calls.
    • Pre- and auto-population of data to reduce data submitter burden.
      • This includes data import from other databases through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or bulk uploads.
    • Interactive data visualization and reports.
    • Access to archived data.
    • Secure interface with layers of data protection.
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