Children's Foundation Research Institute

What it reported doing in 2022

The children's foundation research institute (cfri) is a unique partnership of the children's foundation of memphis, le bonheur children's hospital, and university of Tennessee health science center. The central mission of the cfri is facilitating innovative research to improve the lives and health of children. The cfri provides comprehensive basic and clinical research infrastructure support, lab space, safety assistance, and grant submission, budgeting services, scientific editing, and statistical assistance. This centralized and coordinated support accelerates discovery and innovation and forges collaboration, allowing our physicians and scientists to concentrate on what they do best: cutting-edge research aimed at improving the health of chldren. Important facts about cfri: -the cfri is housed in 300,000 sq. Ft. Research center dedicated to basic, translational, and clinical research. -the research center contains over 30,000 sq. Ft. Of basic laboratory space; 12,000 sq. Ft. Of pediatric clinical research space; and administrative, clinical and basic research core facilities. The research center also contains faculty and staff offices, an auditorium, and meeting rooms. -the cfri serves nearly 200 physician-scientists and research staff at le bonheur and uthsc -over 900 active clinical trials and research studies at le bonheur children's hospital are supported by cfri staff -the cfri supports basic and clinical research through multiple cores and services, including the administrative core, biostatistics core, biomedical informatics core, clinical trial advisory committee, irb and regulatory core, grants and contracts management, pediatric clinical research unit, and scientific editing. -through the le bonheur grants program, the cfri supports new research by junior faculty members and physicians, nurses, and staff at le bonheur. Administrative core the scientific director and administrative director supervise all cfri operations. Cfri staff oversee contracting and invoicing for industry-sponsored trials, use and maintenance of basic research equipment and operations. The cfri business manager oversees contracting and invoicing for industry-sponsored trials. The research laboratory manager oversees use and maintenance of basic research equipment and operations, including laboratory safety compliance. The department of pediatrics administrative director supervises contracting and invoicing for federally funded research in conjunction with the uthsc office of research administration. A clinical trial management system (ctms) software package, realtime, tracks and generates invoices for industry-sponsored and pi-initiated studies. Capabilities include tracking study activities, visit scheduling and management, recording adverse events/deviations and compliance documentation. Cfri biostatistics core the cfri biostatistics core (biostat) provides assistance with study planning, study design, power calculations, and statistical analyses. The core has experience using different statistical methods and is equipped to prepare statistical sections for grant submission. Staff can also assist in interpreting data, reporting results, and preparing presentations and publications. Additional statistical assistance is also available from the uthsc department of preventive medicine. Cfri biomedical informatics core the cfri biomedical informatics core (bmic) provides best-in-class informatics support for all cfri users and uthsc pediatric faculty. This support includes research information databases and web sites to provide information and foster communication among clinical and translational investigators. The cfri bmic has implemented the research electronic data capture (redcap) system for electronic collection and management of research and clinical trial data. The redcap system provides secure, web-based applications that are intuitive interfaces for users to enter data and are flexible enough for various research areas. Use of study-s

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
• Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -3.5%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: Limited