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© ISSUE: Establishment of regional and multi-regional resources

A. Television production and network facilities

The Division Staff offers the following background and

recommendations in this regard:

The first set of planning grant applications received

by the Division described extensive interregional
cooperation had not been foreseen in the drafting of the
original legislation. In addition, these planning grants,
as well as expert consultants to the Division, pointed

out the need of all Regions for certain resources and
activities best developed on "an interregional basis,

e.g. training of continuing education and other leadership
staff, preparation of teaching materials, standardization
of data collection, refinement of evaluation procedures."

The Surgeon General's Report to the President and Congress
spoke to this point by stating "a situation has been

identified with respect to certain specialized needs common
to all or a number of Regions. The support of a limited

“number of facilities and programs are needed to develop
techniques and prepare personnel to facilitate the work of
individual Regional Medical Programs. The support of such
activities in agencies that can serve a number of Regions
will avoid unnecessary delay and duplication of effort and
make the best use of specialized facilities."

This point led to the enactment of Section 910 - "funds
appropriated under this title shall also be available

for grants to any public or nonprofit private agency or
“institution for services needed by or which will be of
substantial use to, any two or more Regional Medical Programs."
Several Regions have given study to the network problems
through Task Forces, etc. For example, the Michigan
Program has analyzed network needs and resources, identified
compatability and interchangeability problems and decided
on a course of action. Colorado-Wyoming Program is taking
the initiative in bringing together communication technology
specialists from all Regional Medical Programs in May to
determine how more effective use can be made of technology
and identifying the problems inherent in its use.
~2-

The Lister Hill Biomedical Communications Center |

and the Extramural Program of the National Library

of Medicine are two other foci of "network" type

activities closely related to Regional Medical

Programs interests. Discussions are currently

underway as to how such relationships can be

developed and implemented for the Programs.
RECOMMENDATION: Council recommends that all new operational
projects requesting major investments or funds for equipment
and activities in television be thoroughly studies by Division
staff and expert consultants for consideration for funding under
the new authority for Multi-program Services provided under
Section 91CG. It further reconmends that applications for
continuation and renewal of previously funded major television
activities be reviewed by the same group of expert consultants
on the basis of the progress being made in the applicant Region

toward its television objectives, and how those activities might

be related or expanded to a Multi-program Service.

February 1969