Powering evaluation and continuous improvement in translational science: Insights from the 2025 ACTS Evaluation SIG...

The 2025 Evaluation Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting at the Association for Clinical and Translational Science conference brought together clinical and translational science (CTS) professionals to address evolving challenges in translational science evaluation. The meeting presentations and discussions addressed concept mapping for commonly used metrics, continuous quality improvement (CQI) practices, translational science impact evaluation, and evaluator toolkit development. Key themes and lessons learned included the tension between institution-specific and network-wide evaluation goals, the need for standardized yet flexible evaluation frameworks, and persistent barriers including limited staffing capacity and data ownership challenges. Facilitators identified included diverse CQI approaches, the evolving frameworks, and collaborative evaluation practices. Convened during a time of increasing research funding uncertainty and accountability, the meeting underscored the urgency of strengthening evaluation capacity to sustain the impact of CTS, highlighting both the enduring value of heterogeneous evaluation approaches and the critical need for coordinated CTS evaluation strategies to demonstrate impact and secure continued funding support.