Managing meetings, technical writing, specialized research, and administrative support.
Cygnus managed ~350 tasks spanning a variety of technical, research and assessment, facilitation, and scientific and interagency event management services required by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and its stakeholders. This support included:
-
Research involving data collection, analyses, report writing, and information dissemination;
-
Policy/program review and assessments;
-
Logistical support services, including scientific events management;
-
Stakeholder facilitation, specialized training; and
-
Publications development and communications services.
Descriptions of a few of the AHRQ assignments that encompassed the variety of services required by AHRQ are described briefly below.
-
Planned, scheduled, arranged, managed, and reported on approximately 60 meetings annually. Meetings ranged in length from 1–2 days with 10–15 participants, to 3 days with 200–300 participants;
-
Prepared specific substantive health services research and health policy materials and documents. This included conducting focus groups and other activities required to address research and policy questions and issues and to develop options and methods by which to attain AHRQ research and policy goals;
-
Prepared materials, documents required to support AHRQ meetings (e.g., briefing books/packets), summaries and reports of proceedings, and executive summaries for various AHRQ audiences;
-
Supplied administrative support as requested to support AHRQ operations (e.g., supporting Extranets for various AHRQ programs);
-
Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) and Technology Assessment Meetings, major components of AHRQ’s mission to provide evidence in support of healthcare decision-making among providers, patients, families, health system leaders, and policymakers;
-
Cygnus provided logistical support for the 1-day National Research Service Award Trainee’s Research Conference involving more than 200 participants;
-
Staff provided logistical support and developed the necessary briefing materials for Healthcare System Meetings with full summaries based on expert commentary delivered to AHRQ;
-
Cygnus provided training to AHRQ-sponsored workshops that would address specialized needs or collaborative efforts among federal and non-federal participants. We provided logistical and materials development support for these 1- or 2-day meetings involving 30–130 participants each; and
-
In support of AHRQ’s formation of special advisory committees (Councils) to address priority issues, Cygnus provided logistical and writing services for both the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve the Security, Safety, and Quality of Health Care and the Health Disparities Advisory Committee.
