History of the IAIMS Program

The National Library of Medicine Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems Program
( http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/iaims.html) was initiated in 1984. From the beginning, the IAIMS Program was designed to help health sciences organizations build the organizational and technological and infrastructure that would help them manage their knowledge resources effectively, by supporting the planning and implementation of institution-wide networks and networked resources.

The original NLM IAIMS Factsheet stated that IAIMS requires institution-wide computer networks that link and relate library systems with individual and institutional databases and information files, within and external to the institution, for patient care, research, education and administration.

The goal of IAIMS is to create an organizational mechanism within health institutions to manage more effectively the knowledge of health care, and to provide for a system of comprehensive and convenient information access. Emphasis is placed on "one stop information shopping" for the user.

In 2002, the structure of the IAIMS Program, which previously comprised a Planning phase and an Operations phase, was substantially revised. The latest version of the program provides for IAIMS Planning and Operations Grants, as well as new Pilot Study, Testing & Evaluation, and Fellowship Grants

IAIMS at UMDNJ

The IAIMS history at UMDNJ spans the last decade. In 1992, the University created a faculty advisory group on information technology, the Academic Information Technology Advisory Committee, known as AcITAC. In the spring of 1994, AcITAC funded a pre-IAIMS planning partnership with $25,000. A group drawn from its membership that included representatives of the University Libraries, the Department of Information Services and Technology, the Office of Academic Affairs and academic units, was charged with developing an IAIMS Planning Grant application that was submitted in June 1995.  The grant was awarded in September 1996. The Final Grant Report & IAIMS Strategic Plan were completed in the fall of 1999. The University applied for an IAIMS operational phase grant in March 2000. While we received a very good score, and the summary statement was positive and encouraging, we did not receive funding at that time. Over the months that followed, the University made considerable progress in moving toward our IAIMS Strategic Plan goals, and we were encouraged to revise and resubmit our proposal. The resubmitted proposal was successful in securing a five-year, $2.5 million IAIMS Operational Phase Grant.

The Information Technology Strategic Plan of UMDNJ was developed as a result of the IAIMS Planning process. Its major goals are:

Goal 1: Build - Develop an integrated enterprise-wide information infrastructure and delivery system to meet the needs of a statewide educational, research and health-care delivery system

Goal 2: Access - Enhance utilization of critical educational, research, clinical and administrative information resources

Goal 3: Integrate - Foster integration of innovative information resources

Goal 4: Coordinate - Establish the Informatics Institute to garner the research, educational, and scholarly information resources of the University

Goal 5: Serve - Deliver state-of-the-art information services both within and beyond the University community

Various units of the University, particularly Information Services & Technology and the University Libraries, aligned their information technology plans with this Strategic Plan. The result has been considerable progress on several IAIMS goals, most notably 1, 2& 5. 

The IAIMS Operational Phase therefore concentrates on projects designed to fulfill the priorities of Goals 3 and 4, with the latter focusing on furthering the development of the University-wide Informatics Institute (http://informatics.umdnj.edu), the home of the IAIMS Project itself.