Strategic Planning Bureau
I. Office of Public Relations
Takaaki Tsuchida, Miyako Horikoshi, Toru Kishida, Yumi Kitada, Kiyotaka Yoh, Rei Yamagami, Reina Kyo, Eiko Saito, Yuka Takahashi
Introduction
The Office of Public Relations has been organized as one branch of the Strategic Planning Bureau Director-General, which was assigned as a public section under the supervision of the president of the National Cancer Center (NCC) in April 2013. A full-time staff member was newly assigned to the Office of Public Relations in April 2014. Our task is to manage the NCC website (https://www.ncc.go.jp), publication of reports, coverage and delivery of press conferences and press releases. By sharing the mission and vision between staff members throughout the NCC, we provide information about the NCC’s most outstanding activities in cancer care, research, screening, prevention, and policy making.
Our team and what we do
During weekly meetings of the Office of Public Relations, we perform prompt decision making regarding the public relations policy and shared information about our tasks using a TV conference system between the Tsukiji and Kashiwa campuses. We received information on the publicity work from each department, and drafted a publication plan. Also, through the distribution of the intramural information for staff members in the NCC, we shared vital messages via e-mail, bulletin board, and/or information magazine to facilitate communication between the staff and executives. We distributed information promptly by publishing and sharing press releases, press conferences, and seminars about novel treatment, research activity and notable accomplishments within the NCC and elsewhere.
- Website and SNS improvement and updates
- Public information magazine “The National Cancer Center News”: for external hospitals, academia, research institutions, and administrative agencies
- Public information magazine “hibiho”: for patients in the NCC Hospital (NCCH) and the NCC Hospital East (NCCHE)
- Support for events, seminars, and public information
- Media support at press conferences, press releases, and media coverage
We held 10 press conferences and published 57 press releases. Moreover, there were 358 reports in national newspapers (five major papers), 122 on TV (Tokyo’s key stations), and 980 in other media (magazines, local newspapers, etc.).
Future prospects
It is important to make the NCC website attractive, useful and accessible. It is also important to advance public relations activities. All staff share the NCC mission and move in the same direction.
II. Office of International Affairs
Tomohiro Matsuda, Seiichiro Yamamoto, Laureline Gatellier, Kazuki Osawa, Tomoko Shimmura, Mitsuko Otani, Seiko Matano, Akane Taminaga, Kimiko Oka, Kay Ohara
What We Do
The NCC’s Office of International Affairs promotes the Center’s international activities through:
1. personnel exchange with leading medical institutions, nurturing cancer researchers / healthcare professionals, and a global network,
2. participation in international collaborative cancer research projects, and outreach to the international medical community,
3. sharing our medical expertise and information with overseas colleagues, with a focus on Asia, advancing cancer care and research in the region, and
4. engagement with the community at large
The Office of International Affairs serves as a conduit for, and supports the abovementioned activities.
1. Collaboration with International Agencies and Nurturing Human Resources
As a member of the Advisory Group commissioned by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Dr Ochiai, the Director of Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, participated in a comprehensive evaluation of IARC, whilst serving as a standing editorial board member for the WHO/IARC classification of tumors. A seminar was co-organized with IARC in which Dr Jiri Zavadil, leading the Molecular Mechanisms and Biomarkers Group at IARC, spoke.
Upon invitation, we liaised with the WHO team on the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, and joined forces with our partners to win a grant for the SUCCESS consortium, towards the elimination of cervical cancers.
The oncology leadership at GlaxoSmithKline visited our center, which led to the Center joining their Oncology Clinical and Translational Consortium (OCTC). A paediatric oncology workshop was co-organized with the French National Cancer Institute, the Embassy of France in Japan and others in December.
A memorandum of understanding was concluded with the Cancer Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Junior doctors and researchers also visited the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University Hospital of Bordeaux to survey the latest technologies and cancer survivorship research, towards launching collaborative research projects.
2. Collaborative Medical Research
The NCC continues its participation in multiple international collaborative research programs and international clinical trials, the logistics for which the Office of International Affairs supports, whilst serving as a conduit for information between the research teams. More details can be found in other sections within this annual report.
3. Medical Contribution, with a Focus on Asia
We continue to host medical staff on visiting fellowship visits to our two campuses. In fiscal year 2019, we hosted a total of 261 doctors/medical staff, plus over 300 visitors from overseas, including the Director General, Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, and the Senate Marshal of Poland.
As part of the secretariat team of the Asian National Cancer Centres Alliance (ANCCA), together we launched its dedicated website, and organized an executive video meeting of its leaders. In May, we hosted a delegation of the Ministry of Health, and the National Cancer Institute of Thailand. In July, our leadership attended the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Hospital of Vietnam, and in November a large delegation attended the workshop for cancer control hosted in Seoul, with National Cancer Centers of Korea and China, expanding the breadth and depth of exchange within the region.
4. External Engagement
Supporting the Center’s outreach activities to our global partners, we are placing a renewed focus on engaging third parties. We have also started issuing a monthly internal newsletter to share information on international engagement, encouraging more staff to take part in global activities.
Table 2. April 2019 - March 2020: Visiting fellowships
Table 3. April 2019 - March 2020: Visiting fellowships (Others)
Table 4. April 2019 - March 2020: Short-term (within 3 days) visits (Hospital)
Table 5. April 2019 - March 2020: Short-term (within 3 days) visits (Others)
III. Office of Development
Chie Matsuda, Kimiko Oka
What We Do
We receive limited funding from the Japanese Government - around 15% of our total cash inflow. Currently, NCC’s main sources of cash flow are revenues from medical services, cancer research, and clinical trials. It is vital to diversify those revenue sources to make NCC’s financial position stable for the long-term. As one of the alternatives, we look for sustainable growth in donation revenue from NCC supporters.
What We Achieved in FY2019
Donation revenue was ¥169.7 million (831 donations) in FY2019. This was a decrease compared with the previous year due to an exceptional legacy gift (¥190mn) we received in that year. However, it has shown a consecutive increasing trend since FY2015, both in value and numbers. The main factors behind the revenue growth are as follows:
1. An increase in the number of legacy gifts for NCC cancer research
2. Diversification in donors’ portfolios from NCCH/NCCH EAST patients to other segments
What We will Do - Priorities in FY2020
We will focus on the following measures:
1. To diversify donors’ portfolios further from NCCH/NCCH EAST patients and families, to all those who support NCC’s vision, “Don’t get cancer, Not beaten by cancer, and Live with cancer.” We will continue to develop publicity strategies to underline why we need funding and how the funding is spent, with the launch of “The National Cancer Center Foundation” in 2020.
2. To encourage legacy giving for future cancer research from senior/upper-middle class people who are interested in philanthropy, we will attempt to build up long-term partnerships with professionals in that area, including lawyers, accountants, and trust banks.
Figure 1. Donation Revenue & No. of Donations (Yearly)
Figure 2. Number of Donations, by Designation(FY2019)
Figure 3. Donation Revenue ¥MN, by Designation (FY2019)
