CPQCC, with its focus on NICU and HRIF populations, and our sister organization, CMQCC, with its focus on maternity care, are experts in perinatal quality improvement. 

Do you have a perinatal quality improvement research question that you want to collaborate on? If so, we invite you to apply for a CPQCC/CMQCC research collaboration project to improve outcomes for mothers and newborns in California. CPQCC’s research priorities include disparities in maternal and neonatal care, understanding the optimal culture and context for quality improvement, and maternal substance exposure/neonatal abstinence syndrome. CMQCC’s research priorities are identifying quality improvement opportunities in maternity care to direct the focus of educational and outreach efforts.

Apply to be a research collaborator

In order to collaborate with CPQCC or CMQCC, please carefully review the following information.

  • Partnership: A CPQCC/CMQCC faculty investigator must be available to serve as a co-investigator.
  • Review criteria: Proposals are assessed for scientific rigor, public health impact, alignment with CPQCC/CMQCC research priorities and quality improvement goals, feasibility, and funding availability.
  • Biostatistics: Depending on the research question, you may be required to utilize a CPQCC/CMQCC biostatistician for analysis and/or ongoing guidance.
  • Fees: A research collaboration fee will be charged to cover the cost of CPQCC/CMQCC resources used for the project.
  • When to apply: Submit your application at the beginning of the research process and before applying for external funding (if applicable). Review the application instructions before submission.
  • Review process and timeline: Applications are accepted year-round and reviewed on an ongoing basis by our Data Access Committee, as well as, when necessary, statewide leaders in perinatal quality improvement and maternal/neonatal care. Please allow up to two months for review.
  • Project timeline and dissemination: Plan to complete your research within one year and present or publish the results. You must acknowledge the CPQCC/CMQCC co-investigator, as well as Stanford University and CPQCC or CMQCC, as applicable.
  • Final report: Upon completion, submit a final report listing all presentations, manuscripts, and publications resulting from the research.

Please consider contacting us prior to submitting your application, in case we can be of assistance in matching you with the appropriate CPQCC/CMQCC faculty investigator or providing further information about the process.

Cost recovery

In order to cover the costs incurred to support research collaborations, CPQCC and CMQCC charge a fee due within 60 days of your application's approval. This fee covers:

  • Consultation with our research team on your proposed methods and approach, data analytics, preliminary findings, and publication development
  • Data preparation and analysis by our biostatistics team (as needed)
  • Use of our data servers (as needed) 

The research collaboration fee starts at $10,000. The exact amount will be specified in your approval letter.

Application form and instructions 

Completed applications should be emailed to datacenter@cmqcc.org for maternity collaborations and research@cpqcc.org for neonatal collaborations. Please email us with any questions you have about the application process. 

Request CPQCC/CMQCC Data

Looking to request data from CPQCC or CMQCC to support your work? Visit the CPQCC-CMQCC Data & Research Request Portal to submit your data inquiries.

Important Note: Collaborators with an already approved research collaboration application can use this portal to submit data requests related to their research project.