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Overall Goal and Specific Objectives The overarching goal of the program is to: The scientific focus and goal of the CFG is the elucidation of the functions of glycan-binding proteins (GBPs) that mediate biology at the surface of a mammalian cell. To this end, the CFG is integrating the efforts of Scientific Cores and Participating Investigators to address for each GBP the following Specific Aims:
Organization 
Three major components comprise the Consortium for Functional Glycomics: the Steering Committee, the Cores (an Administrative Core and seven Scientific Cores), and the Participating Investigators. Each major component of the CFG interacts directly with the other two. The Steering Committee consists of 11 members that meet every other week. It has overall responsibility for setting the scientific direction and the budget of the CFG, and ensuring that information and resources generated by the program are efficiently disseminated within the program and to the public. It also approves priorities and milestones for each of the Scientific Cores. Setting yearly milestones involves substantial input from the Cores and Participating Investigators. A variety of resources and services produced by the Scientific Cores are distributed to the Scientific Cores and Particpating Investigators for use in performing experiments that address the Specific Aims of the CFG. Click here to see an overview of the CFG's administrative and program management plans. Scientific Cores Six of the seven Scientific Cores (Cores C-H; see list below) generate material resources, new technologies, and a platform of information that enable progress toward the overall goals.
Each Core has a Coordinator who is also a member of the Steering Committee and who is responsible for its oversight. The day-to-day operations of each Core are the responsibility of a Core Director. Core Directors are key to the success of the Cores; they attend Steering Committee meetings as deemed appropriate. The participation of the Coordinator and Director of each Core in Steering Committee meetings facilitates the communication of relevant decisions to Core personnel. Participating Investigators The third component of the CFG is the Participating Investigators, each of whom has a program of funded research within its scope. In return for resources, Participating Investigators agree to accept responsibility for achieving one or more Specific Aims and to provide the data to the CFG database. The CFG currently has more than 300 Participating Investigators at more than 170 institutions. Several Participating Investigators have Bridging grants that bridge their research to the goals of the CFG. Investigators interested in joining the CFG as a Participating Investigator are encouraged to fill out an application posted on the CFG website. All qualified investigators are accepted as members. Participating Investigators are divided into Subgroups based on the relevance of their research to the GBP families that are the focus of the CFG. These subgroups bring together, and facilitate communication among, investigators working on common problems, and aid the CFG in identifying priorities for helping that sub-field accelerate progress. Public Dissemination of Results and Plans The public dissemination of plans and results is accomplished in multiple ways. The most visible is through the CFG website. The site currently provides a wealth of general information about the purpose of the CFG, its policies for dissemination of information and resources, its progress and future plans. From this site, investigators can also join the CFG and access resources. Central Database The Central Database is the most important mode of accessing detailed program information. The database portal provides access for viewing CFG Data and Specialty Databases for searching detailed information from public and CFG databases. Raw data and summary data from the four CFG Cores that produce data are accessible through user-friendly interfaces. The menu is available here or by clicking the “CFG Data” button on the home page:
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