The NNDC operates in four critical domains: research, clinical care, public policy and education/outreach. Procedures for committee organization, elections, and functioning are determined by the NNDC Board of Directors. The Domain Committees report to the NNDC Board of Directors and help the board set the direction for the NNDC by creating, evaluating and aiding in specific task group projects.
The committees are composed of practitioners and researchers from NNDC member institutions. The committee members are drawn from multiple disciplines to ensure that a variety of “voices” are expressed and to build support for the network among multiple partners, disciplines, and institutions.
Research Domain Committee
The Research Committee addresses issues related to research on depression, bipolar illness and other mood disorders. The committee focuses on NNDC efforts to encourage multi-disciplinary, translational, multi-institution collaborative research and trials. It also works on NNDC efforts to establish informatics infrastructures that will aid in compiling treatment outcome data across institutions.
Clinical Care Domain Committee
The Clinical Care Committee seeks to improve clinical care for depression, bipolar illness and other mood disorders. The Clinical Care Committee is responsible for advising the NNDC Governing Board on initiatives to address the expansion of clinical delivery capacity, the development of treatment standards, clinical guidelines and protocols, and other areas related to clinical care.
Education Domain Committee
The Education and Teaching Committee spearheads initiatives to educate the public, patients and clients, practitioners and clinical students. The committee also focuses on outreach and stigma reduction efforts. The committee advises the NNDC Governing Board on outreach efforts across several institutions, best approaches for education in several settings and implementing successful educational programs in multiple centers.
Public Policy Domain Committee
The Public Policy Committee seeks to inform the public and encourage a common voice in depression, bipolar disorder and other mood disorders. The committee primarily focuses on issues that may impact public opinion of depression, bipolar illness and other mood disorders. The committee advises the NNDC Governing Board on public policy initiatives, coalitions with advocacy organizations and efforts to influence public health and governmental agencies on depression and bipolar illness.
NNDC Task Groups are supplementary teams created to implement directives and goals set forth by the Governing Boards. Members of Task Groups can include individuals who currently serve on the NNDC Board of Directors or Domain Committees, or professionals from external organizations that are not members, but whose expertise is relevant for the Task Group’s initiative.