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Conceptualizing centers of excellence: A global evidence

Objective: Globally, interest in excellence has grown exponentially, with public and private institutions shifting their attention from meet targets to achieving excellence. Centers of Excellence (CoEs) are standing at the forefront of healthcare, research, and innovations responding to the world's most complex problems. However, their potential is hindered by conceptual ambiguity. We conducted a global synthesis of the evidence to conceptualize CoEs. Design: Scoping review, following Arksey and O Malley's framework and methodological enhancement by Levac et al to analyze the evidence and the PRISMA-ScR to guide the retrieval and inclusion of the evidence. Data sources: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and the Google engine from their inception to 01 January 2021. Eligibility: Papers that describe CoE as the main theme, which could be defining, theorizing, implementing, or evaluating a CoE. Results: The search resulted in 52,161 potential publications, with 78 articles met the eligibility criteria. The 78 articles were from 33 countries, of which 35 were from the United States of America, 3 each from Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, and India, and 2 each from Ethiopia, Canada, Russia, Colombia, Sweden, Greece, and Peru. The rest 17 were from various countries. The articles involved six thematic areas - healthcare, education, research, industry, information technology, and general concepts on CoE. The analysis documented success stories of using the brand Center of Excellence - an influential brand to stimulate technical skills, innovation, and technology. We identified 12 essential foundations of CoE - specialized expertise; infrastructure; innovation; high-impact research; quality service; accreditation or standards; leadership; organizational structure; strategy; collaboration and partnership; sustainable funding or financial mechanisms; and entrepreneurship. Conclusions: CoEs have significant scientific, political, economic, and social impacts. A comprehensive framework is needed to guide and inspire an institution as a CoE and to help government and funding institutions shape and oversee CoEs. Keywords: Center of Excellence, Innovation, Higher education, Research, Partnership