Notice Number: NOT-OD-11-106

Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:

• August 30, 2011 - See Notice NOT-OD-11-114. The purpose of this Notice is to clarify the language of this Request for Information (RFI).

Key Dates
Release Date: August 17, 2011
Response Date: October 7, 2011

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Purpose

This Notice is a time-sensitive Request for Information (RFI) requesting input into the deliberations of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director Working Group on the Future Biomedical Research Workforce.

Background

The Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) has established a working group to examine the future of the biomedical research workforce in the United States (see http://acd.od.nih.gov/bwf.asp for charter and roster). The group will gather information from various sources including the extramural community, and will develop a model for a sustainable, diverse, and productive U.S. biomedical research workforce using appropriate expertise from NIH and external sources. The model will help inform decisions about how to train the optimal number of people for the appropriate types of positions that will advance science and promote health. The working group will recommend actions to the ACD and to the NIH Director.

In its initial deliberations, the working group identified the following issues as important to consider when developing a model of the future biomedical research workforce:

• The balance between supply, including the number of domestic and foreign trained PhDs and post-docs, and demand, i.e. post-training career opportunities.
• Characteristics of PhD training in biomedical research, including issues such as
• The length of the PhD training period.
• Recommendations for changes to the PhD curriculum.
• Training for multiple career paths (including bench and non-bench science).
• Characteristics of clinician-research training including issues such as
• The balance between MDs and MD/PhDs
• Career development of clinician-researchers.
• Recommendations for changes to the curricula for training clinician-researchers.
• Length of Post-doctoral training.
• The ratio of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows on training grants to those supported by research grants.
• Possibilities for professional/staff scientist positions and the level of training required for such positions (e.g. PhD or MSc degrees).
• Issues related to the attractiveness of biomedical research careers (e.g. salary, working conditions, availability of research funding)
• The effect of changes in NIH policies on investigators, grantee institutions and the broader research enterprise.

Information Requested

To ensure a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of the issues underlying the future of the biomedical research workforce, responses are being sought from the extramural community, including students, postdoctoral fellows, scientists, scientific societies, and NIH grantee institutions, as well as from the general public. Information is sought for each of the areas identified above and any other items the working group might consider.

1. For any of the areas identified above and any other specific areas you believe are worthy of consideration by the working group, please identify the critical issues(s) and impact(s) on institutions, scientists, or both.
2. Please identify and explain which of the issues you identified are, in your opinion, the most important for the working group to address and why
3. Please comment any specific ways you feel these issues would or should affect NIH policies or processes.
   

Response to this RFI is voluntary. Responders are free to address any or all of the above items. Please note that the Government will not pay for response preparation or for the use of any information contained in the response. NIH will provide a summary of all input received which is responsive to this RFI.

How to Submit a Response

All comments must be submitted electronically to: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfi_files/bmw/add.cfm

Responses to this RFI will be accepted through October 7, 2011. You will see an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response, but will not receive individualized feedback on any suggestions. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or from the Government’s use of such information.

Inquiries

Specific questions about this RFI should be directed to the following e-mail address: bmwinfo@mail.nih.gov