December 15,2023
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Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit public comments on the updated NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science, 2023-2028. The NIH is publishing this Notice to solicit input on topics under consideration for the strategic plan from its stakeholders, including members of the scientific community, academic institutions, the private sector, health professionals, professional societies, advocacy groups, and patient communities, as well as other interested members of the public.
Background
The updated Strategic Plan for Data Science sets a bold vision for the future, one in which data generated in the course of care of individuals and data generated from biomedical and basic research become powerful inputs that enhance our understanding of fundamental biology and enables the development of new clinical treatments and diagnostic technologies. This updated plan builds on accomplishments from the initial NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science and will prepare NIH to face the acceleration of sophisticated new technologies and address the rapid rise in the quantity and diversity of data. The updated Strategic Plan supports the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and embraces data-driven discovery as a powerful tool to elucidate biological processes and, better characterize the health and health consequences of all people. This plan also fosters ethical use of new methodologies arising from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
The updated Strategic Plan will accomplish five overarching goals:
Goal 1: Improve Capabilities to Sustain the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing
Goal 2: Develop Programs to Enhance Human Derived Data for Research
Goal 3: Provide New Opportunities in Software, Computational Methods, and Artificial Intelligence
Goal 4: Support for a Federated Biomedical Research Data Infrastructure
Goal 5: Strengthen a Broad Community in Data Science
The complete draft plan is available at: https://datascience.nih.gov/sites/default/files/NIH-STRATEGIC-PLAN-FOR-DATA-SCIENCE-2023-2028-final-draft.pdf.
90 Day Comment Period
Comments must be received no later than March 15, 2024
Information Requested
This RFI seeks input from stakeholders throughout the scientific research community and members of the general public. NIH encourages organizations (e.g., patient advocacy groups, professional organizations) to submit a single response reflective of the views of the organization or membership as a whole.
Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents are free to address any or all topics listed below, as well as other relevant topics, for NIH’s consideration.
The NIH seeks comments on any of the following topics:
- The appropriateness of the goals of the plan, the strategies and implementation tactics proposed to achieve them; including potential benefits, drawbacks or challenges
- Opportunities for NIH to partner to achieve these goals
- Emerging research needs and opportunities that should be added to the plan
- Any other topic the respondent feels is relevant for NIH to consider in developing this strategic plan
How to Submit a Response
All comments must be submitted electronically on the submission website: https://datascience.nih.gov/rfi-strategic-plan.
Responses must be received by 11:59:59 pm (ET) on March 15, 2024
Responses to this RFI are voluntary and may be submitted anonymously. You may voluntarily include your name and contact information with your response. If you choose to provide NIH with this information, NIH will not share your name and contact information outside of NIH unless required by law.
Other than your name and contact information, please do not include any personally identifiable information or any information that you do not wish to make public. Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should not be included in your response. The Government will use the information submitted in response to this RFI at its discretion. Other than your name and contact information, the Government reserves the right to use any submitted information on public websites, in reports, in summaries of the state of the science, in any possible resultant solicitation(s), grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s), or in the development of future funding opportunity announcements. This RFI is for informational and planning purposes only and is not a solicitation for applications or an obligation on the part of the Government to provide support for any ideas identified in response to it. Please note that the Government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for use of that information.
We look forward to your input and hope that you will share this RFI opportunity with your colleagues.
Office of Data Science Strategy: strategic-plan-rfi@od.nih.gov
and Human Services (HHS)
