|
Jane F. Kinsel, Ph.D., Director, Office of Policy Analysis, OD, NIAID
Two motivations lie behind the development of an NIAID strategic plan. The first motivation is the accelerating pace of discovery in the biomedical sciences. This is especially true for the areas of research that fall within the purview of the NIAID, where the long-term investment in basic research has brought truly breathtaking opportunities - opportunities that compete with each other for limited resources. The second motivation stems from the 1998 Institute of Medicine Report, Scientific Opportunities and Public Health Needs: Improving Priority Setting at the National Institutes of Health, which recommends that the NIH Director receive a strategic plan from each Institute. Pursuant to that recommendation, the NIH requested strategic plans, developed with input from the public. The primary audiences for the plans, which are due December 31, 1999, are Congress and the public.
To facilitate the development of the strategic plan, the Institute will convene a Strategic Plan Task Force meeting on July 26-27, 1999. Scientific and lay participants will be asked to provide advice on research directions and priorities for the next 3 to 5 years. The resulting plan report will be posted on the World Wide Web for comment before it is finalized.
The development of the NIAID strategic plan will build upon the products of those who have contributed to the Institute's previous planning efforts. The core of the plan's framework will be organized around four broad areas that constitute the NIAID research portfolio - immune-mediated diseases, AIDS, emerging infectious diseases, and vaccines. The plan will serve as the framework for the articulation of broad-based institute priorities and will delineate a strategy to respond to scientific opportunities and public health needs.
|