Excerpt

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was asked by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) "to conduct a comprehensive study of the policies and processes used by NIH to determine funding allocations for biomedical research" in accordance with a congressional provision (U.S. Congress, 1997a). The U.S. House and U.S. Senate authorization and appropriations committees requested that IOM present findings, conclusions, and recommendations "for improvements in the NIH research funding policies and processes and for any necessary congressional action." Specifically, the congressional committees asked that IOM "assess: the factors or criteria used by NIH to determine funding allocations for disease research, the process by which research funding decisions are made, the mechanisms for public input into the priority-setting process, and the impact of statutory directives on research funding decisions."

Contents

• Committee on the NIH Research Priority-Setting Process
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Acronyms
• Executive Summary
  • CRITERIA FOR PRIORITY SETTING
  • PRIORITY-SETTING PROCESSES
  • MECHANISMS FOR PUBLIC INPUT
  • CONGRESSIONAL ROLE
• 1. Introduction
  • BACKGROUND
  • RECENT TRENDS AND ISSUES
  • IOM COMMITTEE PROCESS
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
• 2. Criteria for Priority Setting
  • WHY CRITERIA ARE IMPORTANT
  • NIH'S CRITERIA FOR PRIORITY SETTING
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 3. Priority-Setting Processes
  • PRIORITY SETTING THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS
  • NIH DIRECTOR'S ROLE IN PRIORITY SETTING
  • PRIORITY SETTING AT THE INSTITUTE LEVEL
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 4. Mechanisms for Public Input
  • PUBLIC INPUT INTO PRIORITY SETTING
  • RECENT CHANGES
  • TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NIH AND THE PUBLIC
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 5. Congressional Role
  • CONGRESS AND NIH
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• References
• Appendixes
  • A Federal Advisory Committees of the National Institutes of Health
  • B Acknowledgments
  • C National Institutes of Health Funding Tables
  • D Committee and Staff Biographies

Support for this project was provided by funds from the National Institutes of Health (Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139).

The views presented in this report are those of the Committee on the NIH Research Priority-Setting Process and are not necessarily those of the funding organization.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.