NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Seeks Input on 2016-2020 Strategic Plan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) has issued a request for information (RFI) (NOT-OD-16-018) seeking the broad input of the scientific community and the public, including academia, industry, health care professionals, patient advocates and advocacy organizations, scientific and/or professional organizations, and other federal agencies regarding the scientific priorities that should be considered as it begins its strategic planning process to update the Office’s 2007 strategic plan for FY 2016 – FY 2020.
OBSSR is congressionally mandated to “coordinate research conducted or supported by the agencies of the NIH; and identify projects of behavioral and social sciences research that should be conducted or supported by the national research institutes, and develop such projects in cooperation with such institutes.” The Office acknowledges the challenges of developing a strategic plan that fully incorporates the breadth of social and behavioral science research that includes psychology, neuroscience, sociology, anthropology, economics, communication sciences, geography, statistics, and various public health sciences. Specifically, OBSSR is seeking input regarding “the critical challenges in the behavioral and social sciences that currently hinder scientific advancement and that, if resolved, would have broad, transformative impact on the behavioral and social sciences.”
Responses to the RFI will be accepted through November 20, 2015. To respond and/or obtain more information see the Notice.