# Presentation: 351260

## The Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI)

**Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD****Deputy Director**
**National Institutes of Health**
**Department of Health and Human Services**

**National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse**** ****September 20, 2006**

## What NIH Does Well: Priority Setting at the Institute and Center Level

- NIAID Plan

- Breast
- Cancer Plan

- Individual IC Plans:
- Can involve more than one IC,
- but are not truly trans-NIH

- Each of the 27 NIH Institutes and Centers

**NIAID **
**Council**

**NCI**
**Council**

- Funding Approval

- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

- NINDS Plan

**NINDS**
**Council**

## The Problem: Ad Hoc Approach to Trans-NIH Research

- NINDS

- NIMH

- NIAMS

- NHGRI

- NIA

- NICHD

- NIDCR

- NIDA

- NIEHS

- Research can begin

- Search for support from others at NIH

**The Problem: *****Ad Hoc***** Approach to *****Trans*****-NIH Research**

*Trans*-NIH
- research idea

## The Solution: Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI)

- OPASI and Common Fund

**The Solution: Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI)**

*Trans*-NIH
- research idea

***Provides new opportunity for more trans-NIH dialogue, decision making and funding***

## Why Does NIH Need OPASI?

- OPASI will:
- Offer transparent, systematic processes for:
- Determining how much NIH spends on research related to specific diseases and conditions
- Assessing scientific opportunities and public health needs and integrating them into trans-NIH-wide funding priorities
- Coordinating funding of research areas that cut across all or fall between the missions of individual Institutes and Centers
- Improve evaluation of the effectiveness of our programs
- Allow NIH to be nimble, dynamic, and responsive to emerging scientific opportunities and public health needs

## What is OPASI’s Mission?

- To provide NIH Institutes and Centers with the methods, tools, and information necessary to improve management of their large and complex scientific portfolios
- To identify -- in concert with multiple other inputs -- important areas of emerging scientific opportunities or rising public health challenges
- To help accelerate investments in these areas, focusing on those involving multiple Institutes and Centers
- To coordinate and make more effective use of NIH-wide evaluation processes

## Structure of OPASI

**OPASI**
**Director**

**Division of Evaluation **
**and Systematic **
**Assessments**
**(DESA)**

**Division of Strategic **
**Coordination**
**(DSC)**

**Division of Resource **
**Development **
**and Analysis**
**(DRDA)**

**NIH Steering Committee **
**OPASI **
**Working Group**

**NIH **
**Director**

**Structure of OPASI**

- Develop and use analytic tools and information, like:
- Knowledge management
- Public health need/burden of illness

- Strategic coordination of NIH-wide planning
- Provide an “incubator space” for trans-NIH initiatives
-  NIH Roadmap

- Plan, conduct, coordinate, and support program evaluations for:
-  ICs
-  Trans-NIH initiatives
-  GPRA
-  PART

## How New Initiatives are Chosen

**Scientific Consultation Meetings**

**NIH Staff Idea**
**Submissions**

**Web-based**
**Public Input/ Comment**

- Now

- Summer ‘06

- Fall ‘06

- IC Directors

- NIH Director

- ACD

**Decision to Fund Scientific Initiative**

*Who *

*What*

*When*

- Scientists from academia and industry, Public Representatives

- NIH Institute , Center and OD Program Office Director/Staff

- Broad
- science and lay communities

## Consultation Meetings in Progress

- Pre-meeting:
- Consultants post ideas for new initiatives in an  on-line Commons Room

- Meeting:
**Session 1:** Consultants introduce ideas
**Session 2:** Discussion/ identification of top ideas
**Session 3: **Synthesis/ Prioritizing
**Evaluation**

- Post Meeting:
** ‘****Top Ideas’**
- submitted for consideration as new Roadmap initiatives
**Evaluation**
- Results indicated overall positive responses to the goals, approach and quality of the discussion

## Your Input:On-line Request for Information

- Asking for comment on ideas generated by:
- Consultation meetings
- NIH Staff
- Asking for new ideas
- Goes live this Fall

- _http://opasi.nih.gov/_

## Council of Councils

- Mission: to advise the IC Directors during the OPASI selection process
- Made up of ~30 members
- Includes representatives from each Institute, Center, and OD Program Office Advisory Council, and the NIH Council of Public Representatives (COPR)
- ICs and OD program offices will nominate 3 candidates
- 2 scientists
- 1 lay member
- NIH Director will make final selections, ensuring representation of a broad range of disciplines and perspectives

## 
Provides formal structure to pool resources to address trans-NIH research priorities and fill knowledge gaps
Will be a more efficient and effective means of doing business than tapping each of the ICs on an ad hoc basis each time there is a trans-NIH priority
Roadmap funds are the Common Fund starting point 
In FY2007, the Common Fund will be ~1.6% of the total NIH budget
Common Fund will increase to up to 5% of the total NIH budget, contingent upon growth of the NIH budget and identified trans-NIH scientific opportunities and public health needs 

- Provides formal structure to pool resources to address *trans*-NIH research priorities and fill knowledge gaps
- Will be a more efficient and effective means of doing business than tapping each of the ICs on an *ad hoc *basis each time there is a *trans*-NIH priority
- Roadmap funds are the Common Fund starting point
- In FY2007, the Common Fund will be ~1.6% of the total NIH budget
- Common Fund will increase to up to 5% of the total NIH budget, contingent upon growth of the NIH budget and identified trans-NIH scientific opportunities and public health needs

**Common Fund for Shared Needs**

## Expanding Roadmap Funding Prototype

- NEI

- NCI

- NLM

- NINDS

- NIMH

- NIAMS

- NCCAM

- NHGRI

- NIA

- NIAAA

- NICHD

- NIDCD

- NIDCR

- NIDDK

- NIDA

- NIGMS

- NIBIB

- NCMHD

- OPASI-approved Initiative

- $$$

**Expanding Roadmap Funding Prototype**

- $

- $

- $

- $

- $

- $

- $

- OD

**Common Fund**

## OPASI Will Use Current NIH Grant Review and Grant Management Structure

**Common Fund provides capital**

- $

- $

- $

**Lead IC(s) provide scientific management**

**Researchers provide results**

## *

**OPASI Process for Implementation of Trans-NIH Initiatives**** **
**Note: 10 year Maximum for Initiative in OPASI**

- Indicates Key Decision Point

## OPASI

**	****A novel approach to assure that NIH is more effective and more efficient in meeting its mission as the nation’s medical research agency**

## OPASI

** ****Council of **
**Councils**

**IC **
**Directors**

**OPASI**

**NIH**
**Director**

** ****Advisory Committee **
**to the Director**

**Approval to Fund**
**Initiative**