[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 29 (Friday, February 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8023-8024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02972]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Comments and Suggestions 
on a Framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, 
Inclusion, and Accessibility

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to gather broad 
public input to assist the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 
developing the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, 
Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). NIH invites input from 
stakeholders throughout the scientific research, advocacy, and clinical 
practice communities, as well as the general public, regarding the 
proposed framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for DEIA. 
Organizations are strongly encouraged to submit a single response that 
reflects the views of their organization and their membership as a 
whole.

DATES: This RFI is open for public comment for a period of 60 days. 
Comments must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. (ET) on April 3, 2022, to 
ensure consideration.

ADDRESSES: All comments must be submitted electronically on the 
submission website available at https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=61e9a09a971100006d005012.

[[Page 8024]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please direct all inquiries to: Marina 
Volkov, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3e5057564d4a4c5f4a5b59575d4e525f507e515a1050575610595148"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e6888f8e959294879283818f85968a8788a68982c8888f8ec8818990">[email protected]</span></a>, 301-496-4147.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan 
for DEIA is to articulate NIH's vision for embracing, integrating, and 
strengthening DEIA across all NIH activities to achieve the NIH 
mission. The Strategic Plan will capture activities that NIH will 
undertake to meet the vision of the Strategic Plan, and will be 
organized around accomplishments, needs, opportunities, and challenges 
in addressing DEIA in the NIH internal and extramural workforce, its 
structure and culture, and the research it supports.
    NIH has implemented a range of other initiatives to advance DEIA. 
Among them, the UNITE initiative (https://www.nih.gov/ending-structural-racism/unite) was established in 2021 to identify and 
address structural racism within the NIH-supported and the greater 
scientific community. Please note that an RFI on the Draft 2022-2026 
Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD) Strategic Plan 
(https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-054.html) 
was released on January 12, 2022 and, therefore, is open for public 
comment at the same time as this Framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic 
Plan for DEIA. You are encouraged to respond to both.
    The NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for DEIA is being developed in part as 
a response to Report 116-450 on H.R. 7614: Diversity at NIH Working 
Group and Strategic Plan, and is responsive to Executive Order 14035 
and the Government-Wide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, 
Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-accessibility-in-the-federal-workforce/).
    The NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for DEIA will highlight NIH's ongoing 
and future efforts to foster DEIA within the biomedical and health 
research enterprise. The Framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for 
DEIA, below, articulates NIH's priorities in three key areas 
(Objectives): Organizational practices to center and prioritize DEIA 
within the workforce; broad efforts to manage and sustain DEIA through 
structural and cultural change; and research to promote both workforce 
and health equity. These Objectives apply across NIH.

NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for DEIA Framework

Objective 1: Implement Organizational Practices To Center and 
Prioritize DEIA in the Workforce

    <bullet> NIH Workforce
    <bullet> Workforce at Institutions Supported by NIH Funding

Objective 2: Grow and Sustain DEIA Through Structural and Cultural 
Change

    <bullet> Stewardship
    <bullet> Partnerships and Engagements
    <bullet> Accountability and Confidence
    <bullet> Management and Operations

Objective 3: Advance DEIA Through Research

    <bullet> Workforce Research
    <bullet> Health Research
    The NIH seeks comments on any or all of NIH's priorities across the 
three key areas (Objectives) articulated in the framework, including 
potential benefits, drawbacks or challenges, and other priority areas 
for consideration.
    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.
    Responses to this RFI are voluntary and may be submitted 
anonymously. 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. 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 for 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.

    Dated: February 7, 2022.
Tara A. Schwetz,
Acting Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2022-02972 Filed 2-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P


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