On January 2, 2019, The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) posted a draft of its revised strategic plan. The draft plan and request for public comments are posted online here.
The Institute is seeking comments and suggestions on the plan’s six proposed research themes. NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi has made updating the plan a major Institute priority. As a result, PAA and APC expect the final plan will strongly influence NICHD’s future research directions and funding decisions. Given the significant role NICHD plays in supporting population research grants, centers, and research training activities, and the current lack of attention paid to the population sciences in this version, we encourage PAA and APC members to comment on the draft plan and submit individual responses.
Comments are due by February 15, 2019.
Responses should be submitted via email to NICHDStrategicPlan@nih.gov. Please indicate “RFI Response” in the subject line of the email.
On February 12, PAA President John Casterline and APC President Kate Cagney submitted comments on behalf of both organizations. View the comments. PAA members should feel free to refer to these comments when drafting their own individual responses.
The plan, as it is currently written, includes little detail about the Institute’s support for social science research, generally, and, especially demographic research. Our comments will encourage the Institute to continue supporting activities that benefit the population sciences, especially research on the social determinants of health, large-scale data collection efforts, and population research centers, which are essential hubs for training, data dissemination, and interdisciplinary scientific research activities.
Thank you for considering this important opportunity and for helping to ensure continued NICHD support for the population sciences.
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