NIH Request for Information
NOT-OD-15-064 – Request for Information: Sustaining the Biomedical Workforce and a Potential Emeritus Award for Senior Researchers
The strategies for sustaining a vibrant biomedical research enterprise are complex and multi-faceted. NIH strives to support not only the biomedical research workforce, but to support the foundation of research programs that our workforce has created. Therefore, NIH would like to explore potential synergies between the needs of both the junior and senior members of our biomedical workforce. We would like to gauge community interest in a new type of emeritus award that could allow senior investigators to transition out of a position that relies on funding from NIH research grants, while securing their own research legacies by passing on their knowledge and resources to junior colleagues. Such an award could permit a senior investigator to form a partnership with a junior faculty member in order to hand off his or her line of research inquiry in an efficient and cost-effective way.
Request for Information This Request for Information (RFI) seeks input from the research community, including scientists from all career stages; research administration professionals; departmental chairs; deans; professional societies; and other interested stakeholders. Public comment is sought for the following:
- Community interest in an emeritus award that allows a senior investigator to transition out of a role or position that relies on funding from NIH research grants Ideas for how one would utilize an emeritus award (e.g., to facilitate laboratory closure; to promote partnership between a senior and junior investigator; to provide opportunities for acquiring skills needed for transitioning to a new role)
- Suggestions for the specific characteristics for an emeritus award (e.g., number of years of support; definition of a junior faculty partner)
- Ways in which NIH could incentivize the use of an emeritus award, from the perspectives of both senior investigators and institutions
- Impediments to the participation in such an award program, from the perspectives of both senior investigators and institutions
- Any additional comments you would like to offer to NIH on this topic
Responses will be accepted through March 6, 2015. Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically via: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/rfi/rfi.cfm?ID=40.