[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46803-46804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22467]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Office of the Director; Notice of Call for Applications for the 
Directors Council of Public Representatives (COPR)

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal 
government's primary agency for supporting and conducting medical 
research leading to the improvement in the nation's health, has 
established a relatively new national advisory council--the Directors 
Council of Public Representatives (COPR). The Chair of COPR is the 
Director of the National Institutes of Health. This notice describes 
the process for the selection of members of the COPR that NIH will use, 
as the original founding

[[Page 46804]]

members begin to complete their terms and begin the COPR rotation 
process.

DATES: The application deadline for the COPR is October 23, 2001; the 
notification of selection date is December 2001; the term start date is 
April 1, 2002; and the first COPR meeting date for new members is April 
16, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NIH Council of Public Representatives 
(COPR), c/o Palladian Partners, Inc., 1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1200, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910, telephone (301) 650-8660, fax (301) 650-7172, 
e-mail [email protected]. If you are interested in serving as 
a member of the COPR, please contact Palladian Partners, Inc. to have 
an application mailed to you or go on-line to www.nih.gov/about/publicliaison to access the COPR application instructions. If you have 
questions about your application or the submission process, please feel 
free to contact the staff working on this project by mail, telephone, 
fax, or e-mail, as indicated in the above information

ADDRESS: Please mail your application to NIH Council of Public 
Representatives (COPR), c/o Palladian Partners, Inc., 1010 Wayne 
Avenue, Suite 1200, Silver Spring, MD 20910, telephone (301) 650-8660, 
fax (301) 650-7172, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Director of the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) created the Director's Council of Public Representative 
(COPR) in 1999 as an important forum for information exchange between 
the public and the NIH at the highest level. The COPR consists up to 20 
individuals who are selected from among the many diverse communities 
that benefit from, and have an interest in, NIH research, programs, and 
activities. The COPR allows representatives of the public to present 
issues, concerns, and viewpoints to the NIH Director and to take 
information from NIH back to the broader public. COPR terms are 
typically three-year terms.
    The minimum eligibility criteria are that the applicant must:
     Have some interest in the work of NIH (such as being a 
patient or family member of a patient; a care giver, or a volunteer in 
the health or science arena; a scientist or student of science; a 
health communicator, educator or professional in the medical field, but 
certainly not limited to these examples).
     Be in a position (formally or informally) to communicate 
regularly with the broader public or segments of the public about the 
activities of the COPR and the NIH.
     Commit to participating fully in activities of the COPR, 
including COPR meeting discussions and conference calls, and 
subcommittee and/or working group activities that will take time in 
addition to COPR meeting attendance twice a year.

    Note: The NIH will cover travel expenses while on official 
government business as a COPR member.

    In addition, COPR members--while participating in COPR activities-- 
will have to agree to subordinate disease-specific or program-specific 
interests to broader, cross-cutting matters of importance to the NIH. 
COPR members will also need to agree to represent as broad a ``public 
viewpoint'' as possible and to at least keep the spirit of this goal at 
the forefront during all COPR discussions and activities.
    Please contact Palladian Partners, Inc. to have an application 
mailed to you or go on-line to www.nih.gov/about/publicliaison to 
access the COPR application instructions. The NIH Director's COPR staff 
is located in the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, Office 
of the Director, National Institutes of Health. The application 
deadline is Tuesday, October 23, 2001. We will not consider late 
nomination packages.
    After applications are screened for completeness, they will be 
reviewed and scored by external reviewers who are familiar with the 
responsibilities of the COPR. The NIH Director will make the final 
selection of candidates with the goal of creating a COPR that reflects 
the breadth and diversity of the publics interested in the NIH, taking 
into consideration many varied factors, including age, gender, culture, 
and geography. We expect that candidates will be selected in December 
2001.
    Thank you for your interest in the COPR. We look forward to 
receiving your application packet.

    Dated: August 24, 2001.
Anne Thomas,
Associate Director for Communications, NIH.
[FR Doc. 01-22467 Filed 9-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M