[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 243 (Monday, December 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67890-67891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30299]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Superfund 
Research Program; Request for Information (NOT-ES-10-003): Superfund 
Research Program Strategic Planning

AGENCY: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), 
National Institutes of Health (NIH), HHS.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP), in response to 
recommendations of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program External 
Advisory Panel convened in 2009, is seeking input to develop a 
strategic plan to provide direction to achieve its mandates described 
in SARA Section 311(a). Information provided will be used to develop a 
5-year strategic plan to direct programmatic focus and enhance the 
impact of the SRP program. SRP welcomes input from sister Superfund 
agency representatives (i.e. United States Environmental Protection 
Agency, US EPA; and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 
ATSDR), other government officials, environmental health researchers, 
academics, members of the private sector, policy makers, the lay 
public, and others with an interest in the effects of hazardous 
substances on public health. SRP is using an online questionnaire and 
public meetings to receive input.

DATES: Please respond online at the Superfund Research Program 
Strategic Planning web page by January 29, 2010, at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/SRP/strategicplan. Meeting dates and locations, when 
available, will be listed at the same Web page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Other correspondence regarding this 
RFI should be directed to either (1) Ms. Beth Anderson, SRP Program 
Analyst, P.O. Box 12233, MD K3-04, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, 
(phone) 919-541-4481, (e-mail) [email protected] or (2) Dr. Heather 
Henry, SRP Program Administrator, P.O. Box 12233, MD K3-04, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27709, (phone) 919-541-5330, (e-mail) 
[email protected], fax (919)316-4606.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Information Requested

    The SRP requests input on the following:
    1. Respondent Affiliation: University--SRP-funded (current or past 
grantee); University--not SRP-funded, US EPA (office/division); ATSDR; 
Other Federal Government; State/Local Government; Industry; Small 
Business; Not-for-Profit; General Public; Other.
    2. Respondent Additional Contact Information: e-mail, address, 
phone.
    Scope of Science. Part of the SRP strategic planning process is to 
identify ways to prioritize programmatic direction and to achieve 
balance given the many competing demands for research on hazardous 
substances. Respondents may wish to consider: potential for exposure; 
contaminant recalcitrance; elucidating new toxicity modalities; balance 
between: hazardous waste & hazardous substances, basic & applied 
research; emerging & established contaminants, human health & 
ecological health.
    3. Given the breadth of Program mandates, what prioritization 
criteria should SRP use to guide inclusion of themes and issues to 
achieve Program balance? Provide specific examples as necessary.
    Interdisciplinary Research. To address the complexity of 
environmental health issues, SRP endorses interdisciplinary research, 
or, interactions between researchers from a wide range of disciplines 
relevant to Program mandates.
    4. What approaches (research or otherwise) will mostly effectively 
foster interdisciplinary interactions?
    Training. To fulfill SARA mandates, SRP supports graduate training 
within funded grants. Given the interdisciplinary context of SRP, 
graduate trainees are exposed to multiple disciplines and, therefore, 
are well positioned to meet the complex challenges in environmental 
health as well as mitigation and management of hazardous substances.
    5. What approaches or activities should SRP consider to enhance the 
impact of graduate training?
    Identifying Stakeholders. SRP defines ``stakeholders'' as 
individuals, groups, or organizations likely to benefit from the SRP. 
In order to maximize the impact of program science, it is important to 
know the SRP stakeholders and how to reach them.
    6. Who are SRP's stakeholders and what approaches or mechanisms can 
SRP use to most effectively interact with them?
    Research Translation. Research translation is a concerted effort to 
ensure research is accessible to end-users. SRP supports research 
translation activities with the goal of accelerating the useful 
application of SRP science advances. Respondents may wish to consider 
how the program can accelerate research translation through: effective 
methods of communication, data sharing, technology transfer, 
etc[hellip]
    7. What are the best ways for SRP to achieve its goal of 
accelerating research translation?
    Community Engagement. Community outreach has been a long tradition 
of the SRP. SRP seeks input to most appropriately focus its community 
involvement, given the context of a grant program mandated to address 
hazardous substances. Respondents may wish to consider: which 
communities to target, what the community needs, what approach is most 
effective, how to engage communities, etc...
    8. What approaches to community engagement are most appropriate for 
SRP?
    9. What disciplines are needed to make the greatest impact in 
community engagement? Grant Mechanisms. As a university-based grant 
program, SRP has flexibility to offer a number of grant mechanisms. 
Grant mechanisms specify the structure of the research team (such as 
single-project, multi-project), the size of the teams, the disciplines 
represented, etc. Please consider the following question from this 
perspective.

[[Page 67891]]

    10. What research team structure(s) and/or disciplines are needed 
to make the greatest advances in SRP Program mandates?
    11. Additional Comments.
    The SRP Web site provides information about the program that may 
aid in answering the questions. The site can be accessed at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/srp/. All questions, except for 
affiliation, are optional. Please limit each response to 300 words. 
Responses will be compiled and posted on the SRP Strategic Planning Web 
site (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/SRP/strategicplan), using affiliation as 
the only identifier. Information may be summarized and used at a later 
date. If you submit your responses in a word doc, we ask that you 
prepare your responses by restating the question in your responses. You 
may use a variety of tools to respond to the questionnaire; however, 
all responses must be received not later than January 29, 2010. The 
following are acceptable ways to submit your responses:
    1. Fill out the online questionnaire available on the Superfund 
Research Program Strategic Planning web page: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/SRP/strategicplan.
    2. Copy and paste the above questions into the body of an e-mail 
message and send your responses to: [email protected].
    3. Mail or fax your responses in a letter to the attention of ``SRP 
Strategic Planning'' at the below address.

Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, P.O. Box 12233 (MD K3-04), 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, (Fax) 919-316-4606.

    In addition to the questionnaire above, SRP will be holding face-
to-face and web-based seminars to receive input from the public. For 
more information about these seminars and the strategic planning 
process, please visit: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/SRP/strategicplan.

Attendance, Registration, and Remote Access

    Participation is free and open to the public. Registration 
requirements are provided on the meeting web pages available from the 
SRP Strategic Planning Web site: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/SRP/strategicplan. Individuals with disabilities who require special 
reasonable accommodations should contact Dr. Heather Henry at least 
seven days prior to the event: (phone) 919-541-5330, (e-mail) 
[email protected], fax (919) 316-4606.

    Dated: December 14, 2009.
William A. Suk,
Director, Center for Risk and Integrated Sciences, Director, Superfund 
Research Program, Division of Extramural Research and Training, 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National 
Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E9-30299 Filed 12-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P