[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 218 (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67177-67178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26760]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Draft Strategic 
Plan; Request for Comments

SUMMARY: NIMH is revising its 2008 Strategic Plan to guide the 
Institute's research efforts and priorities over the next five years 
(2015-2020). The purpose of this Notice is to seek input from the 
public about the draft NIMH 2015 Strategic Plan. The draft plan will be 
publicly available through the NIMH Draft Strategic Plan Web page 
(http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/strategic-planning-reports/review-the-draft-2015-nimh-strategic-plan.shtml) for a 30-day period beginning on 
the publication date of this Notice. The public is invited to provide 
comments via the email address or postal address provided in this 
Notice and on the NIMH Draft Strategic Plan Web page.

DATES: To ensure consideration, your responses must be received within 
a 30-day period that begins on the publication date of this Notice.

ADDRESSES: Responses to this Notice should be submitted electronically 
using email to [email protected]. Alternatively, written 
responses can be submitted by mail to the Science Writing, Press, and 
Dissemination Branch, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6200, MSC 9663. 
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact our NIMH Information 
Specialists using the following contact information: telephone: 1-866-
615-6464 (toll-free), 1-301-443-8431 (TTY), 1-866-415-8051 (TTY toll-
free). Fax: 1-301-443-4279, Email: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal 
agency for research on mental illnesses. The mission of the NIMH is to 
transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through 
basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, 
and cure. To fulfill its mission, the NIMH supports and conducts 
research on mental illnesses and the underlying basic science of brain 
and behavior; supports the training of scientists to carry out basic 
and clinical mental health research; and, communicates with scientists, 
patients, providers, and the general public about the science of mental 
illnesses.
    In 2008, the NIMH published a Strategic Plan to accelerate progress 
in basic, translational, and clinical science. The need to update the 
plan became clear with the increasing number of remarkable scientific 
advancements and the changing landscape of mental health care over the 
past six years. With the goals of helping individuals living with 
mental illnesses and promoting both prevention and cure, NIMH has 
revised its original four high-level Strategic Objectives as follows: 
(1) Define the biological basis of complex behaviors; (2) chart mental 
illness trajectories to determine when, where, and how to intervene; 
(3) develop better preventive and therapeutic interventions; and, (4) 
strengthen the public health impact of NIMH-supported research. These 
four Strategic Objectives form a broad roadmap for the Institute's 
priorities over the next five years, which begins with the fundamental 
science of the brain and behavior, and ends with public health impact. 
Full implementation of these Strategies Objectives, will, we hope, 
transform the

[[Page 67178]]

diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these devastating illnesses.

Request for Comments

    This notice invites public comment and input on the development of 
the NIMH 2015 Strategic Plan. When developing your comments, we ask 
that you consider the draft plan in the context of the current 
scientific landscape, as well as within the context of broader federal, 
for-profit, and not-for-profit stakeholder perspectives. We are 
particularly interested in receiving your ideas for scientific 
advancements, new technical capabilities or tools, or major challenge 
topics that promise substantial change to mental health research if 
pursued.

General Information

    Responses to this Notice are optional and voluntary. Any personal 
identifiers will be removed when responses are compiled. Proprietary, 
classified, confidential, or sensitive information should not be 
included in your response. This Notice is for planning purposes only 
and is not a solicitation for applications or an obligation on the part 
of the United States (U.S.) government to provide support for any ideas 
identified in response to it. Please note that the U.S. government will 
not pay for the preparation of any comment submitted or for its use of 
that comment.
    Privacy Act Notification Statement: We are requesting your comments 
for the 2015-2020 National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Strategic 
Plan. The information you provide may be disclosed to NIMH staff 
serving to develop the strategic plan and to contractors working on 
NIMH's behalf. Submission of this information is voluntary.
    Collection of this information is authorized under 42 U.S.C. 203, 
24 l, 2891-1 and 44 U.S.C. 310 I and Section 30 l and 493 of the Public 
Health Service Act regarding the establishment of the National 
Institutes of Health, its general authority to conduct and fund 
research and to provide training assistance, and its general authority 
to maintain records in connection with these and its other functions.

    Dated: November 3, 2014.
Thomas R. Insel,
Director, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of 
Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-26760 Filed 11-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P