[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 187 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54224-54225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21319]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Request for Information on Research Opportunities and Operational 
Activities Related to the NIH Strategic Plan To Advance Research on the 
Health and Well-Being of Sexual & Gender Minorities Fiscal Years 2021-
2025

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Sexual & 
Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) in the Division of Program 
Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI), Office of 
the Director (OD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), invites 
feedback from stakeholders throughout the scientific research 
community, clinical practice communities, patient and family advocates, 
scientific or professional organizations, federal partners, internal 
NIH stakeholders, and other interested constituents on research 
opportunities and operational activities related to the NIH Strategic 
Plan to Advance Research on the Health and Well-Being of Sexual and 
Gender Minorities fiscal years (FY) 2021-2025. The goal of this request 
for information is to provide SGM focused organizations, researchers, 
non-profits, and community members an opportunity to identify potential 
research opportunities and operational activities related to the NIH 
mission.

DATES: The SGMRO's Request for Information is open for public comment 
for a period of 8 weeks. Comments must be received on or before COB 
(5:00 p.m. ET) December 3, 2021, to ensure consideration. After the 
public comment period has closed, the comments received by SGMRO will 
be considered in a timely manner for further implementation of the NIH 
Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the Health and Well-Being of 
Sexual and Gender Minorities FY 2021-2025. Comments will be summarized 
and posted to the SGMRO website.

ADDRESSES: Please see the NIH Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the 
Health and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Minorities FY 2021-2025. 
Comments must be received by email at [email protected]. Please include 
Request for Information in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Avila, Ph.D., Assistant 
Director, Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO), 
[email protected], (301) 594-9701.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: ``Sexual and gender minority'' 
is an overarching term that includes, but is not limited to, 
individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, 
transgender, two-spirit, queer, and/or intersex. Individuals with same-
sex or -gender attractions or behaviors and those with a difference in 
sex development are also included. These populations also encompass 
those who do not self-identify with one of these terms but whose sexual 
orientation, gender identity or expression, or reproductive development 
is characterized by non-binary constructs of sexual orientation, 
gender, and/or sex.
    The Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) coordinates 
sexual and gender minority (SGM)-related research and activities by 
working directly with the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices. The 
Office was officially established in September 2015 within the NIH 
Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives 
(DPCPSI) in the Office of the Director.
    This Federal Register notice is in accordance with the 21st Century 
Cures Act, NIH is required to regularly update their strategic plans. 
In September 2020, SGMRO posted the NIH Strategic Plan to Advance 
Research on the Health and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Minorities 
FY 2021-2025. The current strategic plan has provided NIH with a 
framework to improve the health of SGM populations through increased 
research and support of scientists conducting SGM-relevant research.
    Request for Comments on Research Opportunities and Operational 
Activities related to the NIH Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the 
Health and Well-being of Sexual and Gender Minorities FY 2021-2025: The 
NIH has developed a strategic plan to advance SGM research over the 
next five years. The SGMRO invites input from stakeholders throughout 
the scientific research community, clinical practice communities, 
patient and family advocates, scientific or professional organizations, 
federal partners, internal NIH stakeholders, and other interested 
members of the public on potential research opportunities and 
operational activities related to this plan and the NIH mission. This 
input is valuable, and the community's time and consideration are 
appreciated.
    The SGMRO is invested in increasing SGM-related health research and 
identifying high-priority research

[[Page 54225]]

opportunities and operational activities related to SGM health.
    The FY 2021-2025 strategic plan includes the following four 
scientific themes and research opportunities:

1. Clinical research
2. Social and behavioral research
3. Research in chronic diseases and comorbidities
4. Methods and measurement research

    Overarching considerations for SGM research extend to all 
scientific research goal areas to help foster a deeper understanding of 
SGM health disparities. Key examples of these overarching 
considerations for SGM research include intersectionality, life 
situations, aging, SGM subpopulations, and relevant research 
frameworks.
    The FY 2021-2025 strategic plan includes the following four 
operational goals:

    1. Advance rigorous research on the health of SGM populations in 
both the extramural and intramural research communities;
    2. Expand SGM health research by fostering partnerships and 
collaborations with a strategic array of internal and external 
stakeholders;
    3. Foster a highly skilled and diverse workforce in SGM health 
research; and
    4. Encourage data collection related to SGM populations in 
research and the biomedical research workforce.

    The populations considered under the SGM umbrella term are 
inclusive and capture all individuals and populations who do not self-
identify with binary constructs of sexual orientation, gender, and/or 
sex. Examples of such populations may include intersex individuals or 
individuals with differences or disorders of sex development (DSD), 
Two-Spirit people, transgender and gender-expansive people, bisexual 
people, and individuals whose gender identity falls within the full 
spectrum of gender.
    To advance NIH priorities in SGM health research, SGMRO requests 
input from SGM health researchers and related communities on potential 
research opportunities related to the goals of the FY 2021-2025 
strategic plan.
    Responses to this RFI are voluntary. Do not include any 
proprietary, classified, confidential, trade secret, or sensitive 
information in your response. The responses will be reviewed by NIH 
staff, and individual feedback will not be provided to any responder. 
The Government will use the information submitted in response to this 
RFI at its discretion. The Government reserves the right to use any 
submitted information on public NIH websites; in reports; in summaries 
of the state of the science; in any possible resultant solicitation(s), 
grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s); or in the development of future 
funding opportunity announcements.
    This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and should 
not be construed as a solicitation for applications or proposals, or as 
an obligation in any way on the part of the United States Federal 
Government, NIH, or individual NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices to 
provide support for any ideas identified in response to it. The federal 
government will not pay for the preparation of any information 
submitted or for the Government's use of such information.
    No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a 
result of a response to this RFI or from the Government's use of such 
information. Additionally, the Government cannot guarantee the 
confidentiality of the information provided.

    Dated: September 24, 2021.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-21319 Filed 9-29-21; 8:45 am]
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