[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 169 (Friday, September 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60470-60471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18989]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Comments and Suggestions 
on Updating the NIH Mission Statement

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: This Notice is a Request for Information (RFI) inviting 
feedback on a proposed update to the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH) mission statement. As the largest public funder of biomedical and 
behavioral research in the world, NIH works to turn scientific 
discoveries into better health for all. This RFI will inform NIH's 
efforts to update its mission statement to ensure that it reflects the 
NIH mission as accurately as possible. Review of this entire RFI notice 
is encouraged to ensure your response is comprehensive and to have a 
full understanding of how it will be used.

DATES: Comments must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. (ET) on November 24, 
2023 to ensure consideration. After the public comment period has 
closed, the comments received will be considered in a timely manner by 
NIH.

ADDRESSES: All comments must be submitted electronically on the 
submission website at https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=64caaa8bb1112e46ad0a1d52. Responses to this RFI are voluntary and 
may be submitted anonymously. Please do not include any personally 
identifiable information or any information that you do not wish to 
make public. Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive 
information should not be included in your response. 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 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 informational and planning 
purposes only and is not a solicitation for applications or an 
obligation on the part of the Government to provide support for any 
ideas identified in response to it. Please note that the Government 
will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for 
use of that information.
    We look forward to your input and hope that you will share this RFI 
opportunity with your colleagues.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about this RFI should be 
directed to Lauren Brodd, Ph.D., Office of the Director, National 
Institutes of Health, [email protected], 301-827-5152.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIH is the nation's medical research agency 
-- making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. 
NIH's current mission statement at https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/mission-goals is ``to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature 
and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to 
enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.''
    In 2021, NIH established the Advisory Committee to the Director 
(ACD) Working Group on Diversity, Subgroup on Individuals with 
Disabilities (https://www.acd.od.nih.gov/working-groups/disabilitiessubgroup.html) to dedicate time and resources to identify 
strategies to support individuals with disabilities. The Subgroup 
issued a report (https://acd.od.nih.gov/documents/presentations/12092022_WGD_Disabilities_Subgroup_Report.pdf) in December 2022 that 
contains several recommendations, including updating the NIH mission 
statement. The ACD adopted the Working Group's recommendations and 
provided them to the NIH Director. The report stated: ``One immediate 
action for the NIH to support disability inclusion is to remove the 
language of `reducing disability' from the NIH mission statement. The 
current mission statement could be interpreted as perpetuating ableist 
beliefs that disabled people are flawed and need to be `fixed'.''
    To address this suggestion, NIH Leadership committed to evaluate 
the mission statement, particularly reviewing the inclusion of the 
phrase ``reduce [. . .] disability'', and to update it to better 
reflect the current and future vision for the agency. Following 
discussions among NIH Leadership and with NIH subject matter experts, a 
proposed revised mission statement was developed.

Information Requested

    This RFI invites input from interest groups throughout the 
scientific

[[Page 60471]]

research, advocacy, and clinical practice communities, those employed 
by NIH or at institutions receiving NIH support, and the public, on a 
proposed revised mission statement. The bolded language reflects 
differences between the current and proposed mission statements.
     Current mission statement: ``To seek fundamental knowledge 
about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of 
that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and 
disability.''
     Proposed revised mission statement: ``To seek fundamental 
knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and to apply 
that knowledge to optimize health and prevent or reduce illness for all 
people.''
    Input sought about the proposed revised mission statement includes, 
but is not limited to, the following:
     Feedback on whether the proposed new mission statement 
reflects the goals and objectives as outlined in the NIH-Wide Strategic 
Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2025 (https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/strategic-plan-fy2021-2025-508.pdf).
     Suggestions for specific language that could be added to 
the proposed mission statement and why.
     Feedback on any specific language that could be removed 
from the proposed mission statement and why.
    NIH encourages organizations (e.g., patient advocacy groups, 
professional societies) to submit a single response reflective of the 
views of the organization or its membership.

    Dated: August 29, 2023.
Tara A. Schwetz,
Acting Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2023-18989 Filed 8-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P