NICHD Releases Draft Strategic Plan — Comments Due February 15
NICHD Releases Draft Strategic Plan — Comments Due February 15
 
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January 2019

On January 2, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) issued a request for comments for its FY 2020–2024 strategic plan. The plan includes six research themes with associated goals and opportunities for each theme:

  1. Understanding Early Human Development
  2. Setting the Foundation for a Healthy Pregnancy and Lifelong Wellness
  3. Promoting Gynecological, Andrological, and Reproductive Health
  4. Identifying Sensitive Time Periods to Optimize Health Interventions
  5. Improving Health During the Transition From Adolescence to Adulthood
  6. Ensuring Safe and Effective Therapeutics and Devices

The strategic plan makes reference to social and behavioral science, which is concentrated in the opportunities presented in two of the research themes.

Research theme 4 includes reference to education research related to early interventions for intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities, as well as exposure to early language interventions. Research theme 5, focusing on adolescence, presents opportunities for social and behavioral science but does not explicitly link lifestyle and environmental factors to educational outcomes.

The proposed plan is informed by discussions from an advisory committee meeting held October 15–16, 2018 and by a review of the NICHD research portfolio. Additional details on the strategic planning process are available on the NICHD website.

Comments on the plan are due February 15 to NICHDStrategicPlan@nih.gov.