Help develop the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public input on a framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2027–2031 through a newly issued request for information (RFI) (NOT-OD-26-047).

This RFI provides an opportunity for the extramural research community to help inform NIH’s highest-level priorities and goals for the next five years.

The NIH-Wide Strategic Plan does not address all research that NIH supports into specific diseases and conditions, nor does it replace NIH Institute-, Center- or Office-level strategic plans. Rather, it plays an important role in guiding the agency’s overarching research investments, policies and operations. The RFI seeks input on areas that directly affect the extramural research community:

Priority 1: Research areas

• Goal 1: Advance foundational knowledge of human health and disease
• Goal 2: Prevent disease and promote health across the lifespan
• Goal 3: Advance and optimize interventions, treatments and cures

Priority 2: Research capacity

• Goal 1: Develop and sustain an interdisciplinary research workforce
• Goal 2: Build, improve and sustain research resources and infrastructure

Priority 3: Research operations

• Goal 1: Enhance scientific stewardship and decision-making
• Goal 2: Foster transparency and accountability to improve public trust in science

NIH welcomes responses from individual researchers, research institutions, scientific organizations and other stakeholders across the biomedical research ecosystem. This is an opportunity for all to help shape NIH’s strategic direction and ensure that the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan reflects and addresses the realities, challenges and opportunities of conducting biomedical research over the next five years.

Comments must be submitted electronically through the submission website. Responses must be received on May 26 by 11:59:59 p.m. (ET).

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit nih.gov.