MLA and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) have submitted comments and recommendations to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on a framework for its strategic plan.
The Associations recommended:
- developing a statement promoting information or research sharing within NIH, with NIH's growing partners, and with the public;
- expanding funding opportunities for junior investigators across diverse settings;
- supporting training and conceputalizing career ladders for Masters-level data scientists, information professionals, and research support leadership
- funding projects aimed at using technology and user-centered design;
- collaborating with knowledge professionals to enhance research stewardship;
- engaging trained knowledge workers as core team members at every level of the NIH strategic plan;
- increasing NIH's intramural purchasing power through strategic sourcing initiatives;
- coordinating funding opportunities with other federal and with private funders;
- applying advanced knowledge of dissemination research and implementation sciences to ensure findings have influence
- ensuring that funders are communicating with each other and the systems and processes are easy to use and understand as other funding agencies implement new data and public access requirements
- exploring opportunities for improving information management within NIH
Congress has directed the NIH to develop a 5-year NIH-wide Strategic Plan to highlight major trans-NIH themes. NIH issued a Request for Information (RFI) inviting comments and suggestions in July. MLA and AAHSL's comments may be considered by NIH, along with other submissions, at its discretion. The NIH-wide Strategic Plan is due to Congress by the end of the year.