Purpose

The NIH Steering Committee (SC) was established by the NIH Director as an efficient and transparent forum for trans-NIH governance and streamlined decision-making at NIH. With the establishment of the new Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI) within the Office of the Director, there is a need for a new Working Group (WG) to oversee governance issues related to OPASI’s work.

It is expected that the OPASI WG will interact with the existing SC Working Groups, as needed, to coordinate efforts and ensure clear communications about goals, progress, and future directions. Once established, the OPASI WG will become the governance structure for NIH Roadmap-related issues, and assume the responsibilities of the Roadmap Implementation Coordination Committee (RICC). Subsequently, the RICC will be dissolved.

The OPASI WG will advise the NIH SC, the NIH ICs, and the NIH Director on governance matters, policy and planning issues, and overall management goals and objectives related to OPASI’s mission and operations.

Specific Responsibilities

A critical initial task of the WG will be to develop formal criteria for the types of initiatives that fall within the purview of OPASI. As a starting point, the OPASI Ad Hoc Committee has recommended that the following criteria, derived from the Roadmap planning process, be considered:

• Is the initiative truly transforming – will it dramatically change the content or the process of medical research in the next decade?
• Would outcomes from the initiative be used by, and synergize the work of, many institutes?
• Can the initiative be implemented by one or two ICs, or does it require participation from NIH as a whole?
• Can the NIH afford not to do it?
• Will the initiative be compelling to NIH stakeholders, especially the public?
• Does the initiative position the NIH to do something that no other entity can or will do?
• Does the initiative involve science that “falls between the cracks”?

It may be appropriate for the WG to test the above criteria against model initiatives (e.g., Strategic Plan for Obesity Research), to determine whether they cover the key aspects of activities that would qualify for OPASI consideration and potential funding.

With respect to the support of new initiatives, the WG will use as a guide the principles that were recently adopted by the RICC related to funding decisions. These principles will help ensure that appropriate consideration is given to possible support of new initiatives (apart from current Roadmap projects) in light of constrained budgets. More specifically, a topic for discussion and clarification by the WG will be consideration of continuing phases of established initiatives in competition with newly proposed initiatives.

Additionally, the WG will provide guidance for the conditions of funding, allocation of FTEs, and other administrative costs to be managed by OPASI. The group will also provide governance to help ensure that the three main divisions of OPASI coordinate their efforts to take full advantage of the technical expertise and information systems within the office.

Among other responsibilities, the working group is charged with the following key tasks:

• Defining, in broad terms, the parameters/dimensions of initiatives to be considered/supported (variation in the size and scope of initiatives is expected);
• Determining the most appropriate processes for review and evaluation of initiatives; and
• Developing guidance on the periodicity/timeframe for assessing and launching initiatives (e.g., incubation in OPASI v. graduation to ICs).

Over time, the role of the WG will evolve to monitor the overall effectiveness of the office, advise on policy and planning issues, and forecast the need for changes in its activities. Ultimately, the need for such a working group may dissolve, as the work of OPASI becomes institutionalized.

[Note: This new SC WG will need to coordinate its efforts, as appropriate, with the existing Knowledge Management Governance Group (KMGG). It may be that, over time, the KMGG is integrated into the OPASI WG.]

Membership and Staffing

The WG will be co-chaired by an IC Director who serves on the Steering Committee and the Director of OPASI (the former would rotate). An Executive Secretary will need to be appointed to provide appropriate staffing and facilitate the work of the group.

It is expected that the WG will meet on a monthly basis, or as often as deemed necessary by the group members. Regular reports will be provided by the WG to the full Steering Committee and the IC Directors, in addition to the NIH Director, as appropriate.

The proposed make-up of the WG, in addition to its co-chairs, is described below (note that ex-officio members will be non-voting). The precise membership of the group at any given time will depend upon the qualifications and expertise of specific members.

The terms of the WG members will be for 3 to 4 years, with staggered appointments such that no two representatives from the same category rotate off the WG at the same time.

Voting Members

• 2 IC Directors or Deputy Directors
• 2 Executive Officers
• 2 Extramural Program Directors
• 2 Scientific Directors
• IC Planning Officers
• Non-Voting Members
• NIH Deputy Director (ex officio)
• 1 OSP Staff Member (ex officio)
• 1 OER Staff Member (ex officio)
• 1 OIR Staff Member (ex officio)
• 1 OB Staff Member (ex officio)
• 1 Senior IT Official (ex officio)

Proposed Initial Membership

IC Directors have been asked to nominate potential WG members (just as they were asked for suggested candidates for an interim OPASI Director), for review and approval by the NIH Director.

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