Washington Update
NIH Releases Its DEIA Strategic Plan
By: Jacqueline Robinson-HammThursday, April 13, 2023
On March 20, National Institutes of Health (NIH) released its NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) for fiscal years (FYs) 2023–2027. There are three primary objectives:
- Grow and sustain DEIA through structural and cultural change
- Implement organizational practices to center and prioritize DEIA in the workforce
- Advance DEIA through research
Across all objectives, NIH emphasized the importance of and its dedication to promoting transparency, communication, and engagement; fostering sustainable change; and harnessing data. These themes are fundamental aspects to achieving the objectives and upholding public trust and confidence in the agency. Throughout the strategic plan, NIH conveyed the importance of demonstrating accountability of the agency’s actions to its staff, the wider biomedical and behavioral research community, and the public. Acting on results was also highlighted, rather than engaging only in analysis and dissemination. Over the next five years, NIH plans to catalyze change across the entire biomedical and behavioral scientific research ecosystem.
This strategic plan is harmonized to the overall structure in the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for FY 2021 - 2025, and complements ongoing work outlined in the NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan: FY 2021 - 2025, Strategic Plan for Tribal Health Research: FY 2019 – 2023, Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity Strategic Plan: FY 2022 – 2026, Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the Health and Well-being of Sexual and Gender Minorities: FY 2021 – 2025, and Trans-NIH Strategic plan for Women’s Health Research: FY 2019 – 2023. Additional information about the NIH-wide strategic plan for DEIA can be found at the Chief Officer of Scientific Workforce Diversity blog, Open Mike blog, one-page framework, and two-page strategic plan summary.