[Federal Register: August 12, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 155)] [Notices] [Page 44034-44035] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12au99-87] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)--in close collaboration with the members of its National Advisory Council, Board of Scientific Counselors, and other external scientific and lay experts--is embarking on the development of a Strategic Plan that will be reflective of the Institute's unique mission, science and culture. As part of the NIH response to recommendations of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) study on NIH priority-setting and public input, the NIDDK is required to send a draft copy of its Strategic Plan to the NIH Director by December 31, 1999. the NIDDK needs and welcomes public input into this process. The NIDDK wants to develop a process that considers the views of groups and individuals who are concerned about the Institute's research programs aimed at expanding knowledge about and reducing the burden of the diseases within the NIDDK mission. The development of the NIDDK Strategic Plan will be a continuous, iterative process, during which draft documents will be shared with the scientific and lay community to solicit comments and input at steps along the way. The NIDDK's new Strategic Plan will build upon many existing planning processes that are already in place within the Institute, as well as upon the plans of constituent organizations. The NIDDK expects to develop its Strategic Plan using cross-cutting scientific themes that unite and underpin the disease-oriented programs of the Institute. These cross-cutting themes include genetics, cell biology, mechanisms of disease injury, prevention and treatment of disease, and research infrastructure. Expert Working Groups will provide advice to the Institute on these themes. In the NIDDK Strategic Planning document, disease-oriented research will be used, by way of example, to highlight these unifying scientific themes. While the Plan will not contain budget estimates, it should include scientific implementation strategies for capitalizing on cross-cutting research opportunities and needs. This conceptual framework for developing the NIDDK Strategic Plan was presented to and generally endorsed by the statutory NIDDK National Advisory Council on June 1, 1999. As one means of gaining public input, the Institute will hold an ``Open Meeting for Public Comment on the NIDDK Strategic Planning Process'' on Monday, October 18, 1999, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a one-hour break for attendees to purchase lunch. This meeting will be held in Conference Room 10 in Building 31, ``C'' Wing, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The purpose of this meeting is to enable individuals representing voluntary health and professional organizations, as well as private citizens, to provide oral comment on the process and on an [[Page 44035]] expanded outline of a working draft document. Members of the NIDDK National Advisory Council and Senior Staff will be in attendance. Prior to the public comment, brief presentations will be made by NIDDK Senior Staff on the different sections of the working draft document. In an effort to achieve representation across the many diseases within the mission of the NIDDK, oral presentations at the October 18 meeting will be strictly limited to three minutes in length. In order to have a written public record of all comments, transcription services will be available for those who cannot provide a typed copy of their comments. If you do not wish to or are unable to make an oral presentation, the NIDDK encourages the submission of written statements of unspecified length. Requests for time to give oral presentations should be made in writing by September 15, 1999 to: Ms. Mary Beth Kester, Program Analyst, Office of Scientific Program and Policy Analysis, NIDDK, NIH, 31 Center Drive MSC 2560, Building 31, Room 9A07, Bethesda, MD 20892- 2560. Please include in your request any special accommodations that you may require. Written statements may be submitted to the above address until October 25, 1999. The NIDDK will assemble a compendium of all comments received and this compendium will be available for public access at the NIDDK Office of Scientific Program and Policy Analysis. Please visit the NIDDK World Wide Web site (http:/// www.niddk.nih.gov), where electronic comments can be made about some of the features, goals and objectives that the Institute would like to incorporate in its Strategic Plan, and the preliminary conceptual framework for developing the document. We are asking that electronic comments be submitted by October 8, 1999, so that they can be considered in the development of the Strategic Plan. If you do not have access to a computer, the NIDDK will provide you with a copy of the material that is on the World Wide Web site. You may request this material from: Ms. Mary Beth Kester at the address noted previously. The NIDDK looks forward to working with the research community and the public to develop its Strategic Plan. Dated: August 2, 1999. Ms. Carol Feld, Associate Director for Scientific, Program and Policy Analysis, NIDDK, NIH. [FR Doc. 99-20822 Filed 8-11-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4140-01-M