Office of the Director, NIH
The NIH comprises the Office of the Director and 27 Institutes
and Centers. The Office of the Director (OD) is the central office
at NIH. The OD is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for
planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities
of all the NIH components.
The NIH Director provides overall leadership to NIH activities
in both scientific and administrative matters. Although each institute
within the NIH has a separate mission, the NIH Director plays an
active role in shaping the agency's research agenda and outlook.
With a unique and critical perspective on the mission of the entire
NIH, the Director is responsible for providing leadership to the
institutes for identifying needs and opportunities, especially
for efforts that involve several institutes. The NIH Director is
assisted by the Principal Deputy Director, who shares in the overall
direction of the agency's activities.
In carrying out these responsibilities, the NIH Director stays
informed about program priorities and accomplishments through regular
staff meetings, discussions, and briefing sessions with OD and
institute staff. The Director also receives input from:
- the extramural scientific community, including both individual
researchers and scientific organizations
- patient advocacy and voluntary health groups that deal directly
with NIH or indirectly through Congress and the media
- the Congress, the Administration, and the Director's Council
of Public Representatives, which brings public views to NIH.
Ongoing discussions with these groups and others provide the basis
for an established framework within which priorities for the agency
are identified, reviewed, and justified.
The following describes the major offices in within the NIH Office
of the Director:
Research, Funding, and Coordination
Office of Extramural Research (OER)
The Office of Extramural Research provides the leadership, oversight,
tools, and guidance needed to administer and manage NIH grants
policies and operations. Extramural research grants—awarded
to investigators throughout the U.S. and abroad—account
for about 84% of NIH's $29 billion budget.
Office of Intramural Research (OIR)
The Office of Intramural Research is responsible for oversight
and coordination of intramural research, training, and technology
transfer conducted within the laboratories and clinics of the
National Institutes of Health. Comprising less than 10%
of the NIH budget, the program includes the NIH Clinical Center
research hospital and the National Library of Medicine and supports
approximately 1,200 principal investigators and 8,000 scientific
staff.
Communications
Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL)
The Office of Communications and Public Liaison advises the Director
and communicates information about NIH policies, programs, and
research results to the general public. OCPL also encourages
broad national public participation in NIH activities, helps
to resolve local community concerns, and coordinates how NIH
implements the Freedom of Information Act.
Policy
Office of Science Policy (OSP)
The Office of Science Policy advises the NIH Director on science
policy issues affecting the medical research community; participates
in the development of new policy and program initiatives; monitors
and coordinates agency planning and evaluation activities; plans
and implements a comprehensive science education program; and
develops and implements NIH policies and procedures for the safe
conduct of recombinant DNA activities.
Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis (OLPA)
The Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis serves as the principal
legislative policy, analysis, and development office for the
Director and other senior NIH staff; develops legislative policy
and proposals; and provides analysis and liaison with Congress,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other Federal
agencies on issues affecting NIH programs and activities.
Administration and Services
Executive Office (ODEO)
The Executive Office serves in both a staff and an operational
capacity for all administrative support activities for the Office
of the Director (OD), excluding the Office of Research Services.
NIH Ethics Office
The NIH Ethics Office provides oversight and strategic direction
of NIH activities relating to ethics policy, oversight, and operational
activities; develops and administers the NIH policies and procedures
for implementing the Government-wide conflict of interest statutes
and regulations, the HHS supplemental conflict of interest regulations,
and HHS policies; implements a program for trans-NIH ethics oversight
that includes information technology (IT) support systems, periodic
reviews, audits, delegations of authority, training, and records
management; determines real or potential conflicts of interest
and assesses ethical considerations in scientific reporting,
clinical trials, and scientific conferences and workshops; and
serves as the liaison and coordinates the NIH response to requests
from Congress, the Inspector General, HHS, and the Office of
Government Ethics, and performs appropriate liaison activities.
Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management
(OEODM)
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management serves
as the focal point for NIH-wide policy formulation, implementation,
coordination, and management of the civil rights, equal opportunity,
affirmative employment, and workforce diversity programs of the
NIH.
Office of Management (OM)
The Office of Management advises the NIH Director and staff on
all phases of NIH-wide administration and management. The OM
includes the following offices:
- Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management (OALM) advises
the NIH Director and staff on acquisition and logistics activities
and contract and grant financial advisory services; provides
leadership and guidance to NIH components on acquisition and
logistics administration and management; and develops/implements
policies, provides oversight, and manages the operational components
in the areas of acquisition and logistics management.
- Office of Budget (OB) has primary responsibility
for NIH-wide budget policy, planning, analysis, formulation,
and presentation. OB is also responsible for budget management
once appropriations have been made, including reprogramming and
coordination of the use of the Director's Discretionary Fund
and transfer authority. OB provides budget advice to the NIH
Director and to senior officials within the OD and the NIH Institutes
and Centers.
- Office of Financial Management (OFM) advises
the NIH Director and staff and provides leadership and direction
for NIH financial management activities; develops policies and
instructions for budget preparation and presentation; administers
allocation of funds; and manages a system of fund and budgetary
controls.
- Office of Human Resources (OHR) advises the
NIH Director and staff on human resource (HR) management; directs
HR management services; provides NIH leadership and planning
on HR program development, salary administration, corporate recruitment,
and other functions; and conducts studies and makes recommendations
to senior NIH management for new or redirected HR efforts, programs,
and policies, as appropriate.
- Office of Management Assessment (OMA) provides
NIH-wide management of activities/oversight and advice to the
NIH Institutes and Centers on management reviews/corrective actions
involving program integrity (including fraud, waste, abuse, and
mismanagement reviews), OIG/GAO/Outside review liaison, management
control, quality management, risk management, best practices,
continuous improvement, regulations, delegations of authority,
A-76/FAIR Act, Privacy Act requirements, records and forms management,
organizational and functional analysis, NIH manual chapters,
and guidance and oversight on the control and safeguarding of
classified national security information.
- Office of Research Facilities Development and Operations
(ORF) supports the advancement of NIH scientific and
program priorities by planning, designing, constructing, managing,
and maintaining state-of-the-science facilities critical to
new and expanding research initiatives and the NIH mission.
ORF is the single point of accountability for all NIH facility
activities and is responsible for assisting the NIH Director
with the formulation and execution of the Buildings and Facilities
appropriation; developing and maintaining policies and standards
governing the use of real property; planning and directing
facility-related services such as master planning and construction,
renovation, maintenance, and management of real property; providing
centralized acquisition services for architecture, engineering,
and construction contracting and for real property purchasing
and leasing activities; and protecting the NIH environment.
- Office of Research Services (ORS) provides
a comprehensive portfolio of services to support the biomedical
research mission of the NIH. Some examples of the diverse services
ORS provides include: laboratory safety, security and emergency
response, veterinary resources, the NIH Library, events management,
travel and transportation, services for foreign scientists, and
programs to enrich and enhance the NIH worksite.
- Office of Strategic Management Planning (OSMP) provides
assistance to the NIH leadership with the development and accomplishment
of goals and strategic and technical plans for emerging
and ongoing human capital programs; preparation of
NIH programs and support activities to achieve the long-term
goals of the NIH mission; and implementation, operation, and
evaluation of key workforce programs. OSMP develops and
accomplishes short- and long-range initiatives through an active
and ongoing partnership with the staff of the NIH Office of Human
Resources and other NIH components.
Office of the Ombudsman/Center for Cooperative Resolution
The NIH Office of the Ombudsman, Center for Cooperative Resolution
provides the NIH community with confidential and informal assistance
in resolving work-related conflicts, disputes and grievances; promotes
fair and equitable treatment within NIH; offers effective, efficient
and innovative dispute resolution services; helps people use non-adversarial
approaches in resolving disputes; and works toward improving the
overall quality of worklife at NIH.
Program Coordination
Program offices within the Office of the Director are responsible
for encouraging and coordinating specific areas of research throughout
NIH and for planning and supporting research and related activities.
The program offices fund research through the NIH institutes
and centers.
Office of AIDS Research (OAR)
The Office of AIDS Research formulates scientific policy, and recommends
allocation of research resources, for AIDS research at NIH.
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research advises the
NIH Director and other key officials on matters relating to research
on the role of human behaviors in the development of health, prevention
of disease, and therapeutic intervention. Established by the U.S.
Congress as part of the NIH Office of the Director, its mission
is to stimulate behavioral and social sciences research throughout
NIH and to integrate it more fully into the NIH research enterprise.
Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)
The Office of Disease Prevention coordinates the activities of
disease prevention, rare diseases, dietary supplements, and medical
applications of research, and advises the NIH Director and senior
staff on related matters.
Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
The Office of Research on Women's Health promotes, stimulates,
and supports efforts to improve the health of women through biomedical
and behavioral research. ORWH works in partnership with the NIH
Institutes and Centers to ensure that women's health research is
part of the scientific framework at NIH and throughout the scientific
community.
This page was last reviewed on
January 23, 2009
.