IC Directors' Meeting Highlights |
November 9, 2006
Discussion Items I. NIH Competitive Sourcing Green Plan Ms. Barros began by stating that she and Ms. Servis were reporting on the results of the negotiations with HHS/OMB regarding the NIH A-76 Strategic Plan for FY 2006-2008. She stressed that the objective of the negotiations was to mitigate the impact of A-76 on the NIH mission while meeting the requirements of the President’s Management Agenda. NIH has learned some lessons from previous studies such as:
Ms. Barros reported that prior to the A-76 Plan, 1580 FTEs were included in the NIH commercial inventory to be studied for potential outsourcing. The new plan reduces that number to 428 FTEs (27 percent) as commercial competitive; 402 FTEs (25 percent) that will be potentially outsourced as the positions become vacant; 172 FTEs (11 percent) that require further justification to support moving them to a non-commercial category; and 578 FTEs (37 percent) that are no longer subject to competition. All positions moved to commercial core are administrative support functions. Ms. Servis ended the presentation with the following conclusions:
II. NIH Energy Conservation Plan Ms. Barros began by stating that the energy conservation plan was driven by several factors such as Federal laws and directives that include the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and a new draft EO combining previous energy and environmental EOs that strengthens the commitment to energy conservation. It was also driven by the following:
The new OMB Scorecards address energy, the environment, and transportation. Ms. Barros reports that not only are the NIH and NIHAC energy costs going up, but also the energy use is going up as we increase the number of buildings. She also discussed many of the ongoing facility improvement energy conservation activities occurring that are transparent to staff such as purchasing utilities in bulk and improving the interior integrity of buildings. Ms. Barros then outlined the facility energy plan that will require active support of the NIH leadership and will include —
The temperature control plan will include four phases, will be phased in over several years, and will cost $11.1 million to implement across all NIH Bethesda buildings. However, the potential cost off-sets will be around $3.7 million per year. The impact on the NIH community will include less optimal heating/cooling space for offices and labs, however, the process heating/cooling will not be affected; there will be no anticipated changes to current animal space building temperatures, except for administrative and common areas; and there is no change anticipated in patient care areas. Ms. Barros then described the implementation steps included in Phase I that will conclude with evaluating the savings achieved with Phase I. Several suggestions were mentioned by the group including —
III. FNIH Biomarkers Consortium Update Dr. Skirboll shared the goals and objectives of the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium. It is a partnership among industry, FDA, NIH, and other key stakeholders and the goals and objectives include —
The governing structure consists of an Executive Committee (EC), steering committees (SC), and project teams. She then reviewed the Biomarkers Consortium policies reminding all that FNIH is not the NIH, particularly how that applies to consortium. However, for NIH and NIH employees all policies under the BC must conform with federal statutes and NIH policies. These policies cover IP and data sharing, antitrust considerations, grantee/contractor selection, confidentiality, and conflict of interest. The founding partners are the decision makers and the following apply:
Dr. Skirboll then discussed the contributions of each partner:
The Biomarkers Consortium will be launched on October 5, 2006 at the National Press Club. Dr. Skirboll concluded by describing the next steps:
IV. Other Information Items Dr. Alving announced that they are anticipating funding for 12 CTSAs for FY06. They are also funding 52 CTSA planning grants with FY06 funds. The funds will be from the Roadmap and NCRR. The investigators will meet at the end of October. Mr. Smolonsky provided an update on the reauthorization debate and appropriations. He reports that there was no action on appropriations so the NIH will be under continuing resolution until after the elections. Ann Brewer |
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National Institutes of Health (NIH) |