NIH institutes, centers and offices create, receive and collect a vast amount of data and documents that reside in "stovepipe" systems—systems performing one function and not integrated with other systems. As a result, NIH employees have difficulty finding information quickly and easily. To help address this issue, the NIH Chief Information Officer is leading an initiative to develop the NIH portal.
A portal is a web-based application that integrates access to an organization’s applications and information via a single, customizable interface. The NIH portal will enable employees to bring together—in one site—links to data and documents needed every day (internal databases, Web sites and search engines) and external information (scientific journals, medical news and media coverage).
Finally, the NIH portal will organize internal and external content into a logical and browsable hierarchy or taxonomy—much as popular consumer portals organize links into categories. To develop the portal taxonomy, the NIH portal team is working extensively with focus groups from NIH functional areas to identify content important to portal users.
Participating in the Pilot Project
The NIH portal is currently under development only for NIH employees, although it will eventually be extended to external communities such as grantees. NIH employees can view the pilot version and customize a personal "MyPage." Go to the portal webpage—enter the same login name, password and domain used to access your local area network. If you are unable to log in, or you do not see your IC/user group listed, please contact the portal administrators at portaladmin@nih.gov.
Please let us know how you like the NIH portal. If you have any suggestions, please send email to portaladmin@nih.gov.
Personalized NIH Portal—"MyPage"
NIH portal users are able to personalize their own "MyPage" to contain the tools and information they need. By allowing this customization, the portal will help NIH employees focus on the applications and information critical to their work and filter out the overwhelming amount of peripheral information bombarding them every day.
The personalized "MyPage" (below) provides access to a variety of internal NIH tools. Each of these tools and services are available to portal users via "modules"—building blocks of information. Modules are mini-applications that provide access to disparate systems. This personalized MyPage provides access to a variety of internal NIH tools (the NIH Calendar of Events, the shuttle bus schedule, the CRISP database, ITAS) and external tools (local weather forecasts).
The portal will eventually add an extensive range of NIH systems and information, including
Choosing "Modules"
Choosing modules to create your own personalized interface to the portal is easy. Click on "Choose Modules" in the upper left-hand corner of your "MyPage" to choose the modules you want on your personalized page. You are allowed to add to your personalized MyPage any module to which you have access privileges. By clicking on a category, you can select the modules you want.
Once you have finished all your selections and clicked on "Finished," the system builds your personalized portal very quickly, and you can begin using it. Changing placement of modules is very easy—buttons are provided for changing placement and size, or removing the module.
Community Interest Pages
The portal also contains a variety of "community pages" to which a user can subscribe. A portal "community page" provides information for a specific NIH interest, and can serve as a site for a project team, an NIH Office, or for users of a common professional interest. A prominent link, "Communities,"’ allows you to join communities already created.
The leader of the community page builds the tools and information important to that community—using the same modules used in the MyPage. The following examples of community pages illustrate how different NIH communities of interest can consolidate key tools and information and collaborate on key issues and topics.
Example—Intramural Research Portal Community Page
Example—508 Web Group Community Page
| Interface Online 219 [ June 25, 2001 ] | Index | Next |
