The National Advisory Council for Nursing Research (NACNR) consists of six ex officio members (or their designees): the Secretary, Health and Human Services; the Director, NIH; the Director, NINR; the Chief Nursing Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; the Director of the Division of Nursing of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and 15 members appointed by the Secretary. Two-thirds of the members appointed by the Secretary are from among the leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines (including public health and the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to the activities of the NINR. At least seven of these members are professional nurses who are recognized experts in the area of clinical practice, education or research. One-third of the members are appointed, by the Secretary, from the general public and include leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics and management.

The Council provides the second level of review of grant applications, and recommends to the Institute Director which applications should be approved and considered for funding. These recommendations are based not only on considerations of scientific merit, as judged by the IRGs, but also on the relevance of the proposed project to the Institute's programs and priorities. Funding decisions are made by the Institute Director, who may not legally delegate this decision-making responsibility to the NACNR Council or to any other outside advisory group. However, the Director may follow the Council's recommendations in making funding decisions. Issues such as budget status and program balance may alter Council recommendations.

In addition, the Council reviews the Institute's extramural programs and also makes recommendations about its intramural research activities.

Recent and Upcoming Council Meetings