Without reliable data on all the staff associated with NIH research projects, it is difficult to assess the balance between the number of students and postdocs and the number of fully trained, faculty-level scientific positions in this country.
The NIH maintains a comprehensive data collection on Principal Investigators (PI’s) associated with funded research projects and on students and postdocs supported by the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs. This information permits the NIH to conduct comprehensive career outcome studies on NRSA recipients and analyses on PI’s and New Investigators (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/resources.htm).
In contrast, little information is collected on other project staff associated with NIH-funded research grants. The NIH Reform Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-482) requires the NIH to collect identifying and demographic information and report on postdocs who serve as research assistants or associates on research grants. The data will allow an analysis of career outcomes similar to those conducted for NRSA recipients.
Such information can be used to make informed decisions about the appropriate size of NIH training programs, and will permit a better match between the type of training provided and expected career outcomes. All in all, the information will offer a richer understanding of the training necessary and disciplinary composition of the research workforce.
The advent of electronic research administration makes such enhanced data collections possible. Over the next year the NIH plans to require postdocs to register in the eRA Commons which will serve as a repository of personal, career and bibliometric information that can be associated with NIH support.
The NIH will modify the Senior/Key Personnel Report to include all personnel associated with the project for a month or more. Although many grantees provide information on all project-related personnel, the revised form will clarify, simplify, and improve this data collection, and, coupled with the Commons accounts for postdocs, create a reliable linkage of postdocs to research projects.
The more complete data collection will enhance our understanding of the enterprise and allow the NIH to better accommodate the evolving needs of the research community. Additional details will be forthcoming and an opportunity to comment on NIH plans will be provided.
0 Comments