A Science of Science Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise (SoS:BIO)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are interested in proposals that will propel our understanding of the biomedical research enterprise by drawing from the scientific expertise of the science of science policy research community. NSF promotes the progress of science by maintaining the general health of research and education across all fields of science and engineering. The Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate within NSF supports basic research on people and society. The SBE sciences focus on human behavior and social organizations; how social, economic, political, cultural and environmental forces affect the lives of people from birth to old age; and how people in turn shape those forces. SBE's Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact Program (SoS:DCI) supports research designed to advance the scientific basis of science and innovation policy. The NIH is the U.S. federal agency charged with supporting biomedical research in the U.S. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) within the NIH supports basic biomedical research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Both NSF and NIH believe that there are opportunities and needs for building and supporting research projects with a focus on the scientific research enterprise. The two agencies also recognize that when programmatic goals are compatible, coordinated management and funding of a research program can have a positive synergistic effect on the level and scope of research and can leverage the investments of both agencies. Therefore, NIGMS and SBE are partnering to enable collaboration in research between the SoS:DCI program and NIGMS. This partnership will result in a portfolio of high-quality research to provide scientific analysis of important aspects of the biomedical research enterprise and efforts to foster a diverse, innovative, productive and efficient scientific workforce, from which future scientific leaders will emerge. Prospective investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposals with the program officers before submission to determine project relevance to the priorities of both SBE and NIGMS. Specific questions pertaining to this solicitation can also be directed to the SBE...

All accepted applications are reviewed for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate initial review group and by a national advisory council. The goal of NIGMS funding policies is to maximize the scientific impact of investments in investigator-initiated biomedical research to drive fundamental scientific discoveries that advance understanding of human health and disease. To address this goal, the Institute strives to support a broad portfolio of research grants of high scientific and technical merit, as determined by peer review, in its mission areas. However, in deciding to fund any application, NIGMS staff also considers other factors, including (consistent with applicable law): the breadth of the Institute�s research portfolio; approaches, and investigators; the total amount of funding available to the investigator; the priority of the research area for the Institute�s mission; Early-stage investigator status; At-risk investigator status?;? and whether the PI would have more than one NIGMS funded R01 (including multi-PI R01s). Because these factors are considered, NIGMS does not have a �payline� or strict cutoff in scores that it will fund. It is important to understand that even applications with outstanding scores might not be funded if the investigator already has substantial other support. Because NIGMS prioritizes funding for meritorious investigators who otherwise would not have support over providing additional grants to already well-funded...