Charge to the NINDS Advisory Panel for Basic Research

Background on NINDS Strategic Planning

In 1999, the first NINDS strategic plan, "Neuroscience in the New Millennium" set scientific goals across the breadth of the NINDS mission. Building on this foundation, NINDS launched a new strategic planning effort in early 2007 that will combine forward-thinking "blue sky" goals with focused, practical strategies to pursue the NINDS mission more effectively. The challenge for the NINDS is to balance basic, clinical, translational, and disease-related research; seize immediate opportunities while nurturing the long-term advancement of neuroscience; and encourage research in opportune areas while also allowing for unexpected discoveries.

The NINDS has begun to develop blue sky goals and grand challenges in basic and clinical neuroscience for the next fifteen years based on input from invited scientists, NINDS staff, and the public. The Institute will also explore how best to focus and prioritize its basic, clinical, translational, and disease-focused research activities through four modules focusing on each of these themes. Internal working groups of NINDS staff and external advisory panels are being assembled for each of these four modules. The advisory panels will be apprised of current NINDS activities and will help the Institute set priorities for the next five to ten years. The NINDS will integrate the blue sky goals with the recommendations of the four panels and release a report in early 2009.

Purpose of the Advisory Panel for Basic Research

The Advisory Panel for Basic Research will review current NINDS investments in basic research and offer recommendations for setting priorities and pursuing strategies to maximize opportunities in support of the Institute's mission. Some of the broad topics the panel should consider are:

• the balance of basic research in different areas of neuroscience
• specific roles for NINDS funding within the context of other NIH neuroscience institutes.
• recommendations for optimizing support for basic research, including funding mechanisms, review policies, training, and shared resources

In conjunction with the corresponding internal NINDS working group, the panel will develop specific sets of questions regarding current NINDS activities and priorities, and will determine the data to be collected for addressing these questions. The Panel should think creatively and broadly but also pragmatically, considering ways that NINDS can best leverage available resources.

Advisory Panel Composition

The Advisory Panel will consist of ~12-15 members from the research community, NINDS advisory council and other NIH Institutes or Centers.

Advisory Panel Activities

• The Advisory Panel for Basic Research will work closely with NINDS program and policy staff members to identify data or other background materials that will help the Panel formulate its final recommendations to the Institute. The NINDS staff will serve as the Panel's liaisons to the Institute, providing data and any other support requested by the Panel.
• Panel discussions will occur via conference calls and one or two meetings in the Washington, D.C. area.
• The final product of the Panel activities will be a summary report and set of recommendations, to be delivered to the NINDS in January of 2009. The primary audience for this report will be the NINDS leadership, although the report will be made public. NINDS planning and communications staff will prepare a separate report for the general public that integrates the conclusions of the Advisory Panel for Basic Research with those from three other strategic planning advisory panels.

Review all NINDS Strategic Planning Modules