NICHD Strategic Plan 2025

Colorful spheres interspersed with photos of, from the upper left corner to the lower right corner: a physical therapist working with a patient on parallel bars; a smiling boy holding a bowl and spoon; a smiling woman holding a baby as a smiling man looks on in the background; a micrograph of a mouse fibroblast cell showing DNA, mitochondria, and cellular skeleton and a researcher in a lab coat working with samples and lab equipment. The text is of NICHD’s tagline: Healthy pregnancies. Healthy children. Healthy and optimal lives.In 2020, NICHD proudly released its first strategic plan in decades. NICHD Strategic Plan 2020 was the culmination of a lengthy review of institute science, analyses of research impacts, and identification of new research directions in collaboration with staff, external stakeholders, advocacy and support groups, and the public.

We are once again working through the process to update the NICHD Strategic Plan for 2025 through 2029. Five working groups, comprising more than 50 of our extramural and intramural staff, updated the scientific research goals and refreshed the objectives based on current science and suggestions from listening sessions with dozens of external experts.

NICHD recently released NOT-HD-24-084: Request for Information (RFI) on the NICHD Strategic Plan 2025 to solicit feedback on the scientific goals and opportunities under consideration for the refreshed plan. The deadline for feedback is September 27, 2024.

We invite researchers in academia and industry, health care professionals, patient and family advocates, scientific or professional organizations, federal partners, internal NIH stakeholders, and other interested members of the public to provide comments. We anticipate publishing the updated plan by early 2025, with fully refreshed content.

Please check this page frequently for updates on the process. Thank you to those who have provided input and dedicated time to the refresh effort.

Feedback? Inquiries?

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