Phases of Process

The diagnostic phase involved an in-depth evaluation of the current NIH peer review system.  In June 2007, the NIH Director established two working groups:  

• External – The Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group (ACD WG), co-chaired by Dr. Keith Yamamoto of the University of California, San Francisco, and Dr. Lawrence Tabak, Director of the NIH National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR); and
• Internal – The Steering Committee Working Group (SC WG), co-chaired by Dr. Tabak and Dr. Jeremy Berg, Director of the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). 

The working groups solicited formal input from key stakeholders and deliberated on challenges and recommendations. The final report (PDF - 1.61 MB) of the NIH 2007-2008 Peer Review Self-Study was submitted to the NIH Director on February 29, 2008. The study identified seven major challenges and described recommendations to address these challenges:

• Challenge 1: Reducing Administrative Burden on Applicants, Reviewers, and NIH Staff
• Challenge 2: Enhancing the Rating System
• Challenge 3: Enhancing Review and Reviewer Quality
• Challenge 4: Optimizing Support for Different Career Stages and Types
• Challenge 5: Optimizing Support for Different Types and Approaches of Science
• Challenge 6: Reducing the Stress on the Support System of Science
• Challenge 7: Meeting the Need for Continuous Review of Peer Review

For more information on the plan to implement the proposed recommendation to address these challenges see the Design Implementation Plan.

Meetings Held and Input Received

February 21, 2008
Peer Review Recommendations to the full Committee of the ACD
2:00p.m. (EST) Teleconference (public)

• Agenda
• Slides (PDF - 180 KB)
• ACD discussion transcript (PDF - 109 KB)

December 7, 2007
Full Committee of the ACD – Washington, D.C.
Peer Review Report on Preliminary Findings

• ACD Meeting Agenda (PDF - 19 KB)
• ACD Meeting Slides

November 30, 2007
Summary Report of Comments
Analysis of the comments and input received from the RFI, NIH Internal Survey, all Regional meetings, professional society and advocacy group meetings, liaisons, Deans, Dr. Zerhouni’s desk-to-desk, and all email and correspondence regarding the peer review enhancement effort. Summary Report of Comments (PDF - 1.84 MB)
October 25, 2007
NIH Regional Consultation Meeting on Peer Review – San Francisco

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary (PDF - 166 KB)

October 22, 2007
Advocacy Groups Consultation Meeting

• Agenda
• Invitation to Present
• Meeting Summary

October 8, 2007
NIH Regional Consultation Meeting on Peer Review – New York City

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

September 12, 2007
NIH Regional Consultation Meeting on Peer Review – Chicago

• Agenda
• Meeting Summary

July 31, 2007
Enhancing NIH Peer Review – A Live Discussion

• Slides (PDF - 370 KB)
• Webcast video

July 30, 2007
Professional Society Consultation Meeting

• Agenda
• Invitation to Present
• Meeting Summary