COSWD Issues RFI to Develop DEIA Prize

NIH’s chief officer for scientific workforce diversity (COSWD) is currently seeking suggestions on the development of a prize competition to reward and promote inclusive excellence. The outreach is an outcome of UNITE, which was established to address structural racism within the NIH-supported and the greater scientific community.

The potential prize would recognize institutions of higher education that have implemented successful, innovative interventions for enhancing faculty and student diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). These elements are essential to ensure equity and eliminate structural barriers to success among students and faculty in biomedical research.

Initiating such a prize is part of COSWD’s commitment to increasing and sustaining biomedical research workforce diversity through institutional culture change.

The primary goal in establishing a competition is to reward transformative interventions developed by institutions to create research environments that promote and value DEIA. A secondary objective is to highlight evidence-based best practices proven to create more inclusive environments for students and faculty.

Recently, COSWD issued a request for information (RFI) seeking comments it may use to inform the potential prize competition. The COSWD team would like to hear from stakeholders throughout the scientific research community, DEIA experts, researchers and interested members of the public.

COSWD particularly wants input on the following:

• Competition structure
• Strategies for sharing information about the competition
• Judging criteria
• Amount of time needed to develop a prize submission
• Ways to disseminate approaches that promote inclusive excellence
• Reasons for and potential barriers to participating in the competition

To learn more, visit https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-109.html. All responses must be received by Thursday, July 28.

The COSWD team encourages everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to share thoughts on how NIH might recognize institutions that advance DEIA and create systemic change. 

Send inquiries to: COSWDPrizeCompetition@nih.gov.