NIGMS Procedures for the Implementation of the NIH Requirement for the Recruitment of Underrepresented Minority Individuals into NRSA Research Training Grants

In its implementation of this requirement, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will continue to follow the three NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts notices (March 28, 1986; June 9, 1989; and July 16, 1993) that describe the background and details of this policy. The following groups have been identified as underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research nationally: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders.

The NIGMS review committees, the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council (NAGMSC), and NIGMS staff all have crucial roles to play in the implementation process. The review committees will continue to examine the minority recruitment plans, efforts, and outcomes for each application. Their findings and evaluative recommendations will be summarized and explained in a note in the summary statement prepared by the scientific review administrator. The NAGMSC will continue to examine minority recruitment as part of its review of research training grant applications and overview of NIH policy. In some cases, the NAGMSC may wish to single out applications for individual attention and/or formal action. Following each NAGMSC meeting, the NIGMS staff Committee on Minority Recruitment will examine each applicant's compliance with this requirement--considering the reviewers' recommendations, NAGMSC advice and actions, and review and program staff advice--and then recommend final action to the NIGMS Director. The NAGMSC Working Group on Minority Recruitment is expected to meet once a year to review the Institute's implementation of this requirement.

As outlined in the 1993 NIH Guide notice, applications for National Research Service Award (NRSA) training support are required to explain plans and efforts by each program to recruit underrepresented minority students into research training grants, and now also to delineate outcomes and successes in the recruitment, retention, and graduation of such individuals. General efforts by an applicant to increase the pool of underrepresented minority students preparing for science fields are obviously laudable and can be considered as part of the overall training program effort. The focus of the requirement is on the plans and successes of training grants in the recruitment and graduation of predoctoral/postdoctoral individuals from underrepresented minority groups. Program size, location, and level (predoctoral or postdoctoral), as well as other factors, should be taken into consideration by the reviewers, NAGMSC, and NIGMS staff in making decisions about each applicant's plans and achievements. However, all applicants are expected to demonstrate commitment and proactive recruitment efforts.

For competing renewals, the reviewers are asked to conduct a careful examination of the success of the research training program in carrying out the plans proposed in the previous competing application. For this purpose, data on students that have been formally appointed to the training grant will be considered first and foremost. However, if the institution chooses to provide data on students clearly associated with the program but supported from other sources, that information will also be considered. For consideration of the overall student pool, data on all students associated with the program, both minority and non-minority students, will be analyzed. Students will be considered to be associated with the program if their training experiences and opportunities are the same as those of students supported by the training grant. Applicants must provide evidence that this is the case. In the absence of strong justification, it will be considered unreasonable, particularly for large programs, to find that all the minority students have been supported by other mechanisms and essentially only non-underrepresented minority students have actually been appointed to the training grant.

If previous efforts have not resulted in successful recruitment, added scrutiny will be given to such aspects as faculty involvement, outreach, the number of offers made, and other factors affecting recruitment. Of critical importance in such cases are the changes proposed by the program for its minority recruitment plans for the next grant award period. For new applications, examination of this requirement should focus on the success of participating graduate departments and/or research training programs in the recruitment and graduation of underrepresented minority individuals, as well as the program's plans for meeting this requirement in the initial funding period proposed by the applicant.

The NIH guidelines specify two descriptors (acceptable and unacceptable) for classifying an applicant's compliance with the minority recruitment requirement. The reviewers will be asked to continue to use these two official descriptors, but will be encouraged to discuss in some detail both the positive and negative attributes of each applicant's minority recruitment efforts. The NIGMS staff committee, with advice from the NAGMSC, will use an expanded list of descriptors. This latter list is: commendable, satisfactory, marginally acceptable, and unacceptable. These additional descriptors will facilitate the Institute's consideration of specific action in the implementation of this requirement. Thus, minority recruitment plans/efforts will be placed in one of four categories, and for each of these, a variety of administrative actions can be considered:

• Commendable -- Research training programs in this category are especially successful and/or innovative in their plans, efforts, and achievements. As an incentive for commendable programs, if funds are available, one or more trainee slots may be added to an award, up to the full Council-recommended level of support.

• Satisfactory -- Programs with good plans, efforts, and reasonable successes are considered as fully meeting this requirement.

• Marginally Acceptable -- Programs receiving this designation have met the requirement, but may still have weaknesses. Examples might include minority recruitment plans with specific faults or omissions, or those that have resulted in limited past success in the recruitment of minority students and/or concerns about the plans for improvement. Although research training grant applications in this category are eligible for funding, they all will receive letters from the Institute staff informing them that their minority recruitment effort needs improvement. In addition, funded grants in this category will receive special scrutiny by program staff at the time of the noncompeting renewal to ascertain that appropriate steps are being taken to improve performance in this area. Specific funding action will be considered by the Institute for applications in this category with the most serious concerns. For example, the award could be made with a reduction in trainee slots, and/or with a reduction in time, probably to 3 years. Such an action would serve as a strong warning to the program and permit an early review of the program's new efforts to meet this requirement.

• Unacceptable -- Applications with this designation would be determined as not meeting the expectations of NIH and the Institute in fulfilling this requirement. Such applications have poor plans and efforts, a lack of commitment, and/or poor prospects for future successes. Funding of new applications in this category will be withheld until an improved minority recruitment plan is approved, and, for competing renewal applications, until an improved minority recruitment plan adequately addresses the deficiencies of the plan and efforts from the previous period and offers strong prospects for success in the next funding period. In some cases, the NAGMSC and/or NIGMS staff could recommend specific action(s) to be taken by the training program, university, or institution prior to funding. In yet other cases, the training program may be required to submit an amended application for review.