Research Priorities 



Advance program planning, for both the near 

 and far term, is one of the more important func- 

 tions in the management of research. This func- 

 tion extends to the method of setting priorities, 

 i.e., whether categories of research are permitted 

 to have the same priority or whether each catego- 

 ry has its own discrete priority. Questions about 

 research priorities are difficult and become in- 

 creasingly difficult as the time span the planning 

 covers increases. The report Research in the 

 Service of Mental Health, submitted by the 

 Research Task Force of NIMH after two years of 

 study, aptly concluded that "it would be unwise 

 to attempt to set specific priorities — to say, for 

 example, that research on one type of mental ill- 

 ness has a higher priority than research on anoth- 

 er type. Setting priorities of these kinds could be 

 detrimental to the research program, because, 

 once established, they become self-perpetuating. 

 NIMH should handle the problem of priorities by 

 flexible and continuous review of planning." 

 ADAMHA expects to support research broadly 

 within the areas defined by its member Institutes, 

 but the specific subareas must depend upon new 

 advances and developments, and the agency must 

 retain the flexibility to restructure its priorities as 

 necessary to pursue promising research of poten- 

 tial relevance to the mission. Without that flexibil- 

 ity, vital or promising research areas may suffer 

 because of insuflficient attention and support. 

 ADAMHA's research effort is broadly based and 

 includes both basic and applied studies. Within 

 each of the three Institutes every effort is made to 

 maintain balanced programs. With this approach it 

 is not a question of what areas are not supported 

 but one of relative balance. One of the determi- 

 nants of the balance is the state of the art in any 

 given field. Added impetus in one field necessarily 

 results in reducing the effort in other areas. The 

 availability of supplemental or contingency re- 

 sources to maximize the return from promising 

 research areas without detracting from other pro- 

 grams would be helpful. 



Organization and Management of 

 Scientific Activities 



Each of the three ADAMHA Institutes supports 

 basic research in both the intramural and extra- 

 mural programs. The extramural programs of the 

 Institutes are implemented largely through grant 

 support, and procedures for review and manage- 

 ment are equivalent. 



The majority of basic research is within the 

 grants programs and thus is investigator-initiated. 



94 HEALTH. EDUCATION AND WELFARE 



Grant applications are assigned to an Initial Re- 

 view Group (IRG, peer review). The peer review 

 process subjects each new proposal and compet- 

 ing renewal request for research support to a 

 group evaluative judgment as to its scientific and 

 technical merit. The projects finally recommended 

 for approval are those that demonstrated the high- 

 est level of scientific merit. Each Institute also 

 has an Advisory Council which, in turn, reviews 

 the recommendations of the IRG's and makes its 

 own recommendations. All grant applications 

 undergo this dual review process. Only applica- 

 tions that have been recommended for approval 

 by both groups may be considered for funding. 

 Institute staffs make the funding decision on the 

 basis of the priority scores assigned to the appli- 

 cations by the review groups. 



Within the intramural research environment, 

 most research is also investigator-initiated. Major 

 program influences on the course of the research 

 are: (1) The establishment of laboratories and sec- 

 tions in specific disciplines or problem areas; (2) 

 the appointment of scientists of known ability to 

 head laboratories and sections; (3) the hiring of 

 individual scientists with high competence and 

 known interests; and (4) the flexible assignment of 

 space, staff, and funds for research. Prior to un- 

 dertaking the research, the individual scientist 

 discusses the research plan with his colleagues 

 and laboratory chief. Once underway, the re- 

 search, at several additional stages, is discussed 

 and reviewed at the laboratory level and in re- 

 search conferences with the division and program 

 directors. 



Each Institute has its own management me- 

 chanisms which regularly assess the research pro- 

 grams and review progress toward the stated 

 goals. Factors that are taken into account in the 

 review include: (1) Compliance with legislative 

 mandates; (2) state-of-the-art and technical ad- 

 vances; and (3) status of the research grant and 

 contract activities. 



These reviews permit the Institutes to monitor 

 progress in meeting the mission goals and in iden- 

 tifying areas where additional basic research sup- 

 port appears necessary. Conferences are some- 

 times convened to stimulate or advance work in 

 particular areas. Resources are then allocated on 

 the basis of: 



• Current commitments to on-going projects 



• Readiness of the various scientific fields for 

 rapid advances 



• Overall program balance. 



Basic research has played and continues to play 

 a salient role in ADAMHA's research programs. 

 However, in recent years, particularly in NIMH, 

 there has been a relative shift toward clinical or 

 applied studies. 



