Assessment of NIH Minority Research and Training Programs Phase 3 (2005) / Chapter Skim
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6 Perspectives of NIH Program Administrators
6 Perspectives of NIH Program Administrators
Pages 135-150
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This chapter offers a perspective on the views and practices of 22 program administrators across the NIH institutes and centers (PAICs) , in response to their training responsibilities, including training of underrepresented minorities.
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From page 136... ...
Thus, it appears there is no uniform utilization of minority training programs or training program management policies across the ICs. The inclusion of minority-targeted programs, minority status of participants, career stages served, or whether the program is awarded to an individual or an institution varies considerably across the ICs.
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reliable methods of outcome monitoring. Recruitment Strategies In general, program administrators expressed one of two views about the adequacy of trainee recruitment to the programs: a modest majority was content with current trainee recruitment strategies, whereas a substantial minority was less so.
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. " In another perspective on outreach, it has been noted that the Bridges programs seem to draw more Native Americans than does any other program "because there aren't any other programs that reach out to community colleges specifically." Recruiting programs intended for minority junior faculty appeared to have some unique issues.
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From page 139... ...
For example, some program administrators believed that their nontargeted programs are exclusive to nonminority applicants: "In fact, minorities can't apply for any of our grants." As a separate issue, several respondents suggested that minority recruitment requirements be tied more closely to funding of training grants "when someone comes up
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From page 140... ...
A second perspective offered by a large number of program administrators was that many more of the applicants from underrepresented communities could succeed in obtaining support for their training if they were given some technical assistance in grant proposal preparation. A third perspective is that NIH itself should make the necessary adjustments to reduce barriers to science participation among members of underrepresented groups.
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. I'm interested in research training." Some respondents commented that the criteria for minority training grants may include too many barriers for even the most qualified minority institutions.
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And the other is if our mechanisms were managed and these clusters of grants were streamlined considerably. I think our grant management practices for these grants are very cumbersome." When talking about outreach barriers to minority trainees, some respondents raised the issue of communication challenges.
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For example, one institute "introduced [minority support] at the dissertation stage because we believe that underrepresented minority students had a particular .
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populations." This quote was from an individual managing only nontargeted mechanisms. Individuals managing a minority project also strongly supported the idea of programs targeting underrepresented minorities to get them into science: "to integrate these folks into the mainstream.
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. would be coming in for the F31 on a faster review cycle." A number of NIH program administrators mentioned moving away from targeted programs: "We did not see an advantage to the targeted approach in the case of predoctoral fellows as opposed to the generic approach .
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"If an institution is a small institution -- private, public, you know, mostly a teaching institution with very few grants, they don't have these sophisticated means to know everything about the grant so that they need a lot of help and they call us." The staff member went on to say that extensive technical assistance is part of the support needed to foster more targeted minorities' participation in these programs. Reliable Methods of Outcomes Monitoring The greatest agreement among the NIH program administrators was the nearuniversal concern about the lack of consistent and reliable tracking information on the subsequent careers of individuals whose training was supported by NIH.
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. We are thinking of doing that as soon as we get some free time because there is evaluation money and this is something that has to be done." Alternatively, it is not seen as the respondent's job: "This evaluation stuff is just not my area." Monitoring success in targeted programs is greatly hampered by the lack of data on race or ethnicity.
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There seems to be a strong opinion among a large number of NIH program administrators that NIH should do more to recruit and retain underrepresented minorities in science. Although, a slight majority of respondents view current NIH recruitment efforts (postings on the web, announcements in professional journals, and speaking engagements at professional meetings)
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The NIH program administrators indicated a need for more mentor training as a way to improve outcomes. Another approach to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in science requires that the NIH community review its own policies and procedures.
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