NIH conference grant (R13/U13) application amended to require that applicants describe plans to identify resources for child care and other types of family care at the conference site

The January 4, 2010 reissue of the NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings program announcement (Parent R13/U13) includes a new requirement to describe family care resources present at a conference site so that attendees with family care responsibilities can make arrangements for family care in order to attend the conference. In addition, the review criteria have been amended to specifically consider the plans during peer review. The announcement refers to a 2003 policy notice that describes guidelines for inclusion of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in NIH supported conference grants.

The new language requiring the description of family care arrangements appears in Section IV.6 of the announcement, in the third paragraph under the heading “PHS398 Research Plan Component Sections” (new language in italics):

“Describe plans for the appropriate involvement of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in the planning and implementation of, and participation in, the proposed conference/meeting. Describe plans to identify resources for child care and other types of family care at the conference site to allow individuals with family care responsibilities to attend. That information should allow attendees to make arrangements for family care as needed…”

The rationale for this requirement appears two paragraphs later (new language in italics):

“A critical part of the application for NIH support of conferences/meetings is documentation of appropriate representation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science. Attendance for some individuals will be dependent on the availability of resources for family care. A broad cross section of individuals must be included in all aspects of planning, organization, and implementation of NIH-sponsored and/or supported conferences/meetings…”

In Section V of the announcement, the description of the family care plans is listed as specific review criterion:

Provision of Family Care Facilities. Are the plans to inform attendees about family care resources adequate?

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