• Advantages of the Tenure Track
  
• NIH Intramural Research Program Tenure-Track Procedure
  
• The Tenure Decision
  
• Sample Tenure-Track Agreement
  
• Guidelines for Assuring Broad Scientific Input for New Tenure-Track Positions at NIH

Click here for information about TENURE IN THE NIH INTRAMURAL PROGRAM

• To Fellows:
  
  • Provides a period of stable support to maximize creative independence.
    
  • Facilitates recruitment of female, minority, and disabled scientists.
    
  • Creates possible fast track to tenure status through early access to independent resources.
    
  • Engenders realistic understanding of career prospects at NIH.
    
  • Improves evaluation of progress through outside reviews and provides feedback to tenure-track scientists.
    
    
• To Lab Chiefs:
  
  • Establishes a recruitment and retention mechanism for the most outstanding young scientists.
    
  • Allows better planning for future staffing of lab/branch.
    
  • Provides a means to launch into new scientific opportunity areas.
    
    
• To Scientific Directors and the NIH:
  
  • Assures fresh talent through recruitment of outside scientists and retention of the best NIH fellows.
    
  • Enhances scientific quality and stimulates creativity and collaboration.
    
  • Develops future scientific leaders for NIH or elsewhere. 

• Introduction:
  
  The primary purpose of an NIH fellowship or clinical associateship is to provide time-limited research training and development opportunities to postdoctoral scientists. It is anticipated that, upon completion of their fellowship, the vast majority of all fellows will leave NIH to pursue careers at extramural institutions. The tenure track has been created to provide an opportunity for outstanding postdoctoral scientists trained inside and outside the NIH Intramural Research Program to prove themselves as independent scientists and to compete for permanent positions as tenured independent investigators.
  
  
• Objective:
  
  The NIH tenure-track has been created to provide an unambiguous, uniform, and equitable mechanism for identifying and promoting outstanding scientists to the ranks of permanent intramural researchers. The goal of this system is to provide all necessary resources and encouragement to tenure-track scientists, thus giving them a fair opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and productivity as independent scientists.
  
  Tenure at NIH differs from tenure at an academic institution. Tenure at NIH is defined as the long-term commitment of salary, personnel, and research resources needed to conduct an independent research program within the scope of the institutes' missions, and subject to regular review by the Laboratory/Branch Chief or Scientific Director and review and approval at least every four years by the Boards of Scientific Counselors.
  
  
• Eligibility for Tenure Track:
  
  Outstanding scientists engaged in clinical or laboratory research become eligible to enter tenure-track positions after completing postdoctoral training. This experience should have been sufficiently extensive to allow thorough evaluation of an individual's potential as a tenure-track scientist.
  
  

Guidelines for Assuring Broad Scientific Input for New Tenure-Track Positions

The intent of these guidelines is to guarantee that the decision to dedicate resources to a tenure-track position is based on broad input from knowledgeable scientists within the Institute in which the appointment will be made. Because circumstances vary considerably among Institutes, Laboratories and Branches, the following guidelines are intended to provide several different possible mechanisms to be used singly or in combination to garner scientific input:

• Discussion and endorsement by the senior (tenured and tenure-track) members of a Laboratory/Branch for the establishment of a new tenure-track position.
  
  
• Discussion and endorsement by the Laboratory/Branch Chiefs of an Intramural Research Program (IRP).
  
  
• Discussion and endorsement by a standing committee broadly representative of senior scientists within an IRP, or newly constituted to consider the establishment of a specific tenure-track position. One possibility would be to use the Search Committee, which would subsequently be charged to recommend a candidate after deciding that the position should be tenure-track.
  
  
• Discussion and endorsement by the Promotion and Tenure Committee of an IRP.

The advice of the Board of Scientific Counselors may also be solicited on the creation of tenure-track positions. The criteria to be used by these groups include whether or not there is (a) programmatic or scientific need within the Institute, Laboratory or Branch for the tenure-track position, and (b) availability of resources to support the tenure-track scientist.

• Search and Selection Procedures
  
  
• The Tenure-Track Agreement:
  
  The Tenure-Track Agreement, co-signed by the Scientific Director, the Laboratory or Branch Chief, the Deputy Director for Intramural Research, and the tenure-track candidate, confirms that the specified research program of the tenure-track candidate is consistent with the long-term goals of the Institute's intramural research program. The Tenure-Track Agreement also defines the timeline and resources--including space, personnel, and budget--that will be allotted to the candidate. These resources must be sufficient to permit the candidate to become established as an independent scientist. Salary must be set at or greater than GS13-step 1 equivalent. It is the responsibility of both the Laboratory or Branch Chief and the Scientific Director to ascertain that these resources are assigned equitably and without discrimination based on a candidate's gender, race, ethnic background or physical handicaps. A copy of the tenure-track agreement is to be sent to the Deputy Director for Intramural Research for approval.
  
  
• Informing the Tenure-Track Candidate:
  
  Each tenure-track candidate will sign and receive a copy of the Tenure-Track Agreement bearing the signatures of the Scientific Director and Laboratory or Branch Chief. The candidate's tenure clock begins after he or she signs the Tenure-Track Agreement and an official personnel action converts or appoints the candidate to the position of Investigator (tenure track).
  
  
• Timetable, Stop-the-Clock and Extend-the-Clock Provisions:
  
  Tenure at the NIH can be achieved in six years (eight years for anyone doing clinical or epidemiological research), or earlier by special exception, and funding is provided for that entire period. In 2008, as part of an effort to make the IRP a more family-friendly place, an additional year was provided, with the option to opt out of the additional year. In order to give tenure-track investigators the full period, a BSC review could be scheduled to coincide with the end of the last (sixth or seventh) year, give or take a couple of months. Simultaneously or shortly thereafter, the SD or IC Promotion/Tenure Committee should arrange for 12 letters of evaluation, so that once the BSC review is completed, the IC Promotion/Tenure Committee could immediately complete its review and the case could be sent on to the Central Tenure Committee. If the BSC review and letters do not support the possibility of tenure, the candidate would be notified at once and have an additional year to look for another job. Exceptions are described below.
  
  The clock was extended to seven years (nine for clinical or epidemiological research) to allow a candidate extended family or sick leave, using leave and/or leave without pay for reasons such as childbirth, adoption, major illness, or family emergency. The tenure clock will not be stopped for accrued annual or sick leave. If a candidate should require that the clock be reset beyond seven (or nine) years, this request would require the Lab/Branch Chief's and Scientific Director's approval as well as approval in the Office of Intramural Research.
  
  At the candidate's request, and with the approval of the Laboratory or Branch Chief, the tenure clock may be adjusted to permit a candidate to work part-time to accommodate care for children or other family members. The adjustment in the tenure track will be proportionate with the reduction made in working hours and salary. Thus, for example, if a scientist arranges to hold a half-time appointment for his or her first two years as a tenure-track candidate, completing the tenure track with a full-time appointment, he or she would be evaluated for tenure 7 or 8 years after entering the tenure track but with 6 or 7 years cumulative time on the job. Adjustments in the tenure clock may not be made after-the-fact, and cannot be made to extend the candidate's time on tenure track for more than 10 years.
  
  By written agreement between the Laboratory or Branch Chief and the Scientific Director, and with the candidate's consent, an exceptional candidate may be evaluated for tenure before six years (eight years for clinical and epidemiology investigators) have elapsed. Standards for granting early tenure will be identical to those applied to other candidates.
  
  
• Evaluation of Tenure-Track Candidates:
  
  Tenure-track scientists will be evaluated continually by their Section- and Laboratory or Branch Chief and the Scientific Director. One of these individuals will meet annually with the tenure-track scientist to provide oral and written evaluation on performance. Copies of this evaluation, signed by the Laboratory/Branch Chief and the Scientific Director, shall be provided to the candidate and to the review team evaluating the candidate for tenure.
  Formal reviews will be conducted within approximately three years by the Board of Scientific Counselors or other formally constituted review team established by the Scientific Director and approved by the IC Director. The review team will recommend that the candidate be: 1) continued in the tenure track, 2) dropped from the track, or 3) considered for early evaluation for tenure. The Board of Scientific Counselors shall identify particular areas of strength and weakness and suggest steps necessary to improve a candidate's chances of securing tenure. To be continued in the tenure track, a candidate must demonstrate continued research progress consistent with the programmatic and research goals defined in the Tenure-Track Agreement. The pace of this progress should be sufficient such that, if continued, the candidate would achieve considerable standing as an independent scientist in the research community after six years (eight years for clinical investigator).
  
  If a candidate is not continued in the tenure track, or is denied tenure, he or she should be notified in writing and will be permitted at least one terminal year.