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The Common Fund is intended to be a flexible resource for NIH to make strategic investments in programs that will have high impact NIH-wide. Strategic planning is undertaken regularly to identify research areas that address key roadblocks in biomedical research or that represent emerging scientific opportunities ripe for Common Fund investments.
Idea Gathering Phase
Strategic planning first involves the identification of NIH-wide challenges and opportunities that address established Common Fund criteria . In the Idea Gathering Phase, broad scientific areas of high priority for the NIH as a whole are identified. Input from the public is solicited and reviewed by scientific staff within the Office of Strategic Coordination (OSC). This public input is shared with NIH Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) Directors. ICO Directors leverage the public input, scientific expertise within their ICO, and/or interactions with the broader scientific community to develop idea proposals for potential new Common Fund programs. These idea proposals are collectively prioritized, discussed, and voted on by ICO Directors. The OSC, DPCPSI, and NIH Directors, informed by input from the ICO Directors, make the final decisions on new Common Fund programs.
In fiscal year 2024, the Common Fund launched the Venture Program . Venture is a new area of Common Fund support that provides a framework for development of short-term initiatives that embrace scientific risk. Because Venture initiatives are intended to be modest, nimble investments, the planning process for Venture ideas is shorter, and a Venture Board consisting of five ICO Directors provides input to inform the final selection of initiatives. For more information on Venture, please visit the Venture Program website .
Strategy Development Phase
After selection of a small number of high-priority ideas, the Strategy Development Phase of planning aims to refine these broad ideas to identify specific program goals and define the activities and initiatives needed to achieve these goals. This refinement process may include analyses of the NIH, national, and international research portfolios; workshops and meetings with scientific experts in the field; and input from scientific leaders across the NIH. This work is carried out by a multi-ICO Working Group that includes scientific staff from across NIH. Once the specific program goals and activities have been defined, the Working Group develops a program proposal for consideration by ICO, OSC, DPCPSI, and NIH Directors. After incorporating their input, the proposal is presented to the Council of Councils for DPCPSI, which acts as an external advisory panel to the DPCPSI and NIH Directors for consideration of potential new Common Fund programs. Once approved by the Council of Councils, new programs are officially launched.
Venture initiatives undergo a similar Strategy Development process. However, in alignment with the intention of Venture to support modest, nimble investments, the Venture Strategy Development process is generally shorter and more lightweight, involving a more targeted group of scientific experts from the ICOs.
Reports
Prior to the passage of the 21 st Century Cures Act , the Public Health Service Act required a biennial strategic plan report for the Common Fund. With the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, the Common Fund Strategic Plan Report is now included within the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan.
For Common Fund Strategic Plan Reports included within the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan, please visit the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan website .
Previous Biennial Common Fund Strategic Plan Reports:
New Program Planning Updates
2024-2025 Planning Activities (NEW!)
Common Fund program planning
In the spring and summer of 2024, the Common Fund gathered broad input about potentially new Common Fund programs, Venture initiatives, scientific workshops, or other activities through a Request for Information , or “RFI.” Input gathered from this RFI will be shared with Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) Directors in fall 2024, with a request for ICO Directors to develop ideas for potential new Common Fund programs. ICO Directors will discuss prioritized idea proposals in January 2025, with a decision about potential new Common Fund programs expected shortly thereafter.
Venture initiative planning
Leveraging input from the 2023 public RFI (NOT-RM-23-013: NIH Common Fund is Soliciting Ideas for NIH-wide Challenges and Opportunities) , ICO Directors submitted idea proposals for potential new Venture initiatives in early May 2024. These proposals were reviewed by the Venture Board. In July, two proposals were approved by the NIH Director.
Newborn Screening by Whole-Genome Sequencing (NBS X WGS Collaboratory) Demonstration Project – the aim of this initiative is to demonstrate the feasibility of a whole genome sequencing approach for newborn genetic screening, using a collaborative model for NBS X WGS across multiple states.
Advancing Non-Invasive Optical Approaches for Biological Systems - the aim of this initiative is to enable the development of optical systems that can noninvasively engage target regions within intact, live tissues, at temporal and spatial resolution that matches current state-of-the-art invasive approaches used in medicine and research.
Planning for these initiatives is ongoing, and the scope and focus of these developing initiatives are subject to change.
2023-2024 Planning Activities
Common Fund program planning
In 2023, the Common Fund solicited ideas for potential new Common Fund programs, initiatives, scientific workshops, or other activities through a public Request for Information ( NOT-RM-23-013: NIH Common Fund is Soliciting Ideas for NIH-wide Challenges and Opportunities ). Public input was shared with the NIH Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) Directors, who were invited develop program ideas for further consideration. Ideas gathered through these activities were prioritized and discussed at a Common Fund retreat with ICO Directors in January 2024.
Informed by input from ICO Directors, the NIH Director selected one idea for further development. This idea, Precision Medicine with AI: Integrating Imaging with AI (PRIMED-AI) , aims to drive integration of biomedical imaging data with other multi-modal data types, enabling cost-effective, accessible precision medicine for a variety of diseases and conditions. Planning activities for PRIMED-AI are currently underway, and the scope and focus of this developing program are subject to change.
Venture initiative planning
This round of planning also included identification and selection of the first set of Venture Program initiatives. ICO Directors developed ideas for potential Venture initiatives in fall 2023, which were reviewed by the Venture Board in late 2023. The Board recommended two initiatives for support, which the NIH Director approved. These Venture initiatives are Oculomics and SysBio .
2022-2023 Planning Activities
Common Fund program planning
In 2022, the Common Fund solicited ideas for potential new Common Fund programs, initiatives, scientific workshops, or other activities through a public Request for Information ( NOT-RM-22-016: Request for Information - Soliciting ideas for new Common Fund programs <). Public input was shared with the NIH Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) Directors, who were invited develop program ideas for further consideration. Ideas gathered through these activities were prioritized and discussed at a Common Fund retreat with ICO Directors in March 2023. Informed by input from ICO Directors, the NIH Director selected one idea for further development. Further planning activities resulted in the approval of the Complement Animal Research In Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) program.
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