NIH plans to be more nimble and innovative

To realize the promise of new biomedical technologies and meet new challenges to human health, the US National Institutes of Health will seek to create a more nimble, innovative, and efficient organization, says a five year plan released by the agency on 16 December and mandated by Congress.1

The director of the NIH, Francis S Collins, said that the plan “will guide our efforts to turn scientific discoveries into better health, while upholding our responsibility to be wise stewards of the resources provided by the American people.”

With a budget of $30bn (£20m; €28m), the NIH is the largest source of biomedical research funding in the world, supporting the work of more than 300 000 researchers in the United States and abroad. However, for more than a decade the NIH’s funding has …