On March 1, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a request for information (RFI) asking stakeholders to provide recommendations to “advance and strengthen racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in the biomedical research workforce and advance health disparities and health equity research.” To help guide APA’s response to this RFI, Advocacy and Science staff solicited input from APA’s various boards, divisions, and affiliated organizations. Based on this feedback, APA submitted a comprehensive response on April 7, which offers numerous recommendations on how to leverage psychological science to diversify the research workforce and support the careers of researchers from Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and other underrepresented communities.
APA also partnered with multiple organizations on this RFI response to amplify the voices of other psychology organizations. One such organization was the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), the recipient of a grant that initiated this activity surrounding the lack of diversity in NIH researchers. Following the submission of this RFI response, APA staff sent a message thanking SRCD and the various APA-affiliated organizations that provided input, including the Board of Scientific Affairs and Divs. 8, 15, 28, 35, 37, 38, 45, and 48.
For more information, contact Andrew Strickland, JD.