The engagement of biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social scientists, as well as trainees, from diverse backgrounds is critical to the advancement of the scientific enterprise. The National Institutes of Health?s Diversity Program Consortium (DPC) was established in 2014 to advance knowledge regarding how to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce through the development, implementation, assessment, and dissemination of innovative and sustainable approaches to student engagement, training and mentoring, faculty development, and institutional research training infrastructure. The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) has been a major component of the DPC since its inception. In phase 2, an NRMN Coordination Center will be established to provide administration, data, and communication support to the NRMN Resource Center and a consortium of independent research projects focused on the science of mentorship, professional development, and networking by fostering a nimble yet efficient organizational structure that advances the research agenda of the DPC. Specifically, the NRMN Coordination Center will (a) build and oversee the NRMN Administrative Team, the NRMN organization, and its communities of inclusive practice utilizing organizational best practice approaches, (b) create the infrastructure to support substantial coordination, collection, storage, tracking, and reporting of all NRMN data, utilizing streamlined and functional approaches, and (c) implement evidence-based, responsive communication strategies that will effectively and efficiently build communities of inclusive practice, foster synergy and research innovations, and disseminate NRMN?s key findings. These activities will contribute to catalyzing and supporting synergistic interactions among the NRMN investigators, the DPC?s Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC) team, and the wider national community of researchers and practitioners working to diversify the biomedical research workforce. Importantly, the NRMN Coordination Center will be flexible and responsive to the needs and feedback of diverse communities of practice, including the NIH and the public, while providing clear structure and processes for cultivating creativity, synergy, and sustainability.
Using best practices in organizational design, the NRMN Coordination Center will catalyze and support synergistic interactions among the NRMN Resource Center and multiple research projects focused on the science of mentorship, professional development, and networking. The administration, data, and communications activities will advance communities of practice that aim to broaden participation in the biomedical research workforce.
