As we have discussed frequently over the past couple of years (see related statements), if there are concerns that sexual harassment is affecting an NIH-funded project, we want to know about it.
At the NIH Advisory Council to the Director (ACD) meeting on June 12 (see video for presentation, starting at 1hr 37sec), we mentioned that we would be posting our process for handling notifications of sexual harassment at the institutions we fund. Publishing these standard operating procedures aligns with our commitment to transparency. It is also one of the recommendations of the ACD Working Group on Changing the Culture to End Sexual Harassment. We have added a page on our Anti-Sexual Harassment: for NIH Awardee Organizations and Those Who Work There website that highlights the detailed steps NIH takes when we receive notification of a concern.
You will note that the flowcharts illustrate that NIH takes same rigorous approach to addressing allegations involving sexual harassment as we do other integrity issues.
We look forward to implementing additional ACD recommendations soon.
This blog was co-authored by Dr. Mike Lauer, the NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research (OER). Dr. Lauer writes about NIH research funding policies and data at his blog, Open Mike.
Posted by Dr. Carrie D. Wolinetz, June 24, 2020
