Why Our Work Matters

Our promise

Overview

The Foundation for the NIH is a not-for-profit organization that supports the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by accelerating biomedical discoveries that improve the quality of people’s lives.

We do this by forging strategic alliances that:

  • Leverage the scientific and technical ingenuity of researchers across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors;
  • Coordinate and focus scientific efforts strategically to maximize their impact;
  • Marshal resources – including scientific creativity, technical expertise, money and political will – to build a better future, together.

why Our Work Matters

Support the Mission of the NIH

The FNIH was chartered by Congress in 1990 to facilitate groundbreaking research at the NIH, the world’s top biomedical research agency. Working with the 27 NIH Institutes and Centers, the FNIH catalyzes innovation and discovery by creating and implementing collaborations and programs to answer the toughest scientific questions. Speeding development of new diagnostics, therapies and even cures.

The FNIH aligns organizations, even competing ones, around one common cause to achieve results that no one entity can achieve alone. Over more than two decades, it has created hundreds of cross-discipline collaborations generating new ideas, overcoming obstacles and achieving groundbreaking biomedical research results.

Uniquely positioned to convene the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration and a wide range of private-sector experts, the FNIH works closely with the federal government, industry, foundations, not-for-profit organizations and individual donors.

FNIH alliances have strong checks and balances to ensure the integrity of its programs, maximize contributions from all sides and manage conflicts of interest.

  • Donors to the FNIH can designate their gifts for a chosen area of research or program area, or to provide support where it is needed most.
  • NIH Institutes and Centers can suggest potential collaborations and request FNIH support through the NIH Office of the Director’s Office of Science Policy.

For NIH Staff

How NIH can request support from the FNIH
NIH staff and contractors who would like to request the FNIH’s assistance in securing resources or managing a program or special event should contact the NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP) within the Office of the Director, NIH, which serves as a central clearinghouse for engaging the FNIH. The Office of the Director’s NIH-FNIH Steering Committee reviews all such requests on behalf of the NIH and those that receive the Committee’s approval are forwarded to the FNIH. The FNIH then undertakes a due diligence process including an assessment of the project’s interest to potential donors. The FNIH’s Board of Directors through its Portfolio Oversight Committee is ultimately responsible for authorizing new NIH-FNIH collaborations.

To begin the process, NIH staff should contact Dr. Tyrone Spady, Director, Science Policy Coordination, Collaboration, and Reporting Division. For events, please review the NIH Food Policy for NIH-FNIH Partnerships before submitting an inquiry.

Learn More About the FNIH here

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