Promoting equity in health research is essential to NIH’s mission. All NIH funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) and Notices of Award (NoAs) issued on or after December 23, 2022, include updated language on non-discrimination legal requirements for grant and cooperative agreement recipients.
Find the specific language and full policy details in the NIH Guide notice “Updates to the Non-Discrimination Legal Requirements for NIH Recipients” and the associated Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assurance of Compliance Form (HHS 690). To briefly summarize:
- Award recipients must comply with applicable conscience protections and federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, and age.
- Recipients will comply with applicable laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy.
- Compliance requires taking reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to persons with limited English proficiency and providing programs that are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.
HHS offers guidance at Civil Rights Obligations for Providers of Health Care and Social Services on how to administer your program in compliance with applicable Civil Rights laws (e.g., sex discrimination and harassment, disability, religious freedom, conscience and religious nondiscrimination, and the Title VI prohibition against national origin discrimination affecting limited English proficient persons).
To learn more about NIH’s commitment, refer to Supporting a Safe and Respectful Workplace at Institutions that Receive NIH Funding, which includes contacts for questions or concerns and NIH expectations for institutions and individuals supported by NIH award funds.
Direct any inquiries about the non-discrimination policy to NIH at grantspolicy@nih.gov.