As the only Federal agency with a mandate to conduct and fund occupational safety and health research, NIOSH made a commitment to redirect some of its resources to the 21 NORA priority areas. Data are available to track both the number of projects and total economic resources in each priority area.

In FY 96, at the time the Agenda was unveiled, the NIOSH baseline investment in the NORA priority areas was $15.4 million out of an overall operating budget of $165.3 million (approximately 9 percent of the FY 96 budget). Of this, $8.7 million was devoted to intramural research (NIOSH-conducted) and cooperative agreements (NIOSH-funded extramural research that NIOSH initiates and participates in) and $6.7 million for research grants (extramural investigator-initiated projects). A redirection of resources in FY 97 nearly doubled this investment to $28.1 million. A new $5 million special Congressional appropriation to NIOSH in FY 98 for NORA, coupled with additional reinvestment of baseline monies into NORA priority areas, resulted in $46.9 million of research (about 25 percent of the budget) in NORA priority areas for FY 98.

In FY 99, continued Congressional support for NORA as well as ongoing internal resource allocation has resulted in an estimated $62.4 million of NIOSH research funds (31 percent of the budget) directed at NORA priority areas. Such an increase is tangible evidence of NIOSH's commitment to NORA. This shift is particularly notable given existing Congressional mandates and obligations that limit how much of the NIOSH budget can be redirected. An ongoing effort has been in place from the start to assure that these shifts are "real" (rather than merely a reporting artifact) using consistent definitions and an independent evaluation team to assess projects for NORA-relatedness.

Other Federal Funding

As part of NORA, a survey of federal occupational safety and health research is conducted biennially. The first survey, covering FY 96, provided a baseline identifying a total of only $39 million spent for all occupational safety and health research outside of NIOSH for a total federal investment of $204 million. The same federal agencies and NIOSH reported spending $210 million for all occupational safety and health research in FY 98. The second survey, covering FY 98, welcomed five new federal respondents. Even with the additional respondents, the total spending in occupational safety and health research by federal agencies in FY 98 was only $218 million (NIOSH at $187 million and other federal agencies at $31 million).

The FY 96 baseline for NORA-related research from non-NIOSH federal sources was about $15 million. The same respondents report having spent $16.2 million on NORA-related research in FY 98. The new respondents bring the non-NIOSH federal total spent on NORA-related research in FY 98 to $23.4 million.

In FY 98 like FY 96, there is no reported spending in the priority area of Indoor Environment. There are reported decreases in spending by non-NIOSH federal agencies in some priority areas, e.g. Fertility & Pregnancy Abnormalities and Traumatic Injuries and increased spending is seen in others, e.g. Allergic & Irritant Dermatitis and Hearing Loss. In sum, there has been an increase overall at the federal level in NORA-related research, but this has in general come in redirection to rather than new resources in NORA priority areas. Federal partners will continue to perform the survey biennially, with the next survey assessing FY 2000 expenditures.

Sector-Specific Funding

During the development of the Agenda, the importance of sector-specific research was consistently raised. It was finally decided that the most effective way to integrate consideration of research efforts within specific sectors (such as construction, mining, and agriculture) was to apply a matrix approach of coordinated research in some or all of the 21 priority areas, as appropriate for each sector. As such, it is clear that NORA is having an impact on sector-focused research. In FY 99, within NIOSH, nearly $30 million is being allocated to NORA research in agriculture ($9 million), construction ($11.2 million), and mining ($9.3 million).

NORA Grant Funding

NORA has been successful in stimulating new research needed to address the problem of workplace injury and illness. In October 1998, NIOSH and four federal partners awarded the largest infusion of funding ever by the federal government for extramural occupational safety and health research. NIOSH joined with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disorders (NIAMS) to award about $8 million in grants in ten NORA priority research areas, with NIOSH awarding 38 grants related to the 1998 NORA Request for Announcements (RFA) and the partner NIH Institutes awarding 12 grants (see listing later in this section).

In 1999, NIOSH and six other federal agencies announced two new RFAs totaling at least $9 million in nine priority research areas. In March 1999, NIOSH, in partnership with five other NIH Institutes, announced a new RFA to target grant funding in eight NORA priority research areas (committing to at least $7.5 million in grant funds). The NIH cosponsors for this FY 99 NORA grants initiative are: the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NHLBI, NIA, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), and NIEHS.

The NIOSH/NIH FY 99 Request for Applications (RFA) invites proposals for research related to:

• Intervention effectiveness research, i.e., evaluation of safety and health interventions to protect workers from job-related injuries and illnesses. Proposals can be in any industry sector, but NIOSH will give special consideration to projects in agriculture, construction, the service industry (especially health care), and mining.
• Fertility and pregnancy abnormalities associated with occupational exposures.
• Occupational hearing loss, specifically prevention and intervention, including noise control
• Methodologies for assessing exposures to hazardous biological, chemical, and physical agents, including assessment of complex mixtures.
• Methodologies for injury and illness surveillance in the workplace.
• The aging workforce as a special population at risk of job-related injuries and illnesses.
• Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• Issues in the organization of work relating to demanding work schedules, sleep disorders, and/or the risk of occupational illness and injury.

Three types of grants will be funded: (1) research project grants for projects designed to establish, discover, develop, elucidate, or confirm information relating to occupational safety and health; (2) demonstration project grants for projects designed to address the technical or economic feasibility of implementing a new or improved procedure, method, technique, or system for preventing occupational safety and health problems; and (3) pilot study grants for preliminary evaluation in developing the foundations for future, more comprehensive studies.

In April 1999, NIOSH, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Cancer Institute announced the availability of $1.5 million for grant applications for research that focuses on the development of cancer risk assessment methods and practices. An emphasis is placed on the development of new methods and practices that reduce the uncertainties associated with cancer risk assessment, especially uncertainties that are encountered in extrapolating from animal species to humans. Studies that propose refinement, validation, or invalidation of existing methods and practices are also acceptable if they will result in a significant reduction in uncertainty.

NIOSH also committed additional resources in FY 99 to investigator-initiated awards in all 21 priority areas through its regular grants process. NORA is achieving its goals of improved partnership and increased research in the 21 priority research areas.

Allergic & Irritant Dermatitis

Asthma & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Health Services Research

Evidence-Based Medical Examinations for Firefighters
Harvard University

Indoor Environment

Intervention Effectiveness Research

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Social and Economic Consequences of Workplace Illness & Injury

Special Populations at Risk

Traumatic Injuries

* Funded by NIH

In FY 98, NIOSH and NIH awarded 50 grants totaling about $8 million dollars in ten NORA priority research areas. A Request for Applications (RFA) for a second year of NORA grants funding was issued in March 1999 by NIOSH and NIH. The agencies expect to award at least $7.5 million in grant funds in eight of the NORA priority research areas (total available funds under the RFA is $22.5 million over three years). Also, in FY 99, NIOSH, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Cancer Institute announced the availability of $1.5 million for grant applications for research that focuses on the development of cancer risk assessment methods and practices.

Team Products

In addition to leveraging resources, as mentioned above, partnership teams are an integral part of implementation. Team products are also being tracked as a measure of NORA's success. The teams have been very active. As expected, each team is proceeding somewhat differently. Many teams are writing white papers- documents that use variable approaches to advance issues in each priority area, such as summarizing the research in a priority area, defining gaps, and laying out opportunities for collaboration. In some areas, a well-defined research agenda currently exists (e.g. asthma) so a white paper was deemed not necessary. The following 16 NORA teams have completed or are currently working on white papers:

• Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis
• Cancer Research Methods
• Emerging Technologies
• Exposure Assessment Methods
• Fertility and Pregnancy Abnormalities
• Health Services Research
• Hearing Loss
• Infectious Diseases
• Indoor Environment
• Intervention Effectiveness Research
• Mixed Exposures
• Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Organization of Work
• Social and Economic Consequences of Workplace Illness and Injury
• Surveillance Research Methods
• Traumatic Injuries

Partnership Team activity can also be measured through conferences and workshops. From September 1996 through June 1999, NIOSH and its partners have sponsored 20 major meetings related to NORA as a whole or to specific priority areas (one in 1996, four in 1997, ten in 1998 and five scheduled through June 1999). A list of the NORA meetings follows. In addition to white papers, conferences, and workshops, teams are also developing surveys, establishing graduate-level training programs, participating in continuing medical education workshops, and developing documents.

One measure of whether NORA is having the intended effect of stimulating increased research in the priority areas is tracking scientific literature over time or bibliometrics. To aid in this effort, in October 1998, NIOSH held a bibliometrics workshop to discuss appropriate measures for tracking the impact of NORA that included using bibliometrics and citation mapping. NIOSH is actively tracking articles in all 21 priority research areas published from 1992 through 1996 (baseline) and in subsequent years. Since there is a delay between the completion of research and its publication in the scientific press, the full impact of NORA on scientific publications may not be seen for several years.

One example of identifying baseline activity is in the priority area Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis. In the five years prior to announcing NORA, 1992-1996, the overall number of peer-reviewed publications has varied between 45 and 65, with a steady increase (from 7 to 30) in the subset dealing with latex dermatitis. This pattern will be tracked in future years, including citations to NORA and NORA funding, to assess the possible impact of NORA on research activity in this area.

Surveys of NORA Effectiveness

Measuring the amount of money allocated to NORA priority research areas is only one way to gauge the effectiveness of NORA. The NORA Liaison Committee has administered a survey to help determine the recognition and impact of NORA. The Liaison Committee distributed its survey to key associations and professional organizations. A report of survey results will be provided at the NORA Symposium 1999 and will be available on the NORA webpage at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/norahmpg.html. The survey will be administered periodically by the Liaison Committee to gauge the recognition and influence of NORA over time.

In an attempt to better understand the level and types of safety and health research currently being performed in private industry, as well as to get a sense of industry awareness of NORA, Organization Resources Counselors, Inc., has circulated a survey to its Occupational Safety and Health Group, which consists of over 125 of America's largest corporations in a wide variety of industry sectors. Survey results will be available in 1999.

Other Tracking Methods

In addition to scientific publications, NIOSH is tracking popular literature citations, trade journal and media references and "hits" on the NORA homepage to assess the diffusion of NORA. The NORA web site has received over 90,000 hits in the nine month period from May 1998 (the date the NORA site was loaded) through February 1999 (the last month for which data are available). The NORA web site contains all NORA documents, white papers, research summaries, NORA grants information, a calendar of upcoming events, and partnership team information.

Many teams are using the NORA web site to enhance their communication efforts. Some teams have also established listservers to communicate among researchers interested in specific priority research areas. The quarterly NORA newsletter, entitled NORA News, has also helped improve NORA communication. Another communications effort, a compendium of NIOSH-conducted or -funded NORA research is expected in 1999.

This page was last updated: May 24, 1999