How are NIH Consensus or State-of-the-Science conference topics selected?
Topics for NIH Consensus Development Conferences address a wide range of subjects and may be suggested by an Institute or Center within NIH, by other Government agencies, by Congress, or by the public. For an issue to qualify as a Consensus Development Conference topic, three main criteria must be met: (1) Public health importance (2) Controversy or a gap between current knowledge and practice (3) An adequately defined and available base of scientific information Once a topic is chosen, the date for the conference usually is set 12 to 14 months away. The scheduling of the conference date can be influenced by a variety of factors, however, that ultimately determine when the chosen topic will be addressed.
