The Office of Research Quality at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is announcing the “NINDS Early-Career Rigor Champions Prize”. This Challenge will recognize individual or small teams of early-career scientists who have promoted or enhanced research rigor practices outside of their normal job duties (e.g., beyond the expected rigor and transparency practices applied to one’s own research projects) and have raised awareness around these practices. NINDS considers such individuals to be “rigor champions”.
Rigorous research practices and transparent reporting are integral to the scientific process and help ensure high-quality and robust research findings. For the purpose of this Challenge, rigor and transparency practices are defined as efforts to improve the design, execution, analysis, and reporting of experiments to minimize the risk of bias and/or chance observations broadly across fields and experimental approaches (including neuroscience research relevant to the NINDS mission), especially for confirmatory or hypothesis-testing experiments (see NINDS Applicant Guidelines for specific example practices). For this Prize, activities related to scientific rigor will be prioritized, as transparency alone (e.g., preregistration, publication, or sharing of materials and data without simultaneous efforts to optimize experimental design and validity) is supported by other NIH initiatives.
Individual (or small teams of) rigor champions have the power to change behaviors, attitudes, and policies in their local networks, but this work often goes unrecognized or unrewarded. NINDS is dedicated to improving research rigor and transparency in the neurosciences (see the NINDS strategic plan on rigor and transparency) by identifying and recognizing rigor champions working to improve the scientific enterprise.
The goals of this prize are to:
- identify individuals or small teams (up to 3 individuals) of early-career rigor champions who are promoting enhanced research rigor that is relevant to the neuroscience community and the biomedical community at-large outside of their normal job duties;
- recognize and reward these early-career rigor champions for these efforts; and
- raise awareness of these efforts more broadly.
This Challenge seeks creative and effective approaches to championing and raising awareness of rigorous research practices that have been tested or employed by the Participant(s). These approaches can be on a small scale or a much larger one, and they can be driven by an individual or a small team. Individuals early in their career can promote and champion rigorous research practices, so we encourage submissions from undergraduates, post-baccalaureates, graduate trainees, postdoctoral scholars, clinical fellows, and any other member of the scientific community who is within 3 years of starting their first post-training position (e.g., independent faculty, staff scientist, administrator, industry scientist). Critical to this Challenge is evidence of raising awareness of rigorous research practices, with the intent of trying to change others’ research practices, and not simply employing rigorous research practices.
Examples of activities that would be responsive to this Challenge include, but are not limited to:
- Initiating and running journal clubs or a seminar series focused on discussing and highlighting the principles of rigorous research to raise awareness in the local scientific community (e.g., a Neuroscience Department, a Ph.D. training program)
- Focusing on methodology rather than results when presenting at meetings (e.g., conferences, departmental retreats), including by integrating and sharing rigor icons
- Giving lectures, webinars, or workshops on the importance of rigorous research practices
- Writing articles promoting rigorous research practices and encouraging improved experimental design in your scientific community
- Training and mentoring other scientists in the principles of rigorous research (e.g., developing and employing standard operating procedures that focus on rigor for the entire lab, mentoring junior scientists specifically in how to improve their scientific rigor)
- Organizing new ways to promote research rigor within one’s institution or program (e.g., developing new initiatives for graduate student or postdoctoral associations to implement, forming new committees or student groups devoted to promoting rigorous research)
- Campaigning to change policy or procedure to improve career incentives to better reward rigorous research (e.g., advocating that null studies meet Ph.D. publication requirements, proposing special awards for highly rigorous work)
- Promoting the importance of disseminating rigorously performed null studies
- Additional activities found in this publication (eLife, 2020)
Activities that would not be responsive to this Challenge include:
- Activities with a focus outside of the scope of promoting rigor practices (e.g., practices relevant to a narrow range of scientific techniques, practices relevant to transparency/open science without a focus on rigor, activities that update personnel practices or policies irrelevant to incentivizing higher research quality)
- Activities with a focus on researcher integrity (e.g., ethics, misconduct) rather than processes dedicated to enhancing research quality via enhanced scientific rigor for all researchers
- Activities already required by NIH policies or funding stipulations (e.g., training in Responsible Conduct of Research, fulfillment of T32 award requirements, implementation of Data Management and Sharing Plan policies)
Submissions must include the following documents in PDF format in order to be considered complete (see the How to Enter tab for complete details):
- Short essays describing activities performed specifically by the individuals listed as Challenge Participant(s) to improve culture and practice related to scientific rigor (the fillable form can be downloaded from the Resources tab)
- Optional supplemental evidence of activity implementation and outcomes
- The Participant Registration and Consent Form completed for all Participants or Team members participating
- The Participant Registration and Consent form can be downloaded from the Resources tab (See How to Enter for details).
- On this form, participating Teams should designate an eligible Team Lead.
- The Participant or Team Lead must attest to whether or not they are within the early-career window and eligible to win a cash prize.
Please see this informational video to learn more.
Statutory Authority to Conduct the Challenge:
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is conducting this Challenge under the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act of 2010, as amended [15 U.S.C. § 3719].
The mission of the NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. This Challenge will advance this mission by helping to recognize efforts that promote rigorous and transparent research practices in neuroscience, ensuring the production of high-quality neuroscience research.
Awards:- $50,000
Deadline:- 03-05-2025
