Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity

NOT-OD-20-031
As of 1/25/25, the Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity will be its own attachment in the PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan Form. Attachment is limited to 3 pages.
Applications without a diversity recruitment and retention plan will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.
Include outreach strategies and activities designed to recruit prospective trainees from diverse backgrounds.
Describe the specific efforts to be undertaken by the training program and how these might coordinate with trainee recruitment efforts of the medical, graduate school, and/or the institution.
Training grant program faculty are expected to be actively involved in recruitment efforts.

Fostering diversity in the scientific research workforce key component of NIH strategy to identify, develop, support and maintain the quality of our scientific human capital. NIH encourages institutions to diversify their student and faculty populations to enhance the participation of individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences, such as:

Group A. Individuals from certain racial and ethnic groups.
- Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
Group B. Individuals with disabilities.
Group C. Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds (*must meet two or more criteria.)
1. Were or currently are homeless? (Definition)
2. Were or currently are in the foster care system? (Definition)
3. Were eligible for the Federal Free & Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years? (Definition)
4. Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree. (Definition)
5. Were or currently eligible for Federal Pell grants. (Definition)
6. Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child. (Definition)
7. Grew up in one of the following areas:
  1. U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer.
  2. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zipcodes.)

*Only one of the two possibilities in #7 can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition.

Group D. Literature shows that women from the above backgrounds (categories A, B, and C) face particular challenges at the graduate level and beyond in scientific fields.

Proposed plans

Describe steps to be taken during the proposed award period to identify and recruit trainees from Diversity Groups A and B, as well as group C (when applicable).
Consider the success and/or failures of recruitment strategies used in the past:
- Describe the specific efforts to be undertaken by the program and how these might relate to the recruitment efforts of the medical school, graduate school, and/or university at large.
- Centralized institutional efforts alone will not satisfy the requirement to recruit individuals from underrepresented groups, and training grant faculty are expected to be actively involved in recruitment efforts.
- Refer to the data presented in Tables 6 and 7. Use these data to document the program’s past record of recruiting trainees who are underrepresented and to provide information on their support.

New Applications:

Include a description of plans and strategies to enhance recruitment.

Renewal Applications:

Include a detailed account of experiences in recruiting individuals from underrepresented groups during the previous funding period, including successful and unsuccessful recruitment strategies.
Include how the proposed plan reflects past experiences in recruiting underrepresented groups.

Resources

UC San Diego values a positive, supportive, and inclusive research and training environment for individuals from all backgrounds. Below are resources from the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as well as our Principles of Community that are vital to the success of the University and the well-being of its constituents.

Principles of Community: guiding principles of UC San Diego to foster the best possible working and learning environment.
Diversity Programs: listing of the more than 30 programs designed to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion on campus.
Interactive Diversity Dashboards: transparent data displays of diversity among students, staff, and faculty as well as results of campus climate surveys.
Graduate Diversity Coordinators Program: department and program representatives within the UC San Diego community that are committed to recruiting diverse graduate students.
Resources on Managing Implicit Bias in Hiring: as part of UC's commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, training was created to increase awareness of implicit bias and reduce its impact.