Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

NIDCR Fiscal Years 2027–2031 Strategic Planning Request for Information (RFI)

NOT-DE-26-015 Inviting Comments and Suggestions on Topic Areas for the NIDCR Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2027–2031

The following FAQs address questions raised in connection with NIDCR’s public webinar on the FY27–31 strategic planning RFI. Related questions have been consolidated for clarity and ease of reference. 

Formal comments in response to the RFI must be submitted electronically using this form by 11:59:59 p.m. ET on September 14, 2026. Responses are voluntary and may be submitted anonymously.

About the Strategic Planning RFI

1. Why is NIDCR developing a new strategic plan now?
   A: The current strategic plan covers 2021–2026. The RFI is part of NIDCR’s planning process for fiscal years 2027–2031.
2. Are the four RFI topic areas final, or can respondents suggest priorities that do not fit neatly within them?
   A: The RFI seeks input on the listed topic areas as they relate to future strategic directions. Cross-cutting or emerging issues can be framed in relation to those areas or identified as substantial gaps in the current framework, as appropriate.
3. How will NIDCR use RFI responses and decide what belongs in the final strategic plan?
   A: Responses will be considered by NIDCR leadership and staff as part of the strategic plan development process. NIDCR is also soliciting input from its staff and the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council. Feedback will be analyzed for recurring themes and potential priorities and considered in light of NIDCR’s central mission. The resulting strategic plan will serve as a guiding document for NIDCR’s research priorities.
4. If I made a recommendation during the webinar, does that count as an RFI response?
   A: No. The webinar was intended to increase awareness of the active RFI and answer questions about NIDCR’s mission, scope, and operations that may help inform actionable submissions. Recommendations intended for consideration through the RFI should be submitted as a formal RFI response electronically using this form by 11:59:59 p.m. ET on September 14, 2026.
5. Will RFI responses be made public?
   A: As noted in the RFI, NIDCR may use submitted information at its discretion. This may include posting summary information on public websites, incorporating information into reports or summaries of the current state of the science, or using it to inform future solicitations, grants, cooperative agreements, or funding opportunity announcements.
6. If many respondents support the same topic, will NIDCR automatically make it a strategic priority?
   A: No single factor determines inclusion in the strategic plan. Recurring themes are helpful in understanding pressing community needs, but public input will be considered together with scientific and programmatic factors and NIDCR’s mission.
7. How will current federal priorities or policies affect the final strategic plan?
   A: NIDCR’s next strategic plan will set forth critical research priorities. NIDCR continues to support work that advances its central mission and NIH’s mission to advance human health in alignment with current federal priorities and policies.

Funding, Portfolio Balance, and Future Opportunities

8. Will NIDCR reduce or stop funding current research areas, and will investigator-initiated research remain important?
   A: The strategic plan is intended to set forth critical research priorities rather than enumerate every research area NIDCR will support. High-quality investigator-initiated research continues to be a foundation of funding decisions, alongside program priorities and portfolio balance. NIDCR’s goal is for researchers to see their work as part of the broader research enterprise related to dental, oral, and craniofacial health.
9. How will NIDCR balance investigator-initiated science with institute-defined priorities?
   A: High-quality investigator-initiated research remains an important part of NIDCR’s research portfolio. Institute-defined priorities complement investigator-initiated science by reflecting scientific and programmatic needs as well as the interests of the broader community as NIDCR works to advance human health.
10. Will NIDCR issue new targeted funding opportunities based on the final plan?
    A: NIDCR may use new targeted funding opportunities, on a limited basis and as appropriate, to advance priorities identified in the final plan. NIH has moved to simplify the funding opportunity landscape with greater use of broad announcements, such as Parent Announcements, so in general fewer targeted funding opportunities are expected. In parallel, NIH uses Highlighted Topics to communicate areas of research interest. NIDCR has signed on to Highlighted Topics to indicate priority areas that can be addressed through a Parent Announcement or other investigator-initiated funding opportunity.
11. How might NIH's consolidation of individual career development award notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) affect NIDCR's Dual Degree Dentist Scientist Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)?
    A: NIDCR is currently participating in both the NIH K99 Pathway to Independence Award and the K99/R00 NIDCR Dual Degree Dentist Scientist Pathway to Independence Award funding opportunities. Additional details about NIDCR career development opportunities and the evolving NOFO landscape will be communicated through appropriate NIH and NIDCR channels.
12. How does NIDCR decide when a research area needs more investment or has received sufficient investment?
    A: NIDCR makes funding decisions based on scientific merit, program priorities, and portfolio balance rather than strictly adhering to a payline. NIH’s Unified Funding Strategy further supports this approach. Highlighted Topics can also be used to communicate research areas in which program experts would like to encourage additional investment.

Emerging Science, Data, and Technology

13. Where will artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning fit in the next strategic plan?
    A: The RFI seeks input on how NIDCR can remain responsive to technological advances. NIDCR has supported extramural and intramural efforts using AI and machine learning approaches and welcomes input on how it can further support research needs as emerging technologies move from the bench toward clinical application.
14. How is NIDCR addressing reproducibility, bias, and data quality in AI-enabled oral health research?
    A: Data quality is critical to effective downstream AI applications. NIDCR developed a common data elements framework alongside other data standardization and interoperability efforts to support the rigor and quality of data generated by NIDCR-funded studies. The NIDCR Data-Driven Science Hub (DDS Hub), launched in 2025, enhances the findability and accessibility of data resources to promote reuse and reproducibility. NIDCR welcomes additional ideas for improving reproducibility, addressing bias, and strengthening research data quality.
15. Does NIDCR envision greater integration of oral health data with medical datasets, electronic health records and population-scale datasets?
    A: The RFI expressly addresses harmonized data systems, and NIDCR has supported investigators developing and piloting such systems. NIDCR can support research on platforms that help health care practitioners gain a fuller picture of patients, recognizing the connections between oral and systemic health. NIDCR is also establishing partnerships with large-scale data resources, such as Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). The NIDCR DDS Hub provides investigators with information about available scientific data, biospecimens, experimental materials, resources, and tools.

Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research Priorities

16. Will fundamental or basic science continue to be a priority?
    A: Yes. NIDCR will continue to invest in fundamental research while also seeking advances across the research continuum.
17. How will NIDCR balance prevention, early detection, treatment, and cure-oriented research?
    A: NIDCR invites input across the research continuum. Many outstanding dental, oral, and craniofacial health concerns are likely to require multi-pronged approaches to improve health outcomes.
18. Where do oral-systemic health connections fit in the next strategic plan?
    A: NIDCR recognizes the interconnectedness of dental, oral, and craniofacial conditions with systemic health and the importance of broader biomedical and public health contexts. Advancing dental, oral, and craniofacial health requires attention to relationships between these conditions and systemic health consequences.

Integration with the Greater Biomedical Enterprise

19. How does NIDCR collaborate with other NIH institutes and centers to advance cross-cutting research?
    A: NIDCR has a long history of partnership with other NIH institutes and centers because dental, oral, and craniofacial research intersects with many NIH mission areas. Examples include partnerships with the National Institute on Drug Abuse through the HEAL Initiative to address pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders, the joint NIDCR–NCI AHEAD initiative to improve early detection of head and neck cancers, and the RADx® Coordination Center supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and NIDCR to advance next-generation mercury-free restorative dental materials.
20. To what extent will the strategic plan address research on the organization, financing, delivery, access, and outcomes of dental and oral health care?
    A: Setting policy on health care coverage, insurance reimbursement, professional licensure, or scope-of-practice laws falls outside NIDCR’s mission and authority. NIDCR can, however, support research that builds the evidence base for decision-making—for example, research on ways to reach patients in rural settings, health care utilization in populations such as Medicaid beneficiaries, health care delivery systems, population-level oral health, and the access, quality, outcomes, feasibility, and implementation of different care and workforce models.

Research Capacity, Workforce, and Translation

21. What does NIDCR mean by research capacity, and how is it working to broaden participation across dental schools?
    A: Research capacity includes the interdisciplinary workforce as well as the infrastructure, tools, and resources needed for high-quality dental, oral, and craniofacial research. NIDCR supports workforce training and has invested in research infrastructure and resources. Efforts such as the Increasing Research Activity at Dental Schools initiative are intended to reach more institutions, and NIDCR welcomes input from institutions about their needs and concerns.
22. How is NIDCR strengthening the pipeline of dentist-scientists and clinician-scientists?
    A: NIDCR supports practicing researchers and researchers in training through a range of efforts, including clinicians participating in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, Dental Public Health Research Fellows, and trainees at institutions across the country. NIDCR welcomes ideas for encouraging trainees to engage in dental, oral, and craniofacial research.
23. What role could research play in evaluating innovative oral health workforce models, including expanded roles for dental hygienists?
    A: The RFI invites input on research needs, gaps, and opportunities related to delivering and implementing effective oral health care. Research can help build the evidence base around different workforce and care-delivery models, including their effects on access, quality, outcomes, feasibility, and implementation. Decisions about professional scope of practice, licensure, and state practice laws generally fall outside NIDCR’s authority; input on these issues is most actionable when framed around research questions and evidence gaps that NIDCR can appropriately address.
24. How might the next strategic plan strengthen dissemination, implementation, technology transfer, and the diffusion of NIDCR-supported advances?
    A: NIDCR welcomes opportunities involving industry, small businesses, nonprofits, and other partners to advance human health. One example is the DOCTRC program, which helps academic, clinical, and industry innovators address translational, regulatory, and commercial barriers. NIDCR welcomes ideas for strengthening dissemination, implementation, translation, and the movement of scientific advances toward practical use.

Stewardship, Accountability, and Community Input

25. How will NIDCR measure whether the FY27–31 Strategic Plan succeeds?
    A: NIDCR leadership periodically examines how outcomes from funded research address priorities and research gaps identified in its strategic plans. These assessments help inform future efforts to address needs identified by the community. NIDCR also welcomes suggestions about metrics that would be useful to the community.
26. How can patients, caregivers, professionals, and other stakeholders make their input most useful, and will their priorities be considered alongside scientific opportunities?
    A: Specific descriptions of unmet needs, research gaps, outcomes that matter, and relevant evidence or experience can help NIDCR translate stakeholder input into future research priorities and research opportunities. The RFI provides an opportunity to hear directly from researchers, patients, advocates, practitioners, and the public. NIDCR will consider this input in determining what it can address within its role as a research organization.