Introduction

Welcome to the NIH Special Government Employee (SGE) Portal, an information source for prospective, new, and currently serving Committee/Board Members.

This portal is for an individual who has been contacted by an NIH official, Institute/Center Committee Management Officer, or Designated Federal Official regarding service on an NIH Federal advisory committee and contains information to:

• Help you determine whether you would be interested in serving on a Committee/Board as an SGE.
• Inform you of the SGE requirements and steps to take for an appointment to a Committee/Board.
• Advise you of your obligations as an SGE once your appointment is effective.

The NIH Director, Institute and Center (IC) Directors, and senior scientific staff are advised by a number of National Advisory Councils and Boards, Program Advisory Committees, or Boards of Scientific Counselors (Committees/Boards), composed of individuals from the scientific community and the public.

These Committees/Boards are subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the statute that governs how executive branch agencies manage soliciting advice from the public while maintaining transparency.  Members of these Committees/Boards are generally appointed as Special Government Employees.  As defined in 18 U.S.C. § 202, an SGE is an officer or employee who is retained, designated, appointed, or employed to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for not more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days. More information about SGEs can be found at the U.S. Office of Government Ethics here.

Members of NIH’s Committees/Boards provide a vitally important public service by providing the broad perspective and a range of expertise essential to balanced and effective programs, including their knowledge of what may best serve the health needs of the American people and the world.  They play an important role by providing strategic advice on research policies and programs, making recommendations on research priorities, performing second level review of research applications, and reviewing NIH’s intramural research. More about the types of Boards/Committees NIH uses can be found on the Office of Federal Advisory Committee Policy's website here.