National Institute of Nursing Research

What National Institute of Nursing Research does

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) is a U.S. federal government research institute and one of 27 Institutes and Centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), operating under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established by Public Law 99-158 in 1986 as the National Center for Nursing Research and elevated to institute status in 1993 under the NIH Revitalization Act, NINR leads nursing research to address pressing health challenges and inform practice and policy. The institute funds extramural research through a portfolio of grant mechanisms spanning research project grants (R01, R03, R21), institutional training (T32), individual fellowships (F31, F32), career development awards (K01, K22, K23), academic research enhancement (R15), research centers (P20, P30), and small business programs (SBIR/STTR), organized around five research priority areas: Optimizing Health for All, Addressing the Conditions of Daily Life, Addressing the Distribution of Health, Preventing and Managing Disease, and Advancing Systems to Optimize Care. Over 34% of the funded portfolio targets health disparities.

NINR has no commercial product or pricing model; all funding flows from Congressional appropriations disbursed through NIH. The institute reaches its grantee community — nurse scientists, trainees, small businesses, and research centers — through a multi-channel strategy including its website, social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube), email communications, and a portfolio of hosted events such as the 40th Anniversary Scientific Symposium, AI Bootcamp, School Health Convening, SRI Faculty Convening, and the Early-Stage Investigator Lecture Series. NINR also produces factsheets and educational publications and leverages NIH's shared infrastructure, including NIH RePORTER for grant tracking and the NIH peer review system for application evaluation.

NINR's leadership comprises Acting Director Courtney F. Aklin, PhD (since April 2025) alongside directors for extramural science programs, communications, scientific review, and senior scientific advisors. The institute marked its 40th anniversary in 2025 with multiple community-facing events and recently launched an AI training initiative (500+ participants, 1000+ waitlisted) to integrate responsible AI principles into nursing research. The organization is operationally active but faces material risk: the FY2026 Presidential Budget proposed eliminating NINR as a standalone NIH institute, creating existential uncertainty about its future funding base.

Name

National Institute of Nursing Research

Legal name

National Institute of Nursing Research

Website

https://ninr.nih.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) is a U.S. federal research institute within NIH that funds nursing science through competitive grants, training programs, and research centers, serving nurse scientists, trainees, small businesses, and academic institutions across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Research Funding / Nursing Science

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Syndromic Surveillance & Early Warning Systems (HLAJABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Research Funding Agencies (Public/Quasi-Public) (HLAJALAB), Health & Biomedical Research Universities (Academic Medical Center–Affiliated) (EDAHABAC)

Keywords

• Nursing research funding
• Federal research grants
• Scientific training programs
• Health disparities research
• Nurse scientist development

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Appropriations: NINR is a U.S. federal government institute funded through Congressional appropriations as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget. The institute uses these appropriations to fund nursing research grants, training programs, and operational activities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NINR is a federal research institute within the U.S. National Institutes of Health that funds nursing science through competitive grants, career-development and training awards, and research center support. It awards direct grant funding to nurse scientists, academic institutions, small businesses, and research centers, and disseminates its mission and findings through factsheets, events, and training programs such as the AI Bootcamp and Early-Stage Investigator Lecture Series.

Product overview

NINR is a federal research institute (one of 27 at NIH) that does not offer a commercial product but provides research funding, training programs, and educational resources. The institute supports nursing research through competitive grants including R01 research project grants, T32 institutional training programs, P20/P30 research centers, and career development awards (K01, K22, K23, F32). NINR also produces factsheets and hosts events including an Early-Stage Investigator Lecture Series and AI Boot Camp. The institute focuses on five research priority areas: Optimizing Health for All, Addressing the Conditions of Daily Life, Addressing the Distribution of Health, Preventing and Managing Disease, and Advancing Systems to Optimize Care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NINR Overview Factsheet One-page fact sheet highlighting NINR's mission and the types of research it funds, explaining why nurses are uniquely positioned to lead the development of scientific evidence to improve health and well-being. Audience: general public, researchers, and policy audiences.
• NINR Full Overview Factsheet Comprehensive fact sheet highlighting NINR's mission, types of research funded, and examples of nursing research in action.
• NINR Training Factsheet Overview of NINR's training programs and specific training mechanisms available for students and professionals pursuing nursing research careers.
• Chronic Disease Factsheet Explains how NINR research tackles chronic disease through a solution-oriented, person-centered approach.
• Research Project Grants (R01) Standard NIH grant supporting discrete, specified, circumscribed research projects performed by named Project Directors/Principal Investigators; the foundational research award for nurse scientists.
• Institutional Training Programs (T32) NRSA awards enabling institutions with schools of nursing to provide predoctoral and postdoctoral research training to develop nurse scientists.
• Core Centers/Centers of Excellence (P30) Support for investigators and institutions with several years of demonstrated research success, providing infrastructure and shared resources for nursing science centers of excellence.
• Exploratory Centers (P20) Support for initial enhancement of capacity at institutions with emerging nursing research programs, enabling early-stage center development.
• Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships (F32) NIH awards to qualified applicants supporting full-time research training related to NINR's mission, supporting postdoctoral nurse scientists.
• Mentored Research Scientist Development Awards (K01) Sponsored research experience for individuals to gain expertise in research areas enhancing scientific careers; a three-year nonrenewable career development award.
• Career Transition Award (K22) Period of support for research training experience in NIH clinical research laboratories to facilitate transition to extramural environment as an independent researcher.
• Academic Research Enhancement Awards (R15/AREA) Support for small-scale health-related research projects conducted by faculty in institutions that are not research intensive.
• Early-Stage Investigator Lecture Series Virtual lecture series spotlightting emerging nurse scientists whose work is shaping the future of nursing science; open to the research community and the public.
• AI Boot Camp Artificial Intelligence training program exploring the impact of AI on health, health research, and clinical practice with a focus on ethical considerations for AI adoption by nurse scientists.
• NIH RePORTER Searchable database of research projects funded by NIH and many other agencies of the Federal government; used by the public and researchers to identify NINR-funded projects.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SRI Faculty (Colleges and Schools of Nursing)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 September 2025NINR hosted a SRI Faculty Convening as part of its 40th Anniversary Scientific Symposium that brought together nurse scientists and faculty from colleges and schools of nursing to discuss advancing research addressing conditions of people's lives.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1986NINR is one of 27 Institutes and Centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As part of NIH, NINR benefits from shared administrative infrastructure, research policies, and the NIH peer review system. The NIH Director and other NIH leadership provide oversight and coordination across institutes.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1986NINR operates under HHS as part of the federal health research infrastructure. HHS provides policy guidance, budget oversight, and strategic direction for NIH and its institutes.
• Professional Nursing OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNINR partners with professional nursing organizations to advance nursing research, disseminate findings, and support the nurse scientist workforce. These partnerships are referenced in NINR's linking policy and collaborative events.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Federal HHS agency funding health workforce training programs (including nursing) and operating Bureau of Health Workforce grants. Comparable training-grant funding mechanisms that overlap with NINR's T32 and F-series portfolio.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): Federal agency funding basic scientific research and workforce training across disciplines including health-related social and behavioral science. Comparable federal grantmaking and training infrastructure at much larger scale.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Federal public health agency within HHS that funds applied public health research and prevention science. Comparable federal health research mission and overlapping audience, though broader in scope.

Direct peers

• National Institute on Aging (NIA): Sister NIH institute that funds extramural biomedical and behavioral research through grants, training, and centers. Most structurally comparable to NINR as another NIH institute with similar grant administration functions.
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS): NIH institute heavily focused on research training and workforce development via T32, K, and F awards. Directly comparable institutional structure and training-grant orientation to NINR.
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Sister NIH institute funding mental health research via grants, training awards, and research centers. Operates the same NIH grant mechanisms and peer review system that NINR relies on.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Federal agency within HHS that funds health services research, disseminates findings, and supports training. Closely comparable as a federal health research funding body serving overlapping academic and clinical audiences.

Emerging players

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Major private philanthropy funding nursing research, health equity, and workforce development. Comparable mission emphasis on nurse-led research and health systems improvement, though privately funded.
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI): Independent nonprofit, nongovernmental funder of comparative clinical effectiveness research with overlapping interest in patient-centered, real-world care delivery research aligned with NINR's priority areas.
• Sigma (formerly Sigma Theta Tau International): International nursing honor society that funds nursing research grants, disseminates scholarship, and develops nurse scientists. Directly comparable target audience (nurse scientists) and partial overlap in research funding role.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NINR
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NINRnews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ninr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Institute of Nursing Research