Statements

Advocacy Effort Surrounding Capping NIH Indirect Cost Reimbursements at 15%

As of today, Monday, Feb. 10, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced it will significantly cut funding for indirect research costs (IC). In the new policy, NIH is reducing the reimbursement rate for ICs to 15 percent, which is significantly lower than the rates many institutions currently receive. This policy applies to all current and future grants. The cuts are intended to direct more funding toward scientific research rather than administrative costs, but these costs are essential to research activities, and restricting these funds will have a profound impact on research.

ARVO is working diligently to oppose this unprecedented decision by developing coordinated advocacy efforts and applying pressure on Congress to overturn these harmful policies.

What we are doing:

• Social Media and Public Awareness: Posting statements on social media platforms that can be shared and/or copied to use in your posts. Created a new webpage with resources and links to a form letter. We are actively engaging the research community across all social media platforms to raise awareness and drive advocacy. 
  
  
• Contact Congress Campaign: With our advocacy partners, the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR), we are urging researchers, institutions and stakeholders to contact their congressional representatives and oppose the NIH indirect cost cap via this advocacy letter. We ask you to make a direct request to halt the new policy and study the impact of such a proposal before implementing it. 
  
  
• Engagement with Advocates and Policymakers: We just completed our annual Advocacy Day on Feb. 7, which saw a record number of participants. This new NIH policy was announced hours after we completed almost 100 Congressional visits. We have prepared a template follow-up email for all advocacy day participants to send to their offices, adding this pushback and concrete actions for offices to take. 

How you can help:

• Contact Congress!

In order of effectiveness, here are ways to engage with your representatives to share your concerns:

1. In-person office visits
2. Phone calls. Find your Congressional leaders’ phone numbers here.
3. Email a personal message. Use our form letter but replace the text with a message of your own.
4. Submit a form letter. Use this form letter to Contact Congress to take immediate action to stop this devastating policy change. We encourage you to adjust the language in the letter to include personal impact or concerns

• Post on social media. Write a message and tag your Members of Congress on social media. Search for information on your elected officials, including address, phone number, websites and social media handles here.
  • Sample X or Bluesky post: The NIH's proposal to cap indirect rates at 15% on research projects will drastically impact our work. I urge you to make a statement asking the Administration to rescind this order immediately to protect medical science and ensure medical progress continues. 

Visit our website for more information and the latest updates.

I have already contacted my local representative in California and urge you to do the same. Together we can ensure every Congressional leader hears directly from researchers on the ground about the devastating impact this will have on eye and vision research and disease outcomes.

SriniVas Sadda, MD, FARVO
ARVO President

New Orleans Statement

The ARVO Board of Trustees understands the impact of the recent Supreme Court ruling which has caused some members to be uncomfortable participating in a meeting in affected states because of their personal views. ARVO confirms our Annual Meeting many years in advance and selects venues based on logistical factors including the convention center, cost to attendees, ease of travel and appeal/walkability of the downtown area. The Board of Trustees considered all aspects of the meeting and concluded that ARVO must continue to choose meeting sites based on objective logistical factors that best serve a global membership.

The meetings industry has been discussing these issues since many organizations are facing these challenges. There is work being done to help individuals attending meetings in a state with laws or regulations that he or she does not support to take personal action. This information can be found at https://socialoffset.com/. While ARVO as a nonprofit organization will not contribute to these offsets; we will be able to provide this information to attendees who would like to exercise this option.  

Data Standards in Ophthalmology

March 18, 2021 - The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) stands in full support of the AAO’s position on vendor compliance with the DICOM standard. If our ophthalmic imaging device partners could fully embrace this standard, it would undoubtedly lead to substantial progress in eye and vision research and clinical care. Read full statement.

Social Justice

June 7, 2020 - ARVO leadership shares in the dismay, rebuke, and call to action over the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others who have suffered at the hands of targeted violent acts around the world. This social injustice is not acceptable and must change. Read full statement.

Immigration Executive Order

Feb. 1, 2017 - As the world’s largest eye and vision research community, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is deeply concerned about the effects that the recent presidential executive order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” will have on the free exchange of knowledge among our members and scientists in all fields around the globe. Read full statement.

March for Science

Feb. 24, 2017 - ARVO has joined with other scientific societies in partnering with the March for Science, a mass outpouring of non-partisan support for science and the scientific community. "The goals of the March, and certainly the intent of ARVO, is to humanize science, partner with and engage the broader public, advocate for open, inclusive, and accessible science, support scientists, and affirm science as a vital feature of a working democracy." Claude Burgoyne, MD, FARVO, ARVO president-elect. Read full statement.

New NIH Definition of Clinical Trials

Aug, 16, 2017 - Our members' research, much of it funded by NEI, encompasses a broad range of eye and vision science, from basic to clinical to translational. Many member scientists conduct basic research, using humans as experimental observers. These studies are not 'clinical trials' in the conventional usage and common understanding of the term; but the new NIH definition could put that label on a substantial body of work in our field. Read full statement.