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ABOUT NORA
In April 1996, NIOSH and its partners unveiled
the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), a framework to
guide occupational safety and health research into the next decade-
not only for NIOSH but for the entire occupational safety and health
community. Approximately 500 organizations and individuals outside
NIOSH provided input into the development of the Agenda. Before
NORA, no national research agenda existed in the field of
occupational safety and health, and no research agenda in any field
had captured such broad input and consensus. The NORA process
resulted in a remarkable consensus about the top 21 research
priorities (see table below).
NORA Priority Research Areas
Disease and Injury
Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Fertility and Pregnancy Abnormalities
Hearing Loss
Infectious Diseases
Low Back Disorders
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Traumatic Injuries Work Environment and Workforce
Emerging Technologies
Indoor Environment
Mixed Exposures
Organization of Work
Special Populations at Risk Research Tools and Approaches
Cancer Research Methods
Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment
Exposure Assessment Methods
Health Services Research
Intervention Effectiveness Research
Risk Assessment Methods
Social and Economic Consequences of Workplace Illness and Injury
Surveillance Research Methods
NORA arose from the recognition that occupational safety and health
research in both the public and private sectors would benefit from
targeting limited resources. The creators of the Agenda also
recognized the need to address changes in the U.S. workplace, as
well as the increasingly diversified workforce. The distribution of
jobs in our economy continues to shift from manufacturing to
services. Longer hours, compressed work weeks, shift work, reduced
job security, and part-time and temporary work are realities of the
modern workplace. By the year 2008, the U.S. workforce will grow to
an estimated 155 million, with minorities representing 28 percent of
the workforce and with women representing 48 percent.
NORA addresses the broadly recognized need to focus research in the
areas with the highest likelihood of reducing the still significant
toll of workplace injury and illness. Each day, an average of 9,000
U.S. workers sustain disabling injuries on the job, 16 workers die
from an injury sustained at work, and 137 workers die from
work-related diseases. The economic burden of this continuing toll
is high. Data from a NIOSH-funded study reveal $171 billion annually
in direct and indirect costs of occupational injuries and illnesses
($145 billion for injuries and $26 billion for diseases). These
costs compare to $33 billion for AIDS, $67.3 billion for Alzheimer's
Disease, $164.3 billion for circulatory diseases, and $170.7 billion
for cancer.
Developing NORA was only the first step in the collaborative effort
between NIOSH and its many partners to guide and promote
occupational safety and health research. Even at the time the Agenda
was announced, there was a common commitment to work to implement
the Agenda, namely, to increase activities and resources in the 21
priority areas. In the first five years of NORA's implementation,
NIOSH and its partners have demonstrated that NORA is generating
funding and research activities in the 21 priority areas. The 20
partnership teams (the two musculoskeletal priority research areas
are being addressed by one team) have been instrumental in this
success.
Prior to NORA, research in occupational safety and health was
fragmented, suffering from a "shotgun" approach to tackling major
problems. Through NORA, the nation is better positioned to address
the toll of workplace injury, illness and death.
NORA has been very successful in stimulating new research needed to
address the problem of workplace injuries and illnesses. A major
initiative was started in FY 1998 when NIOSH and three federal
partners awarded about $8 million in grants in ten NORA priority
research areas, making it the largest infusion of federal government
funding for extramural occupational safety and health research ever.
NIOSH built on these partnerships in FY 1999 and jointly announced
two targeted Requests for Applications (RFAs) with six other federal
agencies.
The momentum continued in FY 2000 with nine federal partners: the
National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI); National Institute on Aging (NIA); National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA); National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); National
Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS);
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD);
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These federal partners funded
more than $6 million in areas relevant to NORA in FY 2000. NIOSH
funded grants in all NORA areas totaling approximately $32.7 million
in FY 2000 (an increase of $6 million from FY 1999).
NORA Home Page
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