Managing the NIH Bethesda Campus Capital Assets for Success in a Highly Competitive Global Biomedical Research Environment

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. Founded in the late 1870s, NIH has produced extraordinary advances in the treatment of common and rare diseases and leads the world in biomedical research. It is a critical national resource that plays an important role in supporting national security.

The 310-acre Bethesda campus supports some 20,000 employees and contractors, and it contains more than 12 million square feet of facilities divided amongst nearly 100 buildings, including the largest dedicated research hospital in the world. The Bethesda campus supports some of the most sophisticated and groundbreaking biomedical research in the world. However, while some new state-of-the-art buildings have been constructed in recent years, essential maintenance for many facilities and the campus overall has been consistently deferred for many years. The deteriorating condition of NIH’s built environment is now putting its ability to fulfill its mission at substantial risk.

Managing the NIH Bethesda Campus’s Capital Assets for Success in a Highly Competitive Global Biomedical Research Environment identifies the facilities in greatest need of repair on the Bethesda campus and evaluates cost estimates to determine what investment is needed for the NIH to successfully accomplish its mission going forward.