Award Types
Questions and Answers Table of Contents
What types of grants do NIH and NIAID support?
NIH supports many award types, and NIAID supports a subset of them, including research project grants, training and fellowship awards, and career development grants. See the Grants portals for details on different types.
How do I know what grant type to apply for?
Talk to your program officer and experienced investigators in your institution. Go to Contact Staff for Help in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal for program officer contact information.
Most investigators seeking a research grant try for an R01. Read Which Award Type Suits You Best? in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal for advice.
If you are looking for a fellowship, training, or career
development award, see our Support by Career Stage -- Ph.D. Track or Support by Career Stage -- M.D. Track to determine which
award is right for you. For general information on these
grants, go to Training
and Career portal.
What forms do I use to apply for different award types?
Check each award's funding opportunity announcement for the correct form. Most NIH grant types require electronic application through Grants.gov, but some still use paper forms.
For more on this, read Which form do I use to apply for an NIH research grant? in Quick Facts on Research Grant Applications.
Does NIAID accept applications with multiple PIs?
Yes, but check the funding opportunity announcement to make sure. NIH allows multiple PIs for most opportunities, but each one has its own rules.
Before you proceed, go to NIH's Multiple Principal Investigators Web site and read Take Heed -- You Might Want to Avoid a Multiple PI Application in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
When is my application considered investigator-initiated research?
When you submit an application to NIH on a topic of your choice, or when you respond to a program announcement, NIH considers your application investigator-initiated.
If you respond to a contract solicitation or request for applications, you get to choose your project -- but you're limited to topics specified in the funding opportunity announcement. Because you have to stay within predefined areas of science, NIH does not consider your application investigator-initiated.
This is not always a simple distinction. Learn more at Compare FOAs in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
For a new investigator, is it better to start with a small grant, such as an R21 or an R03, rather than an R01?
You should request the amount appropriate to your research and career level. Talk to your institution and a program officer for advice. Do not choose the award type yourself.
For more information and links to program officer contact information, go to Which Award Type Suits You Best? in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal. You may also want to read our New Investigator Guide to NIH Funding.
Should I apply for a small grant under a broad NIH PA or an IC-specific one?
See Is it better to apply under one of the broad NIH PAs or an Institute-specific one? in our Small and Exploratory/Developmental Research Grants questions and answers.
How do I know if I can resubmit an application that responded to a PA?
To figure out whether you can resubmit an application that responded to a program announcement, check the Guide notice to see if your PA is still open. If it is still open, it will be posted on the NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID.
You can resubmit until the PA expires. NIAID may decide to extend the PA, but don't count on it.
To learn more about resubmitting, go to How to Revise and Resubmit in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Where can I find out more about multiproject awards?
Read Instructions for Preparing a Multiproject Research Application.
What are training grants?
Training grants provide support for institutions to pay stipends and benefits to candidates they select for pre- and postdoctoral research training. PIs on training grants are senior-level investigators. Go to Training Grants (T) for more information.
Where can I find out about NIAID's investigator-initiated clinical trials awards?
For information on R34 planning grants and U01 implementation cooperative agreements, go to Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials Resources. The site has information on NIAID's required process for investigator-initiated clinical trials, including SOPs, instructions, Guide notices, and questions and answers.
Are small business awards always grants?
At NIAID, they are.
Are fellowships a kind of grant?
Yes. Fellowships and career development awards are grants. Learn more at Fellowships (F) and Career Development Awards (K) on the Training and Career portal.
Are supplements a kind of grant?
No. Supplements add money to existing grants. Learn more at Research Supplements.
Are cooperative agreements a kind of grant?
Yes. Learn more about cooperative agreements in our Other Grant Types portal.
When does NIAID award a cooperative agreement?
NIAID awards a cooperative agreement when it expects substantial involvement of NIAID program officers. See the Cooperative Agreements (U) SOP and the Conversion of Grants to Cooperative Agreements SOP. Learn more about cooperative agreements in our Other Grant Types portal.
What's the difference between a mechanism and activity code and how are these terms used?
Though these terms are sometimes used interchangeably to describe a grant type, our Glossary gives the correct definitions for mechanism and activity code. Use the Look It Up panel in the right column of this page to link directly to the glossary terms.
Where can I find information about other award types?
Here are sites for some other award types:
See more in our Other Grant Types portal.
What if my question wasn't answered here, or I'd like to suggest a question?
Email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. We answer questions by email and post them here. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base. |
