Revision of a Grant SOP

This standard operating procedure (SOP) includes the following sections: PurposeProcedureContacts, and Links.

Purpose

To provide instruction for awarding competitive revision applications, which are requests from grantees for a significant expansion of a project's scope requiring additional funds.

Procedure

Grantees who want to expand their project's scope may request a revision (also known as a competitive revision or a competing supplement). To do this, they must submit an application through grants.gov, which must undergo peer review and be selected for funding.

Investigators may apply for revisions only in response to a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) that allows revision applications and only if the parent application has been funded. Revisions may not extend beyond that grant's project period. Also, revisions do not restore funds that were part of standard grant reductions.

Investigators

  • Check the NOFO to see if revisions are allowed for your award. If they are, discuss the possibility of applying for one with your program officer, focusing on the scientific need. The due date will depend on your current award’s activity code and the NOFO through which you are applying.
  • If you need $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year, get approval from your program officer at least six weeks before applying.
    • When you apply, submit documentation stating that you've discussed direct costs with your program officer and that NIAID has agreed to accept your application.
    • See the Big Grants SOP for more information.
  • If you have questions about the administrative or budgeting aspects of the supplement request, contact your grants management specialist.
  • Submit a full SF 424 application through Grants.gov requesting funds for new Specific Aims. Keep the title, but do not resubmit the original application. Follow the SF 424 instructions.
  • In the body of your application, include enough information from your original application to enable reviewers to evaluate the revision in relation to the original.
    • In the Preliminary Studies/Progress Report section:
      • Include a progress report with the project period beginning and end dates of the parent award, a summary of the importance of your findings in relation to your Specific Aims, and an account of progress toward achieving your aims.
      • You can either include this as a subsection of the Approach section or integrate it into any of the three main sections of the Research Plan.
      • If you do the latter, be sure to mark the information clearly, for example, with a bold subhead.
    • If your application includes a line of investigation not recommended by the scientific review group, respond to the criticisms in the summary statement by adding data obtained since your original application or revising substantially.
    • If you are requesting to revise the aims,  summarize your revisions in your introduction.
  • For information on research involving human subjects, go to Research Using Human Subjects.

Program Staff

  • When asked, advise investigators about the feasibility of obtaining a revision.

Grants Staff

  • Assist investigators with administrative and budgeting questions.

Scientific Review Staff

  • If the parent grant was reviewed at NIAID, convene study sections to review a revision application.

Contacts

Grantees with questions should contact the appropriate program officer or grants management specialist. For more information, read Contacting Program Officers and Grants Management Specialists.

Contact for NIAID Staff

Use the contacts listed above for questions about your specific situation. If you have a general question or a suggestion to improve this page, email the Office of Knowledge and Educational Resources at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov.

Links

For general information about all types of supplements, see Supplement Types Awarded to Research Grants SOP

NIH’s Competing Revisions

SF 424 Application Guide for your grant application

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