Top Policy Changes
Newest entries appear at the top of the list.
NIH Sets New Rules for Spending at Conferences and Meetings, January 30, 2012
A new policy prohibits NIH from supporting food and meal costs charged to competing and noncompeting conference grants (R13 and U13) issued after January 26, 2012.
We will not revise conference grants previously awarded with FY 2012 funds to comply with the new terms and conditions, but grantees are strongly urged to apply the new policy.
For more details, read our Conference Awards SOP, the January 27, 2012, Guide notice, and the HHS Policy on Promoting Efficient Spending.
NIAID Establishes Funding Plan, January 30, 2012
NIAID has set its financial management plan, which defines how the Institute will fund grants in FY 2012. For more information, go to Financial Management Plan.
The funding plan was based partly on the NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards—FY 2012, which was one of several Guide notices issued on January 20, 2012:
NIH’s New Limits on Chimpanzee Research, December 21, 2011
NIH plans to develop new policies reflecting the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations on chimpanzee research. Meanwhile, NIH will not fund any new projects for research involving chimpanzees.
Ongoing projects involving chimpanzees may continue for now, but they will be reassessed on a project-by-project basis by an NIH working group to determine if they meet IOM’s criteria. If not, the research will be phased out.
For NIH’s full announcement and details, see the December 21, 2011, Guide notice.
Fellowship Applicants May Send Post-Submission Update on Sponsor’s Funding, December 19, 2011
Starting with fellowship applications sent for the December 8, 2011, due date, NIH allows applicants to send a one-page summary to update their sponsor's funding information after applying. See the December 14, 2011, Guide notice for details.
New Guidelines on Animal Care and Use, December 6, 2011
Starting January 1, 2012, institutions and their institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) must follow guidelines in the eighth edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Read the December 2, 2011, Guide notice for more details, including implementation schedule, documentation requirements, and links to new NIH Web resources.
NIH Expands Transparency Act Requirements, November 14, 2011
For awards issued after October 1, 2010, NIH now requires many grantee institutions to submit information about subawards and executive compensation for each noncompeting grant.
Notices of Award will include a term of award that tells you whether your institution is subject to the reporting requirements.
Awards issued before October 1, 2010, are not affected. For details, read the November 10, 2011, Guide notice.
Grantees Can Change to or From a Multi-PI Award With Prior Approval, October 13, 2011
With NIAID's prior approval, grantee institutions can switch to or from a multiple PI award without peer review of the new leadership team and Leadership Plan. New investigators retain their status if added to a multi-PI award.
Read more in the September 28, 2011, Guide notice and go to the Change of Principal Investigator SOP. Also read the October 26, 2011, NIAID Funding Newsletter article, "Switch to a Multi-PI Grant After Award? Think Hard."
Revised Rules for Financial Conflicts of Interest, August 31, 2011
HHS amended regulations governing financial conflicts of interest for grantee institutions. Major changes include a new threshold for significant financial interests, additional reporting requirements, and mandatory training.
For details, including compliance dates, read the August 22, 2011, Guide notice. Find additional information and resources at NIH's Financial Conflict of Interest Web site, and go to the Financial Conflicts of Interest for Awardees SOP for instructions on reporting conflicts to NIAID.
We also wrote about this in the September 14, 2011, NIAID Funding Newsletter article "Get the Scoop on Changes to Financial Conflicts of Interest Rules."
Withdraw Your Appeal if You Resubmit, July 29, 2011
Applicants cannot have an appeal and a resubmission application simultaneously. Investigators who want to resubmit but have a pending appeal must ask their authorized organizational representative to send a written request to withdraw the appeal.
For more information, read the Appeals of Scientific Review of Grant Applications SOP and the July 29, 2011, Guide notice.
Training Grants: Revised Instructions for Appendices, July 29, 2011
Applicants for NRSA Institutional Research Training Grants (T32) and Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (T35) have more instructions on what they can put in the Appendix. NIH provided guidelines on including publications and items unique to training grants, such as course syllabi, recruitment materials, and forms to track trainee progress.
Complete details are in the July 28, 2011, Guide notice and the supplemental instructions for Ts in the SF 424 Application Guide.
Change in Continuous Submission Rules for Some Reviewers, July 13, 2011
Peer reviewers with recent substantial service may submit applications under the continuous submission policy according to the following schedule:
- Service at least six times between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011—eligible for continuous submission from August 16, 2011 through September 30, 2012.
- Service at least six times between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012—eligible for continuous submission from August 16, 2012 through September 30, 2013.
These reviewers do not qualify for continuous submission outside the time periods mentioned above. Moreover, they can request assignment to a study section only if they apply for a standard submission date under normal rules (not continuous submission).
For more information, read the July 8, 2011, Guide notice and visit NIH's Frequently Asked Questions on continuous submission. We also wrote about this in our July 20, 2011, Funding Newsletter article "Temporary Reviewers—Note a Change in Continuous Submission Rules."
New Appeals Policy for Applications, April 15, 2011
NIH announced a revised policy for appeals of initial peer review. For details, see the April 15, 2011, Guide notice and our Appeals of Scientific Review of Grant Applications SOP.
New Page Limit for Plans for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research for Ks and Ts, March 29, 2011
For career development grants and institutional training grants, NIH is giving investigators separate space in their applications to describe how they will carry out instruction in responsible conduct of research.
Career development grants:
- Starting with the June 12, 2011, due date, individual K grants will have one page. For more information, see the March 29, 2011, Guide notice.
Training grants:
We also wrote about this in our April 13, 2011, Funding Newsletter article "Ks and Ts: Separate Space for Plans on Responsible Conduct of Research."
New Investigators Given More Time to Prepare Resubmission Applications, March 23, 2011
To give more time to new investigators who want to submit their resubmission applications for consecutive review cycles, NIH is doing the following:
- Changing the schedule for the release of summary statements for initial R01 applications and the due date for the next cycle resubmission.
The new schedule begins for applications submitted for the June 5, 2011, due date and reviewed in fall 2011 study section meetings.
For more information, see the March 23, 2011, Guide notice, and read our April 13, 2011, Funding Newsletter article "Good News for New Investigators: More Time to Resubmit Your R01."
Submission Policy for Letters of Reference for Fellowship and Career Development Applications, February 28, 2011
Starting in April, reference letters for fellowships and career development awards must be submitted by the application’s due date. NIH has eliminated the five business day grace period.
- Fellowships: starting with April 8, 2011, deadline. For details, see the February 24, 2011, Guide notice.
- Career development awards: starting with June 12, 2011, deadline.
Read the January 20, 2011, Guide notice. We also mention this in our March 16, 2011, Funding Newsletter News Brief "Reference Letters: Leeway Goes by the Wayside."
Electronic Submission for Single-Project Cooperative Agreements, February 25, 2011
NIH will restrict the U01 activity code to single-project cooperative agreements and mandate electronic submission of these applications starting with the May 25, 2011, receipt date.
For funding opportunities that use the U01 activity code and allow for more than one research project, NIH will issue new announcements under other activity codes. Applicants will still submit their applications on paper.
For more information, read the February 23, 2011, Guide notice. Also see our March 16, 2011, Funding Newsletter article "Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trial U01 -- Apply on Paper."
No More Second Resubmissions of Unfunded Applications, February 7, 2011
NIH no longer accepts second resubmissions under any circumstances. For more information, read the April 15, 2010, Guide notice.
We also wrote about this in the January 7, 2011, NIAID Funding Blog post "Applying in January? Remember NIH’s Policy Changes."
