April 17, 2009
News Articles
Opportunities and Resources
Advice Corner
New Funding Opportunities
News Articles
NIAID to Fund More R56-Bridges
To give more people an opportunity to get funding from our regular appropriation, NIAID has just decided to expand the range of applicants who can qualify for an R56-Bridge.
For investigators whose applications rank between the 18 and 25 percentile for this fiscal year, we will do the following:
- If you can resubmit by the November 5 (non-AIDS) or January 7 (AIDS) receipt date, we will give you an R56-Bridge. In most cases, we will give you a second year of funding if your resubmission does not succeed.
- If you have no resubmissions left or choose not to resubmit, we will offer you a two-year ARRA R01.
Previously, we used these scenarios only for scores between the 12 and 18 percentile. We delayed this issue to bring you this news, which is now posted on our Financial Management Plan under Set-Aside Funds, R56-Bridge and two-year ARRA R01 applications.
Keeping Up With ARRA
A lot of people are asking how to get supplemental funds for their grant. While ARRA gives us a big infusion of dollars, we are using them in a targeted way: NIAID is spending most of its money on high-quality but unfunded applications, a different approach from that of many other institutes.
For administrative supplements, which add funds to grants without peer review, we have initially decided to spend $15 million—$5 million for each NIAID division—in FY 2009 and in FY 2010.
We are not funding competing supplements—now known as revisions—except through the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). See Competing Supplements for details.
Can You Get a Supplement?
We will consider all requests for administrative supplements that fit within the scope of the parent grant's approved activities and aims. But keep in mind that the amount we have set aside is relatively small compared to the number of investigators seeking funds. Before applying, it's a good idea to talk to your program officer to find out the likelihood of success.
You may apply for an administrative supplement for any grant type except training grants (T), fellowships (F), and construction grants.
Regarding the timing of a request toward the end of your grant, keep the following in mind:
- You may receive a supplement only if you have time remaining unless you can process a no-cost extension to extend the award.
- If you have only a few months left before the grant ends and cannot do a no-cost extension, we cannot give you a supplement because we will not have enough time to process your request in time for you to spend the money productively.
- If you have money left over and need a no-cost extension, you may request a supplement during that time.
Our processes differ slightly from NIH's. For example, you must email your application to your program officer as a single PDF. NIH uses a different approach. Before applying, read our NIAID Supplements Through the Economic Recovery Act and Details on NIAID's ARRA Administrative Supplements.
NIAID's career development award supplements have many unique aspects. For starters, all Ks are eligible for $50,000 a year in total costs. See Career Development Awards for more information.
Interested in hiring someone for the summer? Read the article Get ARRA Funds for Summer Interns.
If a supplement seems unlikely, think about an alternative. Check out Opportunities for NIAID Applicants.
Now We Know What to Do for ARRA
You already know that Recovery Act grants come with additional reporting requirements. Now we have more information. Here are some highlights and resources.
Carryover. On April 3, NIH published its Award Terms and Additional Information for Recipients Receiving Recovery Act Grant Funding.
It clarified that you will not be able to carry over unobligated funds from a budget period funded with regular appropriation funds to one funded from the ARRA or vice versa.
That means you cannot carry over money from your regularly funded grant to your ARRA grant. And when your ARRA grant ends, you will not be able to carry over funds to your next regular grant.
While we do not expect you to have large unobligated balances, you can initiate a no-cost extension to your ARRA grant if needed. But keep in mind that would delay your next non-ARRA award.
Reporting. Under ARRA, grantees must account for, track, report on, and provide for an audit of funds.
The first report is due July 10, 2009, for the quarter ending June 30. From then on, submit a report to HHS within 10 days of the end of each quarter with the following information:
- Amount of ARRA funds.
- Amount of ARRA funds obligated and expended to projects or activities.
- Amount of unobligated balances.
- Detailed list and description of projects or activities using ARRA funds.
- Details for subawards.
Ultimately, these reports will be posted to Recovery.gov. Read more about requirements in the Standard Terms and Conditions American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Division A Funds and the April 3, 2009, Guide notice.
New Investigators—Four Years or Five?
In our previous issue, we broke the good news that the FY 2009 R01 payline for new and early-stage investigators rose to the 25 percentile.
Now we've posted additional information—applications with better scores can get longer awards:
- 12 to 16 percentile—up to five years.
- 16 to 25 percentile—up to four years.
For the full scoop, go to NIAID Paylines and Financial Management Plan.
Commons New Conflict of Interest Module—It's Not a Choice
New rules are here for reporting financial conflict of interest in the eRA Commons for all NIH-funded grants and cooperative agreements.
Starting on July 1, 2009, you must use the Financial Conflict of Interest Module to:
- Initiate and prepare financial conflict of interest reports.
- Electronically submit reports and supporting documents.
- Search and view financial conflict of interest reports you previously submitted through the Commons.
- Edit or rescind submitted reports with NIH involvement.
- See a history of your actions.
See the March 27, 2009, Guide notice for more information.
Public Access Is Here to Stay
Yes, it's final. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 makes NIH's public access policy permanent and a term and condition of award. NIH announced this new policy in its March 19, 2009, Guide notice.
Read our Public Access of Publications SOP for details.
NRSAs: Fs Go Electronic, Stipends Go Up, T32 Review Criteria Go Down
NIH made March 27 a banner day for National Research Service Award (NRSA) news by announcing the following in the NIH Guide:
No More Paper Fellowship Applications
Starting with the August 8, 2009, due date, fellowship applications must be submitted electronically. The official word is in the eRA eSubmission Items of Interest.
Slight Boost in Stipends
Trainees and fellows receive a 1 percent increase in stipend levels. We updated NRSA Stipend Levels to reflect the new numbers.
Though stipends go up, training related expenses and institutional allowances stay the same. To see the amounts, go to Institutional Research Training Grants and Applying for a Fellowship in our Advice on Research Training and Career Awards.
Get full details in the Guide's NRSA Stipend and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2009.
Consolidated T32 Review Criteria
As part of NIH's efforts to enhance peer review, Institutional Research Training Grants (T32s) are now evaluated using five rather than seven review criteria, a move that does not change the criteria's scope.
In assigning an application's overall score, reviewers will address each of the following:
- Training Program and Environment
- Training Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI)
- Preceptors/Mentors
- Trainees
- Training Record
Find details in the Guide notice Consolidation of Review Criteria for T32 Applications Submitted for FY 2010 Funding.
Commons and Grants.gov Are Busier Than Ever
Thanks to the Recovery Act, we've seen a surge in eRA Commons and Grants.gov registrations. If you are planning to apply and are not yet registered, start immediately to make sure you will have enough time to submit your application.
On top of recent slowdowns, the April 27 Challenge Grant deadline will test Grants.gov's ability to handle a massive load. This frenzy may not end with ARRA applications—the transition for fellowships takes place in August.
After undergoing management changes, Grants.gov is now focusing on NIH. An HHS information officer will be assisting Grants.gov in the coming weeks.
Know what to do if you experience problems:
Save your email correspondence with Grants.gov as proof of your attempts to submit on time.
Having trouble getting through the final submission step? Find troubleshooting tips at our new Prepare to Submit in the Strategy for NIH Funding.
Opportunities and Resources
Get ARRA Funds for Summer Interns
By applying for an ARRA supplement, you can get funds to hire a student or teacher this summer. These supplements can help balance the mix of student backgrounds and institutions supported by ARRA funds.
You have only until April 17 to send in your request. Depending on the level of the response, we may have a second request date. Apply to or contact NIAID's AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov.
For more information, see NIH's Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators.
New Sample R01s—at Last!
Finally, we have new sample R01s with their summary statements online at Sample R01 Applications and Summary Statements.
We are truly grateful to Drs. James R. Alfano of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and George Louis Drusano of Ordway Research Institute, Inc., for allowing us to post their outstanding applications to one of the most popular pages on our site. And we expect to upload more samples in the coming weeks.
Why did this take so long? After NIH switched to electronic application, we asked several PIs whether they would volunteer for this project. They declined because the information was too fresh.
So we waited a year and a half and sought a new group of volunteers. At that point, people were very gracious about having us post their applications.
Soon history will repeat itself. When NIH switches to a 12-page research plan, we will have another lag until we can get a new batch of shorter applications.
During the interim, we will keep the samples we've just posted and give you advice on how a 12-page research plan should differ from the 25-page samples.
Sign Up for ARRA Updates!
Now you can receive email updates whenever we post changes to our Recent Changes to the NIAID and the Economic Recovery Act Section. Because the emails are based on revisions to this page, you will be notified for significant changes only. Go to Subscribe to get on board.
For this section, we're using a new subscription service called GovDelivery. As you sign up, you'll see a subscription center that differs from the one we use for other alerts. We will eventually use GovDelivery, which should be more reliable, for all our alerts to you.
Have Your Say About Expanding ClinicalTrials.gov
This Monday, attend a meeting or videocast to give NIH input about a possible expansion to ClinicalTrials.gov.
The meeting is from 9 to 5 in the Masur Auditorium on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Or check in through the videocast at Public Meeting on Clinical Trials.
For more information, see Public Meeting on U.S. Public Law 110-85 and Federal Register Vol. 74, No. 54, Monday, March 23, 2009.
Advice Corner
Reader Questions
Feel free to send us a question at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov. After responding to you, we may include your question in the newsletter, incorporate it into the NIAID Research Funding site, or both.
"On a multiple-PI application, does the $250,000 cap for a modular budget apply to each investigator, or are their direct cost amounts combined?"—Anita James, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
The budget is for the entire grant, not each investigator. For advice and information, go to Plan Your Budget in Strategy to Prepare the Forms and Just-In-Time in the Strategy for NIH Funding, and read the Modular Grants SOP.
If you anticipate a budget of $500,000 or more for any year of the grant, you'll need our permission to apply. For more information, go to the Big Grants SOP.
"If I submit a request for a two-year administrative supplement for the April 17, 2009, deadline, does the two years have to end on the same date as the parent grant?"—Sharon Janoski, Washington University School of Medicine
No. The two-year clock starts with the beginning of the supplement. For example, if you request a supplement to start on July 1, 2009, the end date will be June 30, 2011. We may prorate the support if the parent award's project period will end before the two years are over.
"Is there a dollar limit to how much can be requested in an administrative supplement?"—Jim Reith, University of Washington
If you are requesting a traditional administrative supplement, there is no limit to the request. You must justify your budget and provide a scientific rationale. If the supplement is funded with ARRA money, most equipment purchases are capped at $100,000.
See the Administrative Supplements to Grants and Cooperative Agreements SOP and NIAID Supplements Through the Economic Recovery Act for more information.
"I submitted an R21 application that was assigned to NIAMS as a primary institute and NIAID as a secondary institute. Whom should I contact to have my application considered for stimulus funding?"—Caroline Mold, University of New Mexico Health Science Center
First talk to your program officer at NIAMS about the chances of funding there. Then talk to a program officer at NIAID. The NIAMS program officer should be able to give you the NIAID contact, or go to Contact Staff for Help in the Strategy for NIH Funding.
"What is meant by significant unexpended balances for administrative supplements? Is a balance greater than 25 percent of the current year's total approved budget significant?"—a reader
We don't define a number for a significant unexpended balance. When judging whether a balance is significant, we consider the nature of the work and the amount of the supplement.
For your example, if you ask for a supplement of 5 percent, we might consider a 25 percent unexpended balance significant and ask you to rebudget instead. But if you ask for a supplement of 60 percent, we might not. It also depends on the work you're doing.
Keep in mind these are just examples, not actual situations, and we look at the entire request. If you're looking into a supplement from Recovery Act funds, contact the grants management specialist listed on your Notice of Award for advice. And please be patient while waiting for a response—it's likely that person is inundated with work.
New Funding Opportunities
See these and older announcements at NIAID Funding Opportunities List.
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