Sharing Model Organisms

Purpose

To require investigators to include a plan for sharing unique model organisms in their grant application or contract proposal.

Procedure

Investigators who are applying for a grant or contract and plan to produce new, genetically modified variants of model organisms (including non-human mammalian and non-mammalian eukaryotic models) must provide a plan for sharing these organisms.

Investigators and Applicants

• Include a plan for sharing and distributing unique model organism research resources generated using NIH funding in your application, or provide reasons why such sharing is restricted or not possible.
  • Describe your plan—or justify its absence—in the Resource Sharing Plans section of the PHS 398 Research Plan form (electronic application) or the PHS 398 Resource Sharing Section (paper application).
  • For guidance, see NIH's What should be addressed in my sharing plan?
• Specify if or how you will exercise your intellectual property rights. Work with your institution's office of technology transfer or other appropriate office on addressing requirements.
• You may request funds to defray reasonable costs associated with sharing materials or data. Highlight in your budget your request for funds to distribute animals or other resources, or to prepare, document, and archive associated data.
• If you are responding to a request for applications or solicitation, check the announcement to see if there are additional requirements.
• For noncompeting applications, document resource sharing in your annual progress reports by indicating the number of requests received and fulfilled.
• For more information on writing the plan, see the following resources:
  • NIH Model Organisms for Biomedical Research
  • NIH Sharing Policies and Related Guidance, including:
    • Key Elements to Consider in Preparing a Data Sharing Plan Under NIH Extramural Support—outlines the essential parts of a plan, regardless of the data being shared.
    • Example Plan Addressing Key Elements for a Data Sharing Plan Under NIH Extramural Support—provides a template you can modify as appropriate for the data you plan to share.
  • Sample plans from actual PIs:
    • Complex Model Organism Sharing Plan
    • Model Organism Sharing Plan for Mice
    • Simple Model Organism Sharing Plan

Program Officers

• Work with PIs to develop acceptable data sharing plans for their application.
• After review, assess the appropriateness and adequacy of investigators' proposed plans.
• Direct investigators to existing repositories or national coordinating centers.
• When evaluating noncompeting applications, consider adequate progress in model organism sharing and a willingness to make research resources widely available as part of the criteria for continued funding.
• Use sharing language in the boilerplate for RFAs, PAs, and solicitations (see link below).

Grants Management Specialists

• Issue a restricted award if the program officer finds the sharing plan unacceptable (done at the end of the fiscal year only).
• Remove a restriction after receiving a revised sharing plan that is acceptable to program staff.

Contracting Officers

• Work with offerors to ensure steps similar to those described above are taken before award.

Scientific Review Officers

• Request that reviewers describe their assessment of sharing plans so you can prepare an administrative note.
• Ensure that peer reviewers do not factor model organism plans into their overall impact scores unless responding to RFAs or solicitations directed to the development of model organisms. In that case, ask reviewers to integrate their evaluation of sharing plans with other peer review criteria and factor their assessment into the overall evaluation of scientific merit.

Contacts

Applicants with questions should Contact Staff for Help.

Offerors with questions should ask the primary contact listed in the solicitation. See the Extramural R&D Solicitations list or Office of Acquisitions staff listing.

Contact for NIAID Staff

If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.

Links

NIAID

Sharing Model Organisms questions and answers

What Resources Do You Need to Share? in the Strategy for NIH Funding

Application portal

Grant Application, Electronic SOP

Grant Application, Paper SOP

Program Officer Checklist SOP

Public Access of Publications SOP

Trans NIAID Clinical Research Toolkit

Other

SF 424 Application Guide for your grant application package (for electronic application)

Submission Guidelines and Templates for Publications in the NIH Guide

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act