FORMS-H Will Implement New Data Management and Sharing Policy

NIH announced implementation details for the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing (DMS) that affect grant and cooperative agreement applications submitted for receipt dates on or after January 25, 2023.

Specific changes to competing grant and cooperative agreement application instructions, as detailed in the August 5, 2022 Guide notice, will be implemented with application form packages identified with a Competition ID of “FORMS-H” and incorporated into the forthcoming FORMS-H application guides.

DMS Policy Administration

Form changes to accommodate the new DMS Plan include the following:

• Data sharing plans and genomic data sharing plans will no longer be submitted to the “Resource Sharing Plan(s)” field.
• A new “Other Plan(s)” field will be added to the following FORMS-H forms to collect a single PDF attachment containing the Elements of a DMS Plan, with details on how to prepare this attachment incorporated into the NIH Application Form Instructions by Fall 2022:
  • PHS 398 Research Plan
  • PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form
• An optional Data Management and Sharing Plan format page will be provided to assist applicants with the preparation of this attachment. A preview version of this format page is available now. A final fillable version will be available by Fall 2022 and instructions will be incorporated into the NIH Application Form Instructions. Use of this format page is recommended, but DMS Plans generated using other approaches will be accepted.

The Guide notice also covers these sections, which we encourage you to read.

• Assessment of the DMS Plan and Budget
• When Data Sharing is Integral to the Funding Opportunity Announcement
• Processes for Plan Revisions Requested and Just-in-Time Submission Process
• Processes for Post-Award Plan Revisions and Submission Process

When Form Sets Transition

This fall and winter, there will be stretches of time in which you can select between the FORMS-G and FORMS-H application form sets within the same FOA. You'll need to choose correctly, as there is not much NIAID staff can do to help if you submit an application using the wrong form set.

For example, if you are preparing an R01 investigator-initiated application for the January 7, 2023 due date for AIDS-related applications, you will submit using FORMS-G.

As another example, suppose you are preparing a non-AIDS-related, investigator-initiated R01 application in mid-January. You should be using FORMS-H to complete the application because the finished application will have an intended due date of February 5, 2023, even if submitted early (i.e., before January 25, 2023).

Remember that if you choose to resubmit an application using FORMS-H after a new application using FORMS-G is not selected for funding, you’ll need to verify that all attachments to the application package are compatible with the FORMS-H application form set.

NIH may withdraw and remove from funding consideration any applications submitted using the incorrect application package for their intended due date.

Have Questions?

Send your inquiries to NIH Scientific Data Sharing Policy Implementation at sharing@nih.gov.