“I know NIAID’s prior approval is needed to reduce an investigator’s level of effort on a grant by 25 percent or more. Would a decrease from 50 percent effort to 30 percent effort need prior approval?”

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Yes, the requirement for prior approval is based on percent change in level of effort, not the drop in percentage points of level of effort. In this case, a decrease from 50 to 30 percent effort amounts to a 40 percent reduction [(0.5-0.3) / 0.5 = 0.4].

This is conceptualized more easily if you consider the effort level in person months. A change from 6.0 person months (50 percent effort on a 12-month calendar year) to 3.6 person months (30 percent effort on a 12-month calendar year) is a decrease of 40 percent [(6.0-3.6) / 6.0 = 0.4].

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