Timeline for Assignment, Review, and Council

NIH checks your application and assigns it to an institute. Peer review is four or five months after the NIH due date. Most applications go to the full Council meeting about seven months after the due date.  

The overall timeline graphic has a darkened section to indicate the assignment and review stage, which begins after the NIH due date and typically continues for up to seven months. The text below the image summarizes typical steps and timeframes.

The darkened section of the graphic marks this phase of the process. Find other phases at Illustrated Application and Grant Timelines

Typical Steps and Timeframes

Assignment. After the two-day viewing window, staff in the Center for Scientific Review give your application a number, check it for administrative requirements, and assign an NIH institute and review group. Learn more at Application Assigned to a Review Group and make sure you have the right reviewers.

Scientific peer review. Your application’s First-Level Peer Review meeting is four or five months after the NIH due date.

Score and summary statement. After the peer review meeting, NIH releases your application’s score in the Commons within three business days and uploads the summary statement within 30 days. Find details and advice at Scoring & Summary Statements.

Consider applying again. Ask your program officer for advice on likelihood of funding, comments in your summary statement, and your next steps. Rather than wait, you may want to start revising right away for a resubmission or new application. Learn more at Options if Your Application Isn’t Funded.

NIH’s just-in-time (JIT) request email. NIH sends an automatic email for applications with a score of 30 or better. This email asks you to prepare and submit pre-award JIT information, but you don’t need to do so yet unless funding seems likely. Learn more at NIAID’s Respond to Pre-Award Requests (“Just-in-Time”) and in the  Just-in-Time SOP.

Expedited. About five months after the due date, a subset of NIAID Council members perform expedited second-level review for qualifying applications. Learn more at Second-Level Review: Advisory Council.

NIAID Council meeting. About seven months after the due date, NIAID’s full Council meets as described at Second-Level Review: Advisory Council

Next Phase

Proceed to the Timeline for Funding Decisions.

Find other phases on the Illustrated Application and Grant Timelines page.

See NIAID’s main Timelines and Due Dates portal.

 

 

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