Grants Negotiation SOP

This standard operating procedure (SOP) includes the following sections: Purpose, Procedure, Contacts, and Links.

Purpose

To set the scope, Specific Aims, funding level, and duration for a competing grant award after it has been approved by Council and selected for funding by NIAID.

Procedure

After NIAID selects an application for funding, a grants management specialist contacts the PI and grantee institution to discuss the award's level of support. The support level depends partly on the NIAID Financial Management Plan for the current fiscal year.

Principal Investigators

  • To see the budget that your reviewers recommended, check your summary statement through the eRA Commons.
  • If funding is reduced by more than 25 percent and the reduction was not due to a scientific review group recommendation.
    • Have your business office submit revised abstract, Specific Aims, timeline, and budget to your program officer and grants management specialist.
    • You may consult with your program officer and grants management specialist before making changes.
  • If a Specific Aim has not been approved and you feel it is vital to your project, contact your program officer regarding submitting an appeal. Any restoration of Specific Aims must be approved by Council and stated on the Notice of Award.
  • Be aware that we may reduce your award if we identify overlap in your other support information. For example, if you list an institution that pays 100 percent of salary and fringe benefits, we will adjust your funding level accordingly.
  • If you don't believe you can accomplish your project with the level of support you receive, address your concerns with your grants management specialist and program officer.

Program Officers

  • Note concerns on other support received by PIs or grantee organizations in a Program Officer Checklist. Overlap issues identified in other support may justify reducing a research project's level of support.
  • Advise PIs on adjusting a research project if funding is reduced.
  • Consult with PIs who wish to appeal the removal of a Specific Aim.
  • If the Specific Aims change, tell PIs to revise the abstract.  Once you receive and approve the abstract, inform the grants management specialist and note any code changes.
  • Resolve any bars to award.
  • Complete and forward information in the Foreign Award and Component Tracking System (FACTS) to your grants management specialist if a grant is foreign or has foreign involvement.

Grants Management Specialists

  • Set the level of support in a Notice of Award.
    • Base the funding level on the budget recommendation made during the application's initial peer review and Council's second level review. View the scientific review group's budget recommendation in the summary statement.
    • Adjust funding when necessary, based on the current NIAID financial management plan.
    • Reduce funding if you or a program officer identify overlap.
  • Resolve any bars to award. See the Bars to Grant Awards SOP.
  • Review the electronically signed Program Officer Checklist and ensure all questions have been answered completely before issuing an award.

Contacts

Grantees with questions should contact the grants management specialist or program officer listed in the eRA Commons. For more information, read Contacting Program Officers and Grants Management Specialists.

Use the contacts listed above for questions about your specific situation. If you have a general question or a suggestion to improve this page, email the Office of Knowledge and Educational Resources at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov.

Links

Appeals of Scientific Review of Grant Applications SOP

Financial Management Plan SOP

NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare

Program Officer Checklist SOP

Apply for a Grant

Negotiation and Your Initial Award

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