Conference Awards

Purpose

To support scientific meetings, conferences, and workshops in areas related to NIAID's mission.

Procedure

NIAID funds conferences through budget set-asides allocated to each scientific division. We give priority to the following submissions:

• Applications for open meetings, including conferences that cover broad subject matter and for which the sponsoring institution invites anyone interested to attend but has uniform standards for selecting the final list of participants.
• Applications that provide funds to graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, and junior faculty members for the purpose of attending conferences.

Conference grant applications must be submitted electronically. See NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13/U13) for details.

General Information

• NIAID funds scientific meetings through conference grants (R13) or cooperative agreements (U13) for up to five years.
• A permanently sponsoring organization can receive a multi-year award for annual or biennial conferences on a recurring topic. The award is funded by budget period.
• NIAID has to actively participate in the development of a U13 meeting. For both R13 and U13, we reserve the right to discuss how we will participate, and we make the final decision about our level of involvement.
• NIAID cofunds or accepts cofunding from other ICs for $2,500 or higher.
• Applicants must take the following actions:
  • Include people from underrepresented groups in all aspects of planning, organizing, and implementing NIH-sponsored or supported meetings.
  • Receive advance permission to submit an application.
  • Get Council review and recommendation for funding, even for applications NIAID wants to cofund.
• NIAID must issue an award before a conference starts. In rare cases, NIAID will issue an award after a conference has been held to cover post-conference costs such as publishing the proceedings.
• Grantees who want to use the NIAID logo must first get permission from the News and Public Information Branch of NIAID's Office of Communications and Government Relations.
• Grantees must acknowledge NIH grant support and provide a note of funding source on conference materials related to the project. Their Notice of Award will include the following term of award:

  All conference material (promotional materials, agenda, publications and Internet sites) related to this project must include an acknowledgement of NIH grant support and a disclaimer stating the following:

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by (insert grant number) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Applicants

• Get NIAID's written permission to apply.
  • At least six weeks before you submit your application, request permission by emailing a one- to two-paragraph synopsis of your conference to Dr. Milton Hernández, director of the Office of Special Populations and Research Training, at mh35c@nih.gov.
  • Consider the number of conferences given in your chosen area. NIAID may give priority to less visible topics. For guidance, contact one of the division conference grant coordinators listed below.
  • If NIAID agrees to accept primary assignment of your application, Dr. Hernández will send you a letter in PDF format. Include it in your electronic submission.
• Apply for a receipt date at least nine months before the conference (for AIDS applications, six months before the conference). Go to Standard Due Dates for Competing Applications. NIAID only accepts applications any time during the fiscal year if you have prior approval from NIAID staff.
• Describe your meeting's objectives, specific program, key participants, and logistical arrangements in a Conference Plan that doesn't exceed ten pages. See Section IV: Application and Submission Information in NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13/U13).

Program Staff

• Evaluate and review applications for relevance to your program.
• After Council review, develop a funding plan in the NIAID Planning and Reporting System (NPARS).
• On the program officer checklist, document for the grants management specialist whether there are future year commitments for the award and if so, whether to provide an escalation if requested in the application.
• If there are future year commitments, notify your divisional conference grant coordinator so your division can factor these funds into its future funding plans. See the list of coordinators below.
• If the application is for a cooperative agreement (U13), work with the grants management specialist on terms of award.
• Notify the applicant whether the application is approved for an award.
• Provide grants management specialist with information on ICs interested in cofunding and the amount.

Grants Management Staff

• Ensure that program officer documents future year commitments for an award and whether escalation should be provided.
  • If an applicant has requested escalation but this has not been addressed on the program officer checklist, ask the program officer to document whether the requested escalation is approved or disapproved.
  • If the program officer approves the escalation, provide no more than the allowable percentage.
• Work with program officer on cofunding with other ICs.
• Ensure you've received all cofunding documents before issuing an award.
• Ensure that applications receive Council's review and recommendation for funding. This includes applications NIAID wants to cofund.
• For cooperative agreements, work with program officer on terms of award. Also include the standard U13 term of award.
• Issue the award reflecting the appropriate conference grant term of award.

Read GMP's Conference Grants SOP for more responsibilities.

Contacts

Milton Hernández, mh35c@nih.gov, 301-496-3775

Division Conference Grant Coordinators

DAIDS -- Opendra Sharma, os4g@nih.gov, 301-496-9041; Patricia Baron, pb28o@nih.gov, 301-435-3738

DAIT -- Nancy Coulter, nc48k@nih.gov, 301-402-8175

DMID -- Susan Daniels, sd300s@nih.gov, 301-402-2572

DMID Biodefense -- Susan Garges, sgarges@niaid.nih.gov, 301-402-8584

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

Electronic Application Resources

Release of Funds for Solicited, Opportunity Pool, and Career Awards SOP

NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings Web site

NIAID Funding Policy and Process SOP