|
This checklist is based on Part 5. Research Plan of NIAID's NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal. Find more checklists at Checklists for the NIH Grant Cycle.
Table of Contents
- Writing the Application
- Your Research Plan
- Specific Aims
- Preliminary Studies/Progress Report
- Research Design and Methods
- Working With Others
- Sharing Resources
- Assessing Your Methods
- Background and Significance
- Appendix
Writing the Application
 Did you create your application sections using our suggested order and approach?
Have you constructed your Specific Aims, methods, and personnel, so your budget will be appropriate for your career stage and goals?
Have you designed your experiments to consider that research usually takes longer than people think?
For more information, see Typical Order for Writing an Application.
Your Research Plan
Does your research answer the question posed by your hypothesis? Read Design Your Research Plan.
Have you designed your Research Plan to convince reviewers of the following:
- Your hypothesis is sound and important?
- Your Specific Aims are logical and feasible?
- You understand potential problems?
- You can analyze the data?
- You are the ideal candidate to perform this research? See Design Your Research Plan.
Do you meet the requirements of the funding opportunity announcement? See Design Your Research Plan.
Did you create separate PDF attachments for each Research Plan section? Learn more at Design Your Research Plan.
Did you follow the instructions in the Grant Application Package? Go to Design Your Research Plan.
Did you follow our tips for creating a top-notch Research Plan? Read General Tips for a Successful Research Plan.
Did you reference all relevant literature for your concepts and methods? Learn how at Reference Publications.
Do you know what to do if your research has special requirements, e.g., human subjects, vertebrate animals, select agents, or rDNA? Find out at Consider Special Requirements.
Have you kept a running tab of people who will help you with your research, equipment, and supplies? See Keep Track of People, Resources, and Timing.
Are you plotting the staff hours needed to accomplish your Specific Aims? Read Keep Track of People, Resources, and Timing.
Specific Aims
Have you stated achievable Specific Aims that fit with your long-term research goals and show clear purpose?
Can your aims be readily assessed?
Does your proposal have less than three or four Specific Aims, with a header for each aim?
Do your aims support your hypothesis?
Did you include a list of experiments you plan to accomplish, with no more than one or two sets of experiments for each aim?
Did you write this section for all reviewers?
For more information, see Start With Specific Aims.
Preliminary Studies/Progress Report
If submitting a new R01 application, did you include your preliminary data and show you know what they mean?
If applying for a renewal or a revision (competing supplement), does your progress report include the following:
- Your grant project period beginning and end dates?
- A summary of the importance of your findings in relation to your Specific Aims?
- An account of progress toward achieving your Specific Aims?
For more information, see Preliminary Studies/Progress Report.
Research Design and Methods
Did you include details -- e.g., organisms, techniques -- for the most expert audience?
For each Specific Aim, did you spell out what you propose to do? How long it will take? What resources you will need?
Did you give enough details to show reviewers you understand and can handle the research?
Did you remove any information not needed to make your case?
Did you include timelines, flowcharts, graphs, and decision trees to illustrate how and when you will accomplish your Specific Aims?
Did you describe how your collaborators or consultants fill in expertise and fit into the project?
For more information, go to Research Design and Methods -- Writing.
Working With Others
Do you understand the requirements and caveats of a multiple PI application? Be sure to read If Your Application Has Multiple PIs.
If your application has multiple PIs, did you include a Multiple PI Leadership Plan? See If Your Application Has Multiple PIs.
If your application has multiple PIs, did you fill out all forms correctly? Go to If Your Application Has Multiple PIs.
Do you understand how consultants and collaborators can strengthen your application? See Consultants or Collaborators -- How They Differ.
Do you know the difference between consultants and collaborators? Learn about it at Consultants or Collaborators -- How They Differ.
Did you send a sample letter for your consultants? See why this can help at Consultants or Collaborators -- How They Differ.
Do you know how to include consortiums in your application? See the things you should include at Where to Add Consortium and Contractual Information.
Did you get help from your business office? Go to Where to Add Consortium and Contractual Information.
Sharing Resources
If you plan to create a new model organism, did you include a sharing plan?
If you're requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year, did you include a data sharing plan?
If proposing a genome-wide association study, did you create a separate data sharing plan (for any award amount) and state in your cover letter that you are proposing this research?
For more information, see What Resources Do You Need to Share?
Assessing Your Methods
Have you re-assessed your Research Plan to make sure your project is within your targeted range of dollars and time for your grant type, career stage, and research goals?
Did you answer all the questions in this section?
For more information, go to Research Design and Methods -- Evaluating.
Background and Significance
Did you write your Background and Significance in terms understandable to a broad audience?
Did you tell reviewers how your work meets the NIH mission?
Did you put your Background and Significance in the context of your field and your long-term research plans?
Did you show that you have an innovative idea and you're uniquely qualified to do the research?
For more information, see Background and Significance.
Appendix
Does your Appendix follow the rules of your grant type and funding opportunity announcement?
Does your Appendix contain only essential information?
Did you refrain from putting public manuscripts and abstracts in your Appendix?
Did you link to publications in your application, citing a PubMed Central identification number for NIH-funded research? Learn more at Other Project
Information Form: Bibliography and References Cited and the Public Access of Publications SOP for details.
For more information, see If You Need an Appendix.
Find more checklists at Checklists for the NIH Grant Cycle. For more information, see NIAID's NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal and the All About Grants tutorials. |
Subscribe to Alerts
