NINDS Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21) Program Guidelines

Application Receipt Dates: February 16, June 16, October 16

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NIH Program Announcement

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) participates in the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (PA-06-181). Applicants must follow instructions in the parent program announcement when preparing an application. In addition, applicants to the NINDS Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21) must be responsive to the "Guidelines for the NINDS R21 Program" (see below).

NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21): PA-06-181

Guidelines for the NINDS R21 Program

The NINDS uses the Exploratory/Developmental (R21) Grants to provide research support for new research projects in areas of high relevance to the mission of the NINDS. Applicants may request a project period of up to two years with a combined budget for direct costs of up $275,000 for the two year period. For example, the applicant may request $100,000 in the first year and $175,000 in the second year. The request should be tailored to the needs of the project. Normally, no more than $200,000 may be requested in any single year (see also full program announcement).

As an Exploratory/Developmental mechanism, the R21 Grant is intended to support projects that meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. the project assesses the feasibility of a novel avenue of investigation; or
2. the project involves experiments that could lead to a breakthrough in a particular field; or
3. the project demonstrates the feasibility of new technologies that could have major impact in a specific area.

To be eligible for consideration, proposals must be distinct from those traditionally submitted through the R01 mechanism. For example, projects designed to produce incremental advances in knowledge in a well-established area will not be considered. Proposals submitted under this mechanism should be limited to those with the potential for truly ground-breaking impact.

CLINICAL RESEARCH USING THE R21 MECHANISM

NINDS will not accept unsolicited R21 applications that include clinical trials or other clinical studies of potential therapies. NINDS places a high priority on the development and evaluation of such clinical interventions and has established specific mechanisms for supporting these types of proposals, including the unsolicited R01 (see http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/all_opps.htm?cluster_sort=2).

Applications that involve human subjects may be submitted to NINDS if the proposal does not include any clinical intervention AND the proposed research includes safety monitoring of study participants that can be performed appropriately within the budgetary and time constraints of the R21 mechanism. Any R21 proposal that does not meet the above criteria or does not provide adequate plans for the protection of the safety, privacy and confidentiality of study participants will not be funded.

TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH USING THE R21 MECHANISM

NINDS also supports R21 Exploratory/Developmental Projects in Translational Research to support research projects intended to discover potential targets for therapeutic intervention, to identify candidate therapeutics, or to develop assays, animal models, devices, or technologies for screening or developing therapeutics. Such projects, if successful, should lead directly to a therapy development project for a particular neurological disorder. The three NINDS-specific R21 criteria discussed above do not apply to R21 applications in the NINDS Translational Research Program. A translational research R21 project includes a set of focused, practical goals that must be accomplished in order to launch a full-blown therapy development program. The NINDS policy on the use of the R21 mechanism for human subjects research (stated in the previous paragraph) applies to translational research applications. For additional Information regarding the NINDS Translational Research Program, see: PAR-05-157.html

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact appropriate program staff within NINDS for advice about potential R21 proposals and to ensure that their proposals are consistent with the NINDS criteria. A complete listing of program director contacts may be found at: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/about_ninds/organization.htm

General inquiries may be referred to:

NINDS Referral Officer
6001 Executive Boulevard , Room 3208
Bethesda , MD 20892
Phone: (301) 496-9223
Email: nindsreview.nih.gov@mail.nih.gov