April 2005

Scientific opportunities in the area of drug abuse research are tremendous, and growing exponentially. This rate of growth has put significant pressure on the budget of NIDA to continue to successfully meet its broad mandated mission. The successful operation of any research grant program requires that consideration be given to a number of competing goals: how to balance the needs of an expanding existing project for increased funding, while also meeting the needs of new projects for sufficient funds; how to appropriately support the existing pool of scientists, while still allowing for opportunities to expand and to broaden the pool of scientific talent; and how to appropriately support the existing pool of research, while still allowing for opportunities to broaden the types of research questions being addressed and the methodologies being used.

In this context, on the advice of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, the NIDA has established cost management guidelines for the funding of the competitive renewal of prior grant awards.

Definition of Grant Terms:

• New Grant; Type 1 -- This is the initial support for a project that has not previously received any funding support. It is awarded competitively after review by an IRG and the NIDA Council.
• Competitive Renewal; Renewal; Competitive Continuation; Type 2 -- This grant award provides funding to continue a grant that is otherwise scheduled to terminate. It requires the submission by the applicant of a full grant application, and must compete for funding through the IRG and Council processes. (For example, a renewal grant may involve an application to provide support for years 5-9 of a previously funded 4-year grant.)
• Continuation Grant; Type 5 -- This is the next incremental year of the current grant project period (eg, years 2-4 of a 4 year grant).

Cost Management Guidelines:

1. The level of funding for the first year of a competitive renewal grant should increase by no more than 10% compared with the level of funding for the last budget period of the prior continuation grant.
   (Thus, for example, if the total funding level for year 4 of a grant was $200,000, then the total funding level for year 5 should be no more than $220,000, where year 5 is the first year of the renewal grant.)
2. Rare exceptions to this policy will be considered on a grant-by-grant basis. It is recognized that for a specific grant there may well be a need for funding increases greater than 10%, based on the type of research to be supported, changes at the university level, or other factors. It is expected that both the IRG and program staff will be involved in this consideration.
3. Council will be informed of any exceptions that have been made by the Institute.
4. These guidelines will apply to all research grants, including for example research project grants (R01s), research program projects (P01s), research cooperative projects (U01s), research center grants (P20s, P30s, P50s, P60s), and merit awards (R37s). Only SBIR awards, Career Awards (K grants), and research training fellowship and institutional grant awards are not covered by these guidelines.

Implementation of these guidelines will require the joint efforts of applicants, IRG reviewers, and program staff. It is recognized that implementation may result in some changes to related practices. In this context, it is important to bear in mind that, while competing renewals (Type 2s) may involve an expansion of an existing project, they are, by definition, intended to support the continuation of the particular project(s) that had been funded under the Type 5 grant -- research which substantially changes the research that had been funded under the previous Type 5 should, by definition, be submitted as a separate new, Type 1, grant.