NINDS Funding Strategy -- FY2008

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Table of Contents (click to jump to sections)

Research Project Grants (RPGs) and Centers
Competing RPGs
Special Initiatives
New Investigators
Major Clinical Trials
Non-Competing RPGs
Duration of Grants
Research Training and Career Development
Special Supplement Funding
Merit Awards (Javits)
NINDS/NIH Policy for Accepting Applications Exceeding $500,000 Per Year
NINDS Policy for Accepting Clinical Research Applications Exceeding $1,000,000 per Year

Each year, NINDS establishes a set of funding plans based on the appropriations received from Congress.

Research Project Grants (RPGs) and Centers

These are the main mechanisms of support for investigator-initiated research and include: single investigator awards, e.g., traditional research project grants (R01), Small Business Innovative Research Grants (R43, R44), Small Business Technology Transfer Grants (R41, R42), Cooperative Agreements (U01), and multicomponent awards, e.g., Program Projects (P01) Centers (P50), and Core Center Grants (P30).

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Competing RPGs

We have set aside approximately $170 million of the total funds available for competing awards to fund unsolicited grants (i.e. those not in response to special initiatives). New (Type 1), competing renewal (Type 2), and competing supplement (Type 3) grants will be funded based on percentile rank order. Currently, NINDS is funding applications that score up through the 10.0 percentile. Exceptions to this limit include R01 applications from new investigators and applications considered to be of high program priority to the Institute. We anticipate that approximately 18% of all eligible competing Research Project Grant applications will be funded this year. This overall success rate includes applications in response to special initiatives.

Modular grants will be awarded at an average of 87.5% of the Council-recommended level. Non-modular applications, which request more than $250,000 direct costs in any year, will be awarded at an average of 82.5% of Council-recommended amounts. See the NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY2008: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-036.html .

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Special Initiatives

An additional $45 million of funds available for competing awards have been set aside for special initiatives, including Requests for Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcements with set-aside funds (PASs), major clinical trials, large translational research applications, large epidemiology studies, and high program priority applications. Applications that have percentiles from 10.1 - 20.0 may be designated by NINDS as high program priority applications and funded on a case-by-case basis from this amount.

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New Investigators

Helping new investigators transition to independence is a high priority for NINDS. Each Council round, based on available funds, NINDS will award additional R01 applications from new investigators with percentiles beyond the formal payline. In addition, when making decisions on high program priority applications, new investigator status is one of the criteria considered.

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Major Clinical Trials

Multi-center clinical trials and other types of fixed-protocol clinical studies generally have major budget implications and substantial NINDS staff involvement. Funds from the set-aside for special initiatives will be made available for competing clinical trial awards depending on the scientific merit of applications received. All such applications will receive special Council consideration for potential funding. Budgets for individual awards are set each year by staff after careful consideration of the resources that will be needed to follow study protocols.

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Non-Competing RPGs

NIH will make a 1 percent inflationary adjustment in FY2008 for existing non-competing renewal awards (See the NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards 2008: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-036.html). NINDS will allocate this adjustment among its non-competing research grants as follows: modular grants will receive no additional administrative cuts (aside from 12.5% reduction described above) and non-modular grants will not have any inflationary increases. In addition, before the FY2008 budget was approved, non-competing research grant awards were initially issued at a level below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award (generally up to 80% of the previously committed level). Now that FY2008 budgetary information is available, awards will be revised to restore funds to the levels described above. Future year commitments will be adjusted accordingly, as consistent with the FY 2008 fiscal policy. This policy does not apply to Career Awards, SBIR/STTRs, or Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowships and Institutional Training Grants. See: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/training_and_career_development/index.htm

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Duration of Grants.

The NIH is required to fund competing RPGs in such a manner that the average length of these awards does not exceed four years. To achieve this four-year average, NINDS will award four years of support for many applications that requested and were recommended for 5 years. A limited number of 5-year awards will be approved based on percentile rank of application, type of research (e.g. longitudinal studies and clinical trials may require 5 years to be completed), and new investigator status of applicant.

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Research Training and Career Development

NINDS funds individual predoctoral fellowships (F30 and F31), individual postdoctoral fellowships (F32), senior fellowships (F33), institutional grants (T32, T35, K12, and R25), and several career development grants, including the Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01), Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08), Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23), Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25), Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24), Independent Scientist Award (K02), and the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). The approximate total NINDS budget for training, fellowship, and career development awards is $80 million.

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Special Supplement Funding

Approximately $6 million has been set aside in FY2008 for special supplements, including supplements for collaborative activities to promote translational research.

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Merit Awards (Javits)

The NINDS Advisory Council may designate up to 12 competing applicants per year as Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Awards. These awards are made in two segments, an initial four-year award, followed by a subsequent three year award with staff review and Council concurrence for progress and expanded scope of project. Investigators may not apply directly for a Javits Award. These awards are made to distinguished investigators who (1) have a record of substantial contributions on the "cutting edge" of some field of neurological science, and (2) can be expected to be highly productive for a seven-year period. Any application selected for nomination would be expected to be exemplary of the investigator's body of work and would have been judged especially meritorious by a peer review group (study section). For more information, see the Javits Award description.

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NINDS/NIH Policy for Accepting Applications Exceeding $500,000 Per Year

The NIH supports research projects with large budgets but needs to consider such awards as early as possible in the budget and program planning process. Therefore, applicants must seek agreement to accept assignment from NINDS staff at least 6 weeks prior to the anticipated submission of any application requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year. Applicants with clinical research applications over $1,000,000 must contact NINDS staff a minimum of 3 months prior to the next submission deadline. (See below).
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-004.html

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NINDS Policy for Accepting Clinical Research Applications Exceeding $1,000,000 Per Year

Applicants planning to submit an application for a clinical research project requesting $1,000,000 or more in direct costs for any year must contact NINDS staff a minimum of 3 months prior to the next submission deadline for new grant applications. The applicant must obtain agreement from the NINDS staff that the Institute will accept the application for consideration for award. Any application subject to this policy that does not receive permission to submit will be returned to the applicant without review. For purposes of this policy "clinical research" is as defined in the 1997 Report of the NIH Director's panel on Clinical Research.  According to this definition, clinical research includes (a) Patient-oriented research (including research on the mechanisms of human disease, therapeutic interventions, clinical trials, and the development of new technologies); (b) Epidemiological and behavioral studies; and (c) Outcomes research and health services research. Excluded from this definition are in vitro research studies that utilize human tissue that cannot be linked to a living individual or research that does not involve human participants. http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-NS-01-012.html

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Additional Links:

For information about research contracting opportunities, see

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Last updated December 30, 2008