Dear NIGMS Institutional Training Grant Program Director:
Congratulations on your NIGMS institutional training grant award! This message offers some tips and reminders that we hope you will find useful. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions about your grant or if you have any important developments that you want to share with us.
You can find your summary statement and Notice of Award (NoA) in the NIH Commons. Your summary statement is likely to contain comments and suggestions that could be helpful in improving your training program and when you prepare future applications. For example, it would be useful to explain in your annual progress reports how you are addressing any weaknesses identified by the reviewers.
Important information in your NoA includes the project and budget period start and end dates, the awarded dollar amount and trainee slots for the first year, recommended amounts and trainee slots for future years, specific terms and conditions of the award, and contact information for your NIGMS program director and grants management specialist. Contact your program director if you have questions relating to your training program (e.g., how to handle diversity recruitment or training in the responsible conduct of research). Your program director can also advise you of any special policies that might apply to your training grant, such as requirements for internships or experiences in medically relevant settings. Contact your grants management specialist if you have questions about your budget or about grants administration policies (e.g., what you need to do if you plan to go on sabbatical leave). Should a problem arise, let your program director or grants management specialist know about it as soon as possible, as they may have helpful suggestions.
Future-year commitments recommended on the Notice of Award generally reflect the Council-approved number of slots; however, actual annual award levels, and particularly any increase in the number of trainees/slots, will depend on: 1) evidence of continued strength and depth of the applicant pool; 2) success in enhancing the diversity of the trainees associated with the program; and 3) availability of funds in the NIGMS budget. In recent years, budget constraints have significantly limited the ability to provide increases in the number of trainee slots in noncompeting years and have occasionally resulted in reductions in slot numbers. Do not assume you will receive an increase in slot number in future years unless notified by your program director.
We remind you that forms for trainees should be submitted in a timely manner to the address indicated in the award terms of the NoA. A Statement of Appointment and form (PHS 2271) is required for each trainee each year prior to or at the time of appointment. Upon completion of a trainee's final appointment, a Termination Notice (PHS 416-7) is required within 30 days of the end of his/her support. Late submission of forms can result in delays in funding decisions and issuance of the next increment of funding.
You may rebudget funds for training grants only as follows (see NIH Policy Notice http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-093.html):
- Trainee-related expenses (now includes health insurance as an allowable expense). Rebudgeting of funds awarded in a lump sum for trainee-related expenses is allowable without prior approval from NIGMS.
- Trainee costs (now excludes health insurance). For rebudgeting purposes, trainee costs include funds awarded in the stipends and tuition/fees budget categories. You may shift funds between the categories of "stipend" and "tuition/fees" and, unless otherwise restricted, you may rebudget from other cost categories into these categories. However, stipend and tuition/fee costs may not be used for other purposes and cannot be rebudgeted to other categories except under unusual circumstances and only with the prior approval of NIGMS. Grantees should use caution if rebudgeting reduces the number of trainees in favor of tuition since this may impact slot determinations on future competing applications.
- Trainee travel. For rebudgeting purposes, trainee travel is not considered a trainee cost and, therefore, may be rebudgeted into any other budget category without prior approval from NIGMS.
NIGMS training grant awards are made to support specific areas of training. Programs are expected to evolve and are encouraged to be innovative and embrace new interdisciplinary opportunities; however, major changes to the overall area of training are not permitted. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for detailed information on award requirements (see Part II, Subpart B-Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards).
Frequently Asked Questions about NIH NRSA training grants can be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/training/faq_training.htm
Annual progress reports are due on December 1. Your program director and grants management specialist read these reports carefully and use them to assess whether your training grant is on target programmatically and fiscally. It is important to include information about your recent applicant pool and the diversity of the pool and your program. If there are concerns or if information is not complete (e.g. missing trainee diversity report form or report on training in the responsible conduct of research), NIGMS staff will contact you or your sponsored programs office for additional information. Note that even newly awarded grants must submit their annual progress report on this date. Progress reports for training grants are still submitted as hard copies using the PHS 2590 forms (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/2590/2590.htm).
To assist you in the recruitment of underrepresented students, NIGMS has developed two new resources: 1) A Web-based tool to facilitate interactions between our Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) T34 programs and our T32 institutional training grant programs. This tool, the Community for Advanced Graduate Training (CAGT) (https://cagt.nigms.nih.gov/), is designed to enable T32 program directors at universities to identify and recruit MARC students (honors undergraduates who are mostly from underrepresented groups) who may be interested in their university's predoctoral research training program or summer undergraduate research programs. CAGT also enables individual MARC students to find potential graduate research training programs and summer research opportunities in NIGMS-supported T32 programs. You are encouraged to report your experience with the CAGT system when describing your diversity recruitment and retention efforts in your annual progress report. 2) A Web page, Diversity Recruitment and Retention Strategies, (http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Training/Diversity/Strategies.htm) to help you enhance your diversity recruitment efforts. This includes examples of NIGMS-funded training programs with notable records of recruitment and retention of underrepresented students.
Acknowledge NIH/NIGMS support of trainees in journal articles (cite your NIGMS grant by number whenever possible), oral or poster presentations, news releases, and other communications. It is important to do this so taxpayers understand that money budgeted to NIH results in research advances made by trainees and scientists throughout the country.
As required by the NIH public access policy, submit manuscripts accepted for publication to NIH PubMed Central.
When a trainee has an accepted manuscript that describes an exceptionally significant finding, please contact your program director to discuss possible ways in which publicizing the work could help inform the American public about the value of NIH-funded research.
Useful Web Sites
NIGMS home page
NIGMS Research Training and Career Development
NIGMS Training Grant Diversity
NIGMS Diversity Recruitment Strategies
NIGMS Community for Advance Graduate Training (CAGT) (new NIGMS Web-based tool for diversity recruitment)
NIH Grants Information (with links to funding opportunities and grants policy)
NIH Public Access
Attribution of Support
Roles and Responsibilities of NIH and Staff at Your Institution
NIH "Welcome Wagon" Letter--Information for Staff at Your Institution
NIH Training Forms and Applications
