Questions and Answers Table of Contents
Can I get funding without going through the peer-review process?
No. Peer review is required by law for NIH funding.
Is my research topic appropriate for NIAID?
Read the NIAID Overview to
see if your topic fits the Institute's research mission. Talk to a program officer if you still have
questions. To find one, go to Contact Staff for Help in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Should I consult a program officer before submitting an application?
A program officer can advise you on preparing an application or requesting a study section, but please don't ask him or her to read your application. See When to Contact a Program Officer for more information.
As a new investigator, should I apply for the smallest grant type?
No. See As a new investigator seeking independent funding, should I always ask for the smallest grant type? in New Investigator Advice questions and answers.
How much preliminary data do I need?
For an R01 application, NIH recommends six to eight pages of preliminary data and interpretation of results. Reviewers expect new investigators to have fewer preliminary data. Some grant types do not require any.
See Preliminary
Studies/Progress Report in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal and Are You "New"? in the New Investigator Guide to NIH Funding.
Do I need a faculty appointment to apply for an award?
No. Though your institution may have its own policies, NIH does not require a faculty appointment for principal investigators.
Which applications are peer reviewed by CSR, and which by NIAID?
NIAID oversees the initial peer review of applications with Institute-specific
requirements: program
projects, cooperative agreements, training and career development grants,
and most requests
for applications.
CSR handles investigator-initiated applications for
all other award types. Read Applications
Are Assigned to an Institute and IRG to learn how an application is
assigned to CSR or
to an NIAID program division.
To what study section should I submit my investigator-initiated application?
If your application is to be reviewed at CSR, you have the option of requesting a study section that may be friendly to your research.
Check out Requesting a Study Section in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal for help. You can also ask a program officer or scientific review officer to help you find the most appropriate study section.
Does NIAID usually conduct a reverse site visit at the time of the review?
No. However, if a site visit is necessary, your program officer will make arrangements with you and send a letter that includes a list of participants and an agenda. See the Site Visits SOP for more information.
When do you announce new paylines?
We cannot announce new paylines until Congress passes our annual appropriation. If that does not happen at the start of a fiscal year, we use provisional paylines to begin funding a limited number of high-scoring applications.
After our appropriation is passed, we can start preparing our budget and formulating paylines. Read more at Paylines and Budget Page Changes Throughout the Year. Find the latest payline information at Paylines and Budget.
Do paylines change over a fiscal year?
Once NIAID sets its R01 payline, it does not change. Paylines for other awards may change later in the fiscal year. Find paylines at Paylines and Budget.
When can I see my summary statement?
Roughly eight weeks after peer review, you will be able to access your summary statement through the eRA Commons. To use the Commons, your grantee organization must be registered.
If my application misses the payline, can I get funded through selective pay?
Possibly. Program officers nominate a small number of applications that miss
the payline for selective pay funding. Our advisory Council then ranks those nominations
in priority order.
You
cannot apply, but you may ask an NIAID program officer about your likelihood
of being nominated. Scientific merit and relevance to our mission
are key factors in selecting and ranking applications. We give some special consideration to
new investigators.
Find
more information in the Selective Pay SOP.
If I score outside the payline, should I resubmit or wait?
We advise you not to wait to see if you are funded later in
the fiscal year. It's better to get a head start either improving your application based on the feedback
from the review
or submitting a new application.
Be sure to discuss your resubmission strategy with your program officer. Get more help in Part 11b. Not Funded, Reapply of the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
If NIAID doesn't fund my application, can I submit it elsewhere?
You can ask your program officer to identify another institute that might be interested in your project. Your program officer may then work with a program officer in the other institute to change your application's primary IC assignment.
Next time you apply, think about requesting a secondary IC assignment in your cover letter. Paylines vary among NIH ICs, so a percentile that is not fundable in one institute may be fundable in another.
I've received a Notice of Award, and the grant start date has passed. Why don't I have funds yet?
Check your Notice of Award to see if there are any restrictions or bars to award. If there are, you may need to provide more information before you can receive funds. Contact your grants management specialist for more information.
How do I apply for a one-year no-cost extension to my grant?
You do not need approval to extend a project period one time for up to 12 months without additional funds. You simply notify your grants management specialist of the extension. See the No-Cost Extension SOP to learn how to submit a notification.
What if my question wasn't answered here, or I'd like to suggest a question?
Email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. We answer questions by email and post them here. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base. |
