In order to conform to the NIH policy which was published in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts on October 2, 2008, NCI will issue non-competing awards during the Continuing Resolution (C.R.) to all grant mechanisms at 90 percent of their 2009 committed level. Please note that the only exceptions are for the NRSA (all F and T) awards and Career (all K) grants. After the appropriation is signed, it is likely that some or all of the full committed levels can be restored.

The NIH full year guidance reflects a 1 percent inflation allowance which equates to a reduction to the previously established 3 percent cost of living (COLA). Depending on the amount of the final appropriation, it is still possible that non-competing grants may require a cut.

Following the NIH lead the NCI determined to start paying competing grants under the C.R. and implemented a provisional plan to proceed with interim funding. The grants under consideration will be the applications that have received the most meritorious scores from peer review. The NCI Executive Committee established interim paylines for competing RPGs under the C.R.

The NCI will revise the paylines once the Appropriation is signed. This initial guidance will allow grants to be funded now despite the uncertainty about when the budget will be signed. If the final appropriation is the CR, it is likely that the temporary paylines will not change.

Effective with the September 2008 National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) round (the first funding cycle of FY 2009), Type-1 and Type-2 R01 applications up to the 12.0 percentile will be paid. Non-percentiled R01s will be paid on a case by case basis.

For the first and second funding cycles of FY 2009, the pay line for large percentiled R01 applications ($700,000 or more direct cost requested in any year) is the 12.0 percentile. The payline for the third funding cycle has not yet been established.

NCI has a strong commitment to first-time R01 awardees. Therefore, applicants eligible for consideration as first-time R01 investigators under the C.R. FY 2009 will be paid using an extended payline of the 17.0 percentile. The current definition of first-time R01 investigators can be found in the Application for a Public Health Service Grants (PHS-398): http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.pdf (PDF) - scroll to page I-25.

NCI is committed to the review of RFAs that have been previously announced and solicited for competition in FY 2009. As always, success rates for RFAs will depend on the amount of funds available, the number of applications submitted, programmatic priority and the scientific merit of the applications received. Please consult the program director listed on your summary statement if you have questions.

Amended applications submitted for the February/March, 2009 receipt date, will be considered for funding under FY 2010 budget plans, which are not yet known and may be different from these FY 2009 announced levels.

During this interim start-up the competing renewals will be funded at 90 percent of the current level and the new grants at 80 percent of the IRG recommended level. These funding levels will be the operating principles during the C.R. and will be revised once NCI receives the final appropriation.