Questions and Answers Table of Contents
What does "resetting a grant start date" mean?
Resetting a
grant's start
date means NIAID shortens the duration of the first year of your
grant. The date for the beginning of year two then becomes your new anniversary
date for future events, such as the due date for your progress
report and time to resubmit your renewal application.
Is shortening the grant year NIH-wide
or only for NIAID?
Resetting grant start dates is an NIAID
policy. To find out how other institutes manage their grants,
contact your grants
management specialist there.
Why does NIAID reset grant start dates?
NIAID may reset start dates
for competing
applications to help correct an imbalance in the number of
grants awarded in the third and fourth quarters
of the fiscal
year.
This move ensures that we have the staff to handle the grants workload
by avoiding an end-of-fiscal-year crunch. It also lets us address Congress's
concerns about grant numbers, costs, and outlay rates. Because we award only 20 to 25 percent of competing grants
in any fiscal year, it takes four to five years to redistribute
the
portfolio.
When NIAID resets
grant start dates, which grants are affected?
It can vary, but in FY 2005, we reset start dates
for R01, MERIT award, program
project, and cooperative
agreement applications approved for four or five years.
What is the budget impact of resetting grant start dates?
If your grant is one of those affected, you will be subject to one of
two procedures, depending on the start date of your award.
Three-Month Rollback
- Awards with start dates of April 1 through July 1.
- Applies to unsolicited and
PA/PAR R01, MERIT award, program project, and cooperative agreement applications.
- Anniversary date set back three months.
- Three-month reduction in first year for personnel costs only.
Six-Month Rollback
- Awards with start dates of mid-July or later.
- Applies to unsolicited and PA/PAR R01, MERIT award, program project,
and cooperative agreement applications and those responding to an RFA.
- Anniversary date set back six months.
- Six-month reduction in first year affecting all recurring cost budget
categories except travel, equipment, and alterations
and renovations.
Equipment and A&R will be fully funded at the scientific
review group-recommended level. Travel will be reduced; please
discuss with your grants
management specialist.
Can you give me an example of how
this will
affect due dates for progress reports and for reapplying?
If your new anniversary
date is reset to March 1, your progress
report will be due on January 15 if it's eSNAP
or January 2 for non-eSNAP. (Progress
reports are due 45 days before a grant's anniversary date for eSNAP
applications, 60 days for non-eSNAP.)
To renew a four-year grant ending on February 28, submit your renewal
application for the July 1 renewal submission deadline
at the latest. But earlier is better -- see the next question.
What are the advantages of applying earlier?
You can mitigate some of the effects of having your anniversary
date reset by applying earlier.
Submitting your application to NIH earlier is a good strategy
in general, one that has long been used by savvy investigators. See
our Early Grant Awards questions
and answers for more information.
How does NIAID announce this policy?
For years we reset grant start dates, we announce the policy in a NIAID
Funding News article. We will also contact you if your grant is affected.
Will this policy affect a two-year grant?
No. NIAID resets start dates for grants awarded for four and five
years only.
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. |