Questions and Answers Table of Contents
FOIA and Privacy
Is my application confidential?
Most grant and contract materials are confidential, including grants, grant applications, progress reports, contract proposals, and proceedings of review meetings. Two exceptions are a grant application's title and abstract, which NIH makes public.
Reviewers may not take
materials from peer review and use them without attribution.
On the other hand, abstracts are not confidential. For information,
see Project
Summary/Abstract and Project Narrative in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Can my grant be made public under a Freedom of Information Act request?
Yes. Generally, NIH will release only funded applications in response to
a FOIA request.
Before releasing anything to the public, NIH works with applicants to make sure no portion could violate personal privacy or reveal confidential commercial or financial information. Read NIH's Information for Requesters Who Ask for a Grant Application.
An exception to this rule
is our Annotated R01 Research
Plan and Summary Statement, which we've
published with the permission of the PI.
Can I get more reviewer comments through a Freedom of Information Act request?
No. Comments
by reviewers of grant or contract applications are not accessible
through the FOIA.
Grantee and Contractor Conduct
Do NIH grantees and contractors have
ethical requirements?
Yes. Grantees are subject to the regulations in
the NIH
Grants Policy Statement on Ethical and Safe Conduct in Science and
Organizational Operations. Contractors must meet Contractor
Qualifications.
Investigators involved in human subjects research must
obtain education in protecting research participants. See the Human
Subjects Certifications: Training SOP. For additional information,
see What is NIH doing to improve
ethical standards for clinical research?
What constitutes research misconduct?
Federal policy defines research misconduct as "fabrication,
falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results." See the Definition of Research Misconduct from the Office of Research Integrity.
The law also says misconduct must be an intentional or reckless departure from "accepted practices of the relevant research community."
If I encounter research misconduct, should I notify my program officer?
No. Don't notify your program officer. Your institution should have policies and procedures
for dealing with
research misconduct
as well as an official to contact. If your institution can't point
you in the right direction, check with the Office of Research Integrity.
For more information, see the Research
Misconduct Cases SOP.
Conflict of Interest
Can reviewers review applications for which they
have a conflict of interest?
No. Members of peer
review committees must leave the room
during discussions of grant applications or contract proposals in which
they or close associates have an interest that could bias their evaluations.
For more information, see the Conflict of
Interest in Peer Review SOP and Basic Layout of Peer Review in the NIH Grant Cycle.
Do Council members leave the room for
discussions of applications with which they have a conflict of interest?
Yes. Like reviewers, Council members must leave the room when they have
a conflict of interest with an application that's up for discussion.
See Council
Conflict of Interest Statement.
Am I free to ask a program officer to co-author a paper
with me?
You can ask, but be aware that program officers are bound by conflict
of interest guidelines and must get approval before co-authoring
papers with non-NIH employees.
According to NIH policy, staff members
who have close associations with awardees,
have
influence over
funding
decisions,
or show a pattern of multiple publications with the same contractors
or grantees have an apparent conflict of interest that can affect their
ability to perform their jobs.
See the Conflict
of Interest in Peer Review SOP for information on how co-authorship
can affect a program officer.
Do institutions need to report financial conflicts of interest?
Yes. Institutions must report any financial conflicts of interest before spending funds under a new award. If a conflict arises during an award, report it to your institution within 60 days.
Read the Financial Conflicts of Interest for Awardees SOP for institution, offeror, and grantee responsibilities. Go to OER's Conflict of Interest Web site for FAQs and other resources.
Where can I find information on conflicts of interest?
Go to NIH's Conflict of Interest for financial and peer reviewer conflict of interest information. Also see the Conflict
of Interest in Peer Review and Financial Conflicts of Interest for Awardees SOPs.
Clinical
Research Ethics
What does NIH do to preserve ethical
standards for clinical research?
NIH has rules about research misconduct, financial conflicts of interest, and human subjects protections. If you violate any of those rules, it can terminate your funding and refer you for legal action.
If you're writing an application or managing an award involving clinical research, you must comply with NIH's policies. Use the resources in our Human Subjects and Clinical Research portal and visit Bioethics Resources on the Web to learn more.
For a description of ethical standards in specific situations, read Requirements Affecting the Rights and Welfare of Individuals as
Research Subjects, Patients, or Recipients of Services in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Can NIAID help me protect the privacy of my human subjects?
Yes, with a certificate of confidentiality. See Can
NIH help me protect the confidentiality of my research subjects? in
our Human
Subjects questions and answers page.
Also, read What
is coded private information? in our Private
Information or Biological Specimens in Human Subjects Research questions and answers page.
Can NIAID help pay for costs related to the privacy rule?
Yes.
You can include privacy rule costs in your Research Plan and budget (for grants or cooperative
agreements) or technical and business proposal (for contracts).
Do NIH grantees and contractors have ethical requirements for human
subjects?
Yes. See the Clinical
Terms of Award SOP and Restricted Awards for Contracts Involving Human Subjects SOP.
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. |
