FY 2006 FUNDING AND OPERATING GUIDELINES

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National Institutes of Health

March 2006

Archive Edition

Funding and Operating Guidelines

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The FY 2006 salary cap for individuals under a NIH grant or cooperative agreement was established by statute at $183,500. Information regarding the applicable law can be found at the following link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-031.html.

New (Type 1) Research Project Grants:

The NHLBI policy for new grants is to award them at the Council recommended level except for specific programmatic and administrative adjustments. All applications that do not exceed $250,000 direct costs in any given year of support in the recommended competitive segment will be awarded under the modular concept. Applications that request direct costs that exceed $250,000 in any year of support in the recommended competitive segment will be awarded with categorical budgets.

Competing Renewal (Type 2) Research Project and MERIT Extension (Type 4) Awards:

The NHLBI policy for competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that will be awarded in Fiscal Year 2006 differs depending upon the nature of the award in the preceding competitive segment and the likely form of the award for a competitive renewal. Please note that if a proposed award would result in a reduction greater than 25 percent from the Council recommended level, NHLBI program staff will contact the Principal Investigator and the applicant institution before an award is issued to obtain: either (a) a statement that the approved aims and objectives can be accomplished within the proposed level of support, or (b) a revised statement of aims and revised budget for the proposed level of support.

Categorical to Categorical:

For competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that were categorical awards in the preceding competitive segment and will be in excess of $250,000 direct costs in any given year in the recommended competitive segment, the Institute will award at the Council recommended direct cost up to a maximum of 10 percent above the level of the last noncompeting award of the preceding competitive segment, except for specific programmatic and administrative adjustments that may be warranted. The 10 percent maximum will only be exceeded to accommodate non-recurring equipment costs. As F&A costs associated with consortia are no longer considered a direct cost, such costs would be excluded from the base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Categorical to Modular:

Competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that were categorical awards in the preceding competitive segment and will be no more than $250,000 direct costs in any given year in the recommended competitive segment will be funded as modular awards. The cap will only be exceeded to accommodate non-recurring equipment costs. For example, if requested equipment costs $15,000, a one-time request for an additional module may be made. However, if one-time equipment costs result in direct costs in excess of $250,000, the award will be made as categorical and so actual equipment costs will be awarded. As F&A costs associated with consortia are no longer considered a direct cost, such costs would be excluded from the base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Modular to Modular:

For competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that were modular awards in the preceding competitive segment and will be no more than $250,000 direct costs in any given year in the recommended competitive segment, the Institute will award at the Council recommended direct cost up to a maximum number of modules specified as follows:

If the previous award is 6 or fewer modules, the competing renewal may be one module more than the previous award. For example, if the last noncompeting direct cost award was $150,000 (6 modules), the applicant would be allowed to apply for $175,000 (7 modules).

If the previous award is 7 or 8 modules, the competing renewal may be two more modules than the previous award. For example, if the last noncompeting direct cost award was $200,000 (8 modules), the applicant would be allowed to apply for $250,000 (10 modules).

These modular caps will only be exceeded to accommodate non-recurring equipment costs. For example, if requested equipment costs $15,000, a one-time request for an additional module may be made. However, if one-time equipment costs result in direct costs in excess of $250,000, the award will be made as categorical and so actual equipment costs will be awarded. As F&A costs associated with consortia are no longer considered a direct cost, such costs would be excluded from the base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Modular to Categorical:

If the previous award is 9 or 10 modules, any requested increase will cause the competing renewal to be awarded as categorical. In all such cases, the Institute will award at the Council recommended direct cost up to a maximum of 10 percent above the level of the last noncompeting award of the preceding competitive segment, except for specific programmatic and administrative adjustments that may be warranted. The 10 percent maximum will only be exceeded to accommodate non-recurring equipment costs. As F&A costs associated with consortia are no longer considered a direct cost, such costs would be excluded from the base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Program Project Grants (Type 1 and Type 2):

Type 1: The direct cost award will not exceed $1,515,000. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs associated with subcontracts are not included in the $1,515,000. Annual increases for recurring costs in non-competing years may be requested at 3 percent per year.

Type 2: The direct cost award will not exceed $1,515,000 or 10 percent more than the recommended amount shown on the Notice of Grant Award for the last noncompetitive year, whichever is greater. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs associated with subcontracts are not included in the calculation. Annual increases in non-competing years for recurring costs may be requested at 3 percent per year.

Noncompeting Renewal (Type 5) Grants:

The NHLBI will award Type 5 Research Project Grants (RPGs) in accordance with the NIH Financial Policy for FY2006 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-025.html). Non-competing awards for every RPG will be awarded at a level of 97.65% of the amount indicated for the FY2006 budget period in the Notice of Grant Award for the previous budget year. The amounts indicated for future budget periods will also be adjusted by the same factor. The mechanisms that are included are R01,R03, R21, R33, R24/25s, R35, R37, P01, U01. In addition, the NHLBI has determined that all P50, U10, U24, and U54, mechanisms will be awarded at the same level as the RPGs in FY06. Funds will be restored up to the 97.65% for awards previously made at the 80% provisional amount. Fellowship (F), Training (T), and Career Development (K) awards will be awarded at the full 2006 commitment levels, as will R13, R15, SBIR/STTR, and UH1.

Future Year Commitments on FY 2005 New and Competing Renewal Awards:

Generally, future year commitments on the Notice of Grant Award will reflect an annual 3 percent escalation on recurring costs (e.g., Personnel, Supplies). The annual 3 percent escalation does not apply to Modular Grants. Although the NHLBI remains committed at this time to funding at the recommended levels each fiscal year, fiscal constraints may necessitate future adjustments.


DURATION OF GRANTS

To achieve an average length of four years, the NHLBI will calculate the average length of research project grants awarded at each Council. To reach the average length of four years, the Institute will reduce research project grants recommended for five years to four years beginning with those grants with the least favorable percentile scores and continuing to those with the most favorable percentile scores. However, no reduction will be made in awards for new investigators or in awards recommended for less than four years.