National Cancer Institute
Information About Increased Costs of Grant Applications
Updated July 11, 2001

NCI Policy
NCI policy requires that unsolicited grant applications over $500,000 direct costs in any budget year require internal approval prior to submission of the application.

The March 5, 2001 memo regarding the fiscal year 2001 grant funding policy (see memo) from Dr. Klausner, Director, NCI, stated there has been a continuing shift to more expensive grants. These escalating costs have had an impact both in terms of the total dollars need to funds these grants and the average cost per grant funded.

In response to these escalating costs, ARAs for competing continuation/renewal (Type 2) applications that request an increase of 20% or less may be accepted at the discretion of Division Directors. Division Directors will carefully scrutinize Type 2 applications that request more than a 20% increase in costs.

There will be no appeal or waiver process.

Principal Investigator Responsibility
Principal Investigators (PIs) are responsible for communicating with NCI program directors and alerting them to the submission of such large grants no less than one month prior to submission of the grant to the NIH Center for Scientific Review. PIs are responsible for examining research plans in relation to the budget to critically evaluate the costs of the study. NCI program directors are a valuable resource and are available to consult on the merits and potential concerns of proposed studies and corresponding budgets.

Failure to request and receive NCI approval for submission of large grants in a timely manner will result in the application being returned without review, causing a review delay of one round. Refer to the March 20, 1998 issue of the NIH Guide at web site http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-030.html.

NCI Program Director Responsibility
NCI program directors are required to submit an "Awaiting Receipt of Application" (ARA) form for signature by the respective Division Director. The approved ARA is then forwarded to the NIH Center for Scientific Review and serves as authorization to accept receipt of large grant applications. A new ARA form is required for any revised resubmittals, if the initial application is not funded.

If you have any questions about this policy or large grants/ARAs, please contact your NCI program director.