NINDS and the Recovery Act

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Summary

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can  thrive in the 21st century. The Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression, and includes measures to modernize our nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. For an overview please visit the HHS.gov/Recovery/.

NIH's Role

The Recovery Act provides $10.4 billion to NIH to stimulate biomedical research over the next two years. NINDS will work to actively engage the neuroscience community in carrying out the NIH's strategy. The impact of these funds is expected to extend  to the entire research community, including not only scientists, but also allied health workers, technicians, students, trade workers, support staff and  many others who will receive the leveraged benefits as well. By investing in NIH funded research, the Recovery Act will have an immediate economic stimulus and positively impact the long-term  health of the nation.

Breakdown of Stimulus Funds

  • $8.2 billion in support of scientific research priorities
    • $7.4 billion is transferred to the Institutes and Centers (including approximately $405 million for NINDS)
    • $800 million to the Office of the Director (OD) (not including CF)
      (For example, support for Challenge Grants), a program designed to focus on health and science problems where progress can be expected in two years.
    • To support additional scientific research-related activities that also align with the overall purposes of the Act
  • $1 billion to support Extramural Construction, Repairs, and Alterations
    • Allocated to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) in support of all NIH funded research institutions
  • $300 million Shared Instrumentation and other capital equipment
    • Allocated to NCRR to support all NIH activities
  • $500 million for NIH buildings and facilities
    • To fund high priority repair, construction and improvement projects on NIH campuses that also align with the overall purpose of the Act
  • $400 million for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)
The uses of all recovery funds will be transparent to the public, with the public benefits of these funds reported clearly, accurately, and in a timely manner.

Recovery Act Initiatives and Additional Information

Many types of funding mechanisms will be supported, but in general, NIH will emphasize recently peer reviewed, highly meritorious R01 and similar mechanisms that have a reasonable expectation of making progress in a two-year grant, as well as new R01 applications that meet this expectation. NIH will also provide funding for administrative supplement and competitive revision applications to accelerate the pace of ongoing scientific work by our current grantees. In addition, NIH will support awards to jump start the new NIH Challenge Grant program. NINDS has identified specific Topic Areas in neuroscience for the Challenge Grant program. This program is designed to pursue those opportunities which might overcome significant health and science hurdles in a two year time frame. NINDS investigators may also wish to examine the opportunities for shared instrumentation grants through NCRR.

Please check our website frequently to learn how the ARRA programs will impact neuroscience research and how your work might benefit from the stimulus funding.

For more information please visit:

Last updated April 28, 2009