Conference Grant Support
Conference Grant, Traditional (R13)
Conference Grants are awarded to institutions and organizations (not individuals) to provide partial support for meetings, conferences, and workshops to coordinate, exchange, and disseminate research information. Please see PA-10-071 for additional information on the NIH R13 program. NIDDK is especially interested in conference grants proposing to support travel expenses for early career investigators. Generally awarded funds are limited to such support. In addition individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. Indirect costs normally are not allowed.
Guidelines for R13 applications submitted to the NIDDK
To assist NIDDK staff in assessing programmatic relevance of proposed conferences and workshops, potential applicants must submit a letter of intent (LOI) that addresses the criteria below, including the relevance of the research focus of the meeting to the NIDDK mission and other elements specified below. The primary role of NIDDK funding for these conferences is to support the travel of junior investigators to outstanding meetings. Generally requests for funding for conferences held outside of North America are not allowed, and only under special circumstances will the NIDDK consider multi-year funding requests for conferences. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with appropriate NIDDK program staff when considering an R13 application. To identify appropriate NIDDK program staff go to http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/Research/ScientificAreas/default.htm; choose the appropriate scientific area and follow that link to a page that will include a list of program staff, their scientific area of responsibility and a link for contact.
Criteria to establish programmatic relevance include the following:
- Conference focuses on a research topic that has high relevance to the NIDDK mission - generally, NIDDK issues should be the primary theme of the meeting.
- Conference brings together populations of investigators that should benefit from cross-talk but do not typically interact.
- NIH funds for conference meet a critical need not met by societies or industry.
- Conference topic has not been covered by other conferences in past year.
- Conference addresses current, cutting edge research topics.
- Conference provides excellent training environment for NIDDK junior investigators.
- Conference program includes investigators from groups under-represented in research.
Applicants must submit a LOI to apply at least 8 weeks before the application receipt date (see table below). This LOI should include:
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Proposed title, date, and location of meeting.
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A brief overview of the scientific themes of the meeting.
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Names of Organizing/Planning Committee members.
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Preliminary agenda with a list of accepted or invited speakers (if available).
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A statement affirming the potential for access to the meeting by the scientific community at large (this is especially important for meetings being held at foreign sites).
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Proposed budget (with details on proposed support for invited/attending young faculty and junior investigators) and other potential sources of funding.
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A brief description of how the conference will address each of the following criteria for NIDDK programmatic relevance:
1) Conference covers a research topic that has high program relevance – NIDDK areas of scientific interest should be the primary theme of the meeting.
2) Conference will bring together populations of investigators that would benefit from cross-talk but do not typically or consistently interact.
3) NIH funds for the conference will meet a critical need not adequately met by other sources.
4) Conference will provide excellent training environment for junior investigators and trainees.
5) Conference program includes women and members from groups under-represented in research.
R13 LOI and Full Application Receipt/Review Timelines and Process:
Potential applicants should adhere to this timetable for submission of the LOI and eventual R13 application.
LOI Receipt Date |
Review of LOI and Forwarding of “Permission to Submit Letter” to Applicant |
Full Application Receipt Date |
Application Review |
NIDDK Advisory Council |
Proposed Conference Date Window |
Feb. 12 |
March |
April 12 |
June/July |
Sept./Oct. |
Nov.-Feb. |
June 12 |
July |
Aug. 12 |
Oct./Nov. |
Jan./Feb. |
March-June |
Oct. 12 |
Nov. |
Dec. 12 |
Feb./March |
May/June |
July-Oct. |
Following review of the LOI by NIDDK program staff, potential applicants will be notified whether the final application will be accepted. If the R13 is to be accepted the applicant will receive a "Permission to Submit" letter from the NIDDK (to be included with the final application) and may submit to the next appropriate Full Application Receipt Date. Applicants should be aware that R13 rules and regulations vary among NIH Institutes. If an applicant wishes to receive dual funding from another NIH Institute, the applicant should contact that Institute to assess their interest and discuss their policy. For applicants intending to list additional NIH Institutes on their application for purposes of potential co-funding, a cover letter containing the list of dual Institutes should be included with the submitted R13 application.
For further information regarding the NIDDK R13 program, contact:
Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition:
For more information, contact Ms. Christine Densmore, Program Director
Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases:
For more information, contact Dr. Daniel Wright, Senior Scientific Officer
Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases :
For more information, contact Mr. Louis Martey (marteylk@niddk.nih.gov), Program Analyst
Page last updated: June 07, 2011