NIH Staff 
Being able to balance work and family life is important for everyone, including biomedical and behavioral researchers. Here are some of the ways in which NIH helps our grantee institutions foster family-friendly environments for the NIH-supported workforce.
Funding Time Off for Family Needs
NIH supports researchers taking time off to care for a family member or in the event of a personal disability. NIH grant awards (with the exception of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards - see below) allow for reimbursement of actual, allowable costs incurred for child care, parental leave, or additional technical support provided such costs are incurred under formally-established institutional policies that are consistently applied regardless of the source of support. For more information on using grant funds, see the frequently asked questions below.
If necessary, the grantee institution can request an administrative supplement to cover these types of costs. The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has highlighted this opportunity by issuing a special supplement for NIAID grantees to hire a mid- to senior-level technician to fill in when postdoctoral research scientists who are taking care of a child or sick family member need to be away from the lab.
National Research Service Awards (NRSA)
Trainees and fellows may receive stipends for up to 60 calendar days (equivalent to 8 work weeks) of parental leave per year for the adoption or the birth of a child. Either parent is eligible for parental leave. The NRSA trainee or fellow is required to provide advance notice to their grantee institution and their supervisor according to their institution’s policy, and the use of parental leave must be approved by the training program director. For more information, see policy notice NOT-OD-18-154 and NOT-OD-16-105.
Career Development Awards
Awardees may request adjustments to their appointment status or percent effort for personal or family situations such as parental leave, child care, elder care, medical conditions, or a disability. For example, awardees may request to reduce their appointment to less than full-time (but not less than three-quarter time) for a period not to exceed 12 continuous months during the award project period. For more information, see policy notice NOT-OD-18-156 and the applicable leave policies in the Grants Policy Statement.
Providing Opportunities to Describe Delays in Scientific Productivity
In 2011, NIH modified the biosketch guidelines for NIH grant applications to allow explanations of how personal circumstances may have delayed an individual’s transition to an independent career or reduced their scientific productivity. See policy notices NOT-OD-11-045 and NOT-OD-11-050 for more details.
Extending Early Stage Investigator Eligibility
Early stage investigators (ESI) who have experienced a lapse in their research or research training during the 10-year ESI period can request an extension of their ESI eligibility. Generally, the period of extension is equivalent to the time away. See policy notice NOT-OD-09-034 for more details.
Supporting Re-entry through Supplements
Postdocs or faculty members who have taken time off to care for children or attend to other responsibilities and who want to bring their research skills and knowledge up-to-date are eligible to apply for these supplements. The commitment can be full or part-time, and at completion, it is anticipated that the individual would be competitive for a career development award, a research award, or some other form of independent research support. For more information, see the funding opportunity announcement PA-18-592.
Description of Child Care Offerings Required in Applications for NIH Conference Grant Support
For applicants writing a conference grant, they must include in their application plans to identify resources for child care and other types of family care at the conference site to allow individuals with family care responsibilities to attend (see section IV of the funding opportunity announcement PA-18-648).
Frequently Asked Questions
