Each Fiscal Year, the NINDS may, in a very limited number of circumstances, award administrative supplements to cover unanticipated costs of a project. From PA-18-591: Funds may be available for administrative supplements to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted. Supplement requests to:

• Loss of equipment originally available to the project
• Increased cost of equipment and related services
• Dissemination and/or preservation of a unique research material or resource
• Addition of animals, patients, or other populations to a protocol to ensure an adequate sample to address the study aims
• Provision for the orderly termination or temporary continuation of support to prevent loss of research resources (e.g. preservation of a rare animal model or novel tool).
• Taking advantage of serendipitous or unanticipated opportunities to increase the value of the project consistent with the peer-reviewed objectives

Before submitting a request for an administrative supplement, it is strongly advised that you contact your program official to discuss the scientific rationale for a supplement request and program eligibility. The contact information for the program official associated with the parent grant can be found in your eRA Commons account.

How to apply:
The process for submitting a supplement request varies depending on whether the activity code of the parent grant requires electronic submission (as of the submission date of the supplement application). Please Note: Requests for Diversity Supplements follow their own application procedures and so do NIH First Time Recipients of NIH Research Project Grant (‘R’) application.

• If the parent award’s activity code has not transitioned to electronic submission, then you must use the PHS 398 Application Forms and follow the PHS 398 Application Guide.
• If the parent award’s activity code has transitioned to electronic submission, then you may either:
   
  • Apply electronically through grants.gov
    • Use the “Apply for Grant Electronically” button provided in the parent funding opportunity announcement (PA-18-591),
    • Administrative supplement requests submitted through this method should be marked as a “Revision” in Field 8 (Type of Application) on the R&R Cover Page.
    • Some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this announcement. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete the appropriate required and optional components.
       
  • Apply electronically through the eRA commons
    • Log in to the eRA Commons
    • Access the Admin Supp tab and locate the parent award
    • Choose Initiate Request
    • Follow instructions in the eRA Commons Administrative Supplement User Guide (pdf, 2,492kb)
       
  • Apply using the the PHS 398 forms
    • The Institutional signing official should email the request (signed by the Principle Investigator and the Business Official) directly to the Program Officer and Grants Management Specialist.

The following information should be included in all supplement requests:

• Description of nature of supplement and how it will influence the specific aims, research design, and methods of the current grant
• Statement describing efforts to obtain matching institutional funds * Identify impact on research if supplement request is denied
• Detailed budget with justification
• Indication of why rebudgeting is not possible to cover costs
• Evidence that grantee has performed cost comparisons for equipment purchases (at least two price quotes) or explanation of sole source
• Official signature of PI and business official