DEA

Answer:

It is a good idea to write a cover memo if your application is not responding to a Request for Applications and 1) you want to point out to the Assignment & Referral Officer particular types of expertise that would be needed for appropriate scientific review that may not be obvious from the abstract, or 2) you have discussed the application with a program officer from NIA and she or he feels it would be relevant to NIA program emphases.

Answer:

Most NIH applications are investigator-initiated, not responding to a specific, tailored FOA.  Since the grants.gov website requires every applicant to enter an FOA number, investigator-initiated applications typically cite one of the “parent” FOAs, which can be found here: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm (in the chart called Research Grants, look for the "See parent FOA" link for each grant type (e.g., R01, etc.))

Before you submit your application

After you receive your Summary Statement and Impact score

During the award:

• When you have findings with public impact
• Following natural disasters or other emergencies that will affect your research progress
• When issues arise from population tracking enrollment

While nothing can guarantee that the NIA will accept your application, a good strategy is to contact Institute staff before you submit anything. For some large applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for at least one year, Institute permission is required for NIH to accept the application. Although Institute permission is not required for other applications, contact NIA staff to ascertain interest in the work that you want to pursue.