Division of Extramural Activities

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA): (PAR-11-066)

Revision Applications FOA: (PAR-10-284)

Please visit the following links for new policies on Enhancing Peer Review:

Enhancing Peer Review: The NIH Announces Updated Implementation Timeline (12-02-2008)
New Scoring Procedures for Evaluation of Research Applications Received for Potential FY2010 Funding (12-02-2008)
Enhanced Review Criteria for Evaluation of Research Applications Received for Potential FY2010 Funding (12-02-2008)

Cost Guidelines on P01 Applications

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) limits costs on Program Project (P01) applications (See: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AG-07-008.html). NIA normally accepts for review and funding consideration only new (Type 1) and competing renewal (Type 2) P01 applications with requested costs limited to no more than $1.5 million in direct costs in the first year (exclusive of facilities and administrative (F&A) costs on subcontracts). Budget increases in non-competing years will reflect NIH policy in effect for the year of the non-competing continuation and may be requested to reflect an anticipated inflationary 3% annual increase only. P01 applications requesting more than these amounts must be nominated for acceptance by an NIA program division and approved by an NIA senior committee to be accepted.

Revision applications (see PAR-10-284) may request costs that would increase the total direct costs of the awarded P01 to more than $1.5 million in a single year. Revision applications may be submitted only after the parent P01 has been awarded.

NIA has implemented new cost control measures for applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in a single year. These measures are described at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AG-11-001.html

It is particularly important for applicants considering program project submissions to contact program division staff as early as possible in the development of the project and at least six weeks before the intended submission.

General Guidelines

Full instructions to submit program project applications are available in PAR-11-066 and in the PHS 398 form. The following FAQs are intended to help address the transition to the FOA format for submission.

Question: P01 applicants formerly completed five tables (Consolidated Table of Contents; Sample Title Page for Individual Core or Component; Consolidated Direct Costs for First year of Support; Distribution of Personal Effort on this Application; Percentage Use of Each Core by Each Project in the First Year.) Are these tables not required in the new format? How is this information submitted?

Answer:

1. Consolidated Table of Contents: PAR-11-066 provides guidance: “Modify PHS Form Page 3 to enable reviewers to find each component of the application easily. Number all pages consecutively. Because the first page of the application is the Title Page begin the next page with the numeral "2". Do not use lettered numbers (e.g., "2A", "2B" etc.) Use these referent numbers in the Table of Contents.”
   (Submit the above as the Table of Contents in Section 1: Information for the Entire Application.)
2. Sample Title Page for Individual Core or Component: PAR-11-066 provides guidance: “Begin each subproject or core with a new PHS 398 Continuation Page. Do not use the Face Page of PHS Form 398.” Include the subproject leader’s name or core leader’s name at the upper right-hand corner of each page under the PI’s name.
3. Consolidated Direct Costs for First year of Support: PAR-11-066 provides guidance: “Prepare a detailed composite budget (across all subprojects and cores) for all requested support categories for the first year using Form Page 4 and a summary budget for the entire proposed period of support using Form Page 5 of the PHS 398 application. If applicable, provide additional budget pages for consortium/contractual arrangements”. Submit these budget pages as information for the entire application (see PAR-11-066).
4. Distribution of Personnel Effort on this Application: This information is no longer collected.
5. Percentage Use of Each Core by Each Project in the First Year: This information is no longer collected. Instead PAR-11-066 provides instruction to use the Specific Aims of the Core to explain the overall role of the Core in the Program project and to identify the particular subprojects that the Core will assist.

Question: How do I now submit appendices?

Answer: PAR-11-066 indicates that one consolidated appendix should be submitted for the program project. Appendix material should be sent to the Chief, SRB, NIA. The PHS 398 application guide provides full instructions for what may and may not be included in an appendix. Please note that the limits on appendices described in the PHS 398 form apply individually to each subproject and core. However, the separate materials should be consolidated into one appendix. NIA strongly recommends that you submit the appendix as a single pdf file using Bookmarks to indicate various sections. Please set the file so that Bookmarks open when the file opens. If the total file is larger than 23 MB then separate it into two files.

Question: Are color images in the application faithfully scanned in the electronic version sent to reviewers?

Answer: NIH converts the paper application you send to a pdf file. The scan is a low resolution black and white scan, so color as well as fine-grained black and white images do not present well. If your application does involve color or fine-grained black and white images we recommend that you include full-scale images as part of the Appendix. Include a figure legend with each image and indicate the page in the paper application where the image is located.