NIA Funding Line Policy for FY 2020

Note: This information was updated on May 22, 2020 to reflect increased pay lines for K and F awards.

NIA and NIH received a full year appropriation through H.R. 1865 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 that was signed into law on December 20, 2019. Though final guidance on NIH funding policy and details of appropriation remain pending full clearance and approval, NIA is issuing this updated interim funding guidance based upon the expected final appropriation.

NIA is paying future FY 2020 non-competing awards at their full committed level as shown in the Notice of Award and restoring cuts made in non-competing awards paid earlier in this fiscal year.

General Allocation

NIA is reducing FY 2020 competing awards by 18% on average. This average cut policy applies to all research project awards except R03s (small grants), R21s (exploratory/developmental awards) and R15s (Academic Research Enhancement Awards and the NIH Research Enhancement Awards program). These awards (R03, R21, R15) generally receive the study-section recommended amount of support. The 18% cut remains an average. Individual awards may be reduced by more or less than that percentage.

Alzheimer’s Allocation

NIA is paying awards at their full study-section recommended amount, unless concerns over overlap or similar issues reduce the amount awarded.

Though NIA expects to pay most applications within these lines, when scientific concerns are identified in peer review that weaken the case for making an award, we may alternatively provide short term support (R56) or invite a re-submission of the application. Similarly, we may pay a few applications beyond the pay lines when they focus on high priorities of the Institute.

Applications Responding to Alzheimer’s-related program announcements

NOFOs: PAR19-070, PAR19-071.

PAR18-497, PAR18-516, PAR18-519, PAR 18-581, PAR18-582, PAR18-760

PAR17-031, PAR17-032, PAR17-033, PAR17-039, PAR17-054, PAR18-538, PAR18-706, PAR18-544, PAR17-029

We are paying applications responding to the above PARs by impact rating rank order rather than by percentile rank. We are paying these applications to an impact rating of 40. New Investigator applications are paid to a score of 43 and early stage investigator applications are paid to a score of 45. Though these pay lines are generally followed, NIA may pay a few applications beyond these lines or choose to provide short-term support or require a resubmission from a few applications within these lines, following both peer review comments and published funding priority guidelines.

Though NIA expects to pay most applications within these lines, when scientific concerns are identified in peer review that weaken the case for making an award, we may invite a re-submission of the application. Similarly, we may pay a few applications beyond the pay lines when they focus on high priorities of the Institute.

All other categories of awards (Conference, Institutional Training, Small Business) are allocation-based rather than based on a funding line.