Guide to Program Project Review at NIA

Dear Current or Prospective Reviewer,

This guide highlights key points about reviewer participation in a program project (PPG) review for the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Division of Extramural Activities (DEA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Whether you are an experienced NIH reviewer or new to the process, please read through this guide so that you are well-informed about the current, NIA-specific process.  We are greatly appreciative of the service that reviewers provide - it is a valuable and vital part of the peer-review process, and we appreciate reviewer efforts to make the process thorough, fair, and ultimately successful.

What is a Program Project?

A Program Project Grant (PPG or P01) supports synergistic research.  It is made up of at least three subprojects and one or more cores, the latter serving some or all subprojects.  The PPG allows investigators with differing areas of expertise to collaborate in research by pooling their talents and resources, to produce results that would not be possible with individual, independent projects.

Reviewers are asked to assess the merit of individual subprojects and cores, as well as the overall program project.  Each subproject should initially be assessed as if it were an individual stand-alone application.  Considerations of how each subproject fits into the overall program project should subsequently be reflected in the overall program project score. 

Program Project Organization