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Funding Strategy for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke--FY2003

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Table of Contents (click to jump to sections)

Research Project Grants (RPGs) and Centers
Competing RPGs
Special Initiatives
Major Clinical Trials
Non-Competing RPGs
Duration of Grants
Research Training and Career Development
Special Supplement Funding
Merit Awards (Javits)
NINDS/NIH Policy for Accepting Applications Exceeding $500,000 Per Year
NINDS Policy for Accepting Clinical Research Applications Exceeding $1,000,000 per Year

This is the fiscal year 2003 Funding Strategy. Please select this link to view the current strategy

Each year, NINDS establishes a set of funding plans based on the appropriations received from Congress. This year (FY2003), we have budgeted $1,086 million for Research Project Grants and Centers. These funds are apportioned between our competing awards ($279 million) and funding commitments made in previous years for the continuing non-competing awards ($807 million).

Research Project Grants (RPGs) and Centers

These are the main mechanisms of support for investigator-initiated research and include: single investigator awards, e.g., traditional research project grants (R01), Small Business Innovative Research Grants (R43, R44), Small Business Technology Transfer Grants (R41, R42), Cooperative Agreements (U01), and multicomponent awards, e.g., Program Projects (P01) and Centers (P50).

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Competing RPGs

We have set aside approximately 80% ($223 million) of the total funds available for competing awards to fund unsolicited grants (not in response to special initiatives). The new (Type 1), competing renewal (Type 2), and competing supplement (Type 3) grants will be funded based on percentile rank order. We estimate this will fund applications scored through the 23.0 percentile rank this fiscal year. Applications in response to Program Announcements within the 23.0 percentile are treated the same as applications that have no Program Announcement designation. We anticipate that about 30% of all eligible competing RPGs and Center applications will be funded this year. This overall success rate includes applications in response to special initiatives.

Modular grants will be awarded at an average of 95% of the Council-recommended level. Modular grants will be funded with no escalation factor for future years. Non-modular applications, those requesting more than $250,000 direct costs in any year, will be awarded at an average of 90% of Council-recommended amounts. In general, future year commitments for non-modular grants will be calculated by using the FY 2003 award level as a base and applying a 3 percent escalation factor for recurring costs. Appropriate adjustments will be made for non-recurring costs, such as equipment.

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Special Initiatives

The remaining funds available for competing awards ($56 million) are set aside for special initiatives, including responses to Requests for Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcements with set asides (PASs). Applications that have percentiles beyond the 23.0 percentile may be designated by NINDS as high program priority applications and funded on a case by case basis from this amount.

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Major Clinical Trials

Multi-center clinical trials and other types of fixed-protocol clinical studies generally have major budget implications and substantial NINDS staff involvement. Funds from the set-aside for special initiatives will be made available for competing clinical trial awards depending on the scientific merit of applications received. All such applications will receive special Council consideration for potential funding. Budgets for individual awards are set each year by staff after careful consideration of the resources that will be needed to follow study protocols.

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Non-Competing RPGs

NINDS will award non-competing RPGs in FY 2003, in nearly all cases, at the levels committed in the FY2002 Notices of Grant Award. However, NINDS retains the right to reduce the funding level when necessary and appropriate. For example, such a reduction would be made to eliminate any overlapping support identified.

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Duration of Grants.

The NIH is required to fund competing RPGs in such a manner that the average length of these awards does not exceed four years. To achieve this four-year average, NINDS will award four years of support for many applications that requested and were recommended for 5 years. A limited number of 5-year awards will be approved based on percentile rank of application, type of research (longitudinal study or clinical trial), and new investigator status of applicant.

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Research Training and Career Development

NINDS funds individual predoctoral fellowships (F30 and F31), individual postdoctoral fellowships (F32), institutional postdoctoral training grants (T32), and several career development grants, including mentored research scientist development award (K01), mentored clinical scientist development award (K08), mentored patient-oriented research career development award (K23), Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25), midcareer investigator award in patient-oriented research (K24), and independent scientist award (K02). The approximate total NINDS budget for training, fellowship, and career development awards is $64 million.

For predoctoral fellowships, it is estimated that for this fiscal year about 40% (F30) or 25% (F31) of the eligible applications will be funded, respectively. For postdoctoral fellowships (F32), it is estimated that for this fiscal year about 25% of the eligible applications will be funded. For institutional training grants, we estimate about 30% of eligible applications will be funded and for career development awards, we estimate about 30% will be funded. Please note that training and career development awards do not receive a percentile score, and that it is somewhat misleading to provide an estimated priority score for each, as these vary from one funding cycle to the next.

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Special Supplement Funding

A total of $12 million has been set-aside in FY 2003 for special supplements to include enhancing research on mouse transgenics, human stem cell supplements, rodent testing for candidate drugs, promoting an increase in minority and disabled persons working in neuroscience research, and supporting urgent unforeseen needs that might arise.

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Merit Awards (Javits)

The NINDS Advisory Council may designate up to 12 competing applicants per year as Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Awards. These awards are made in two segments, an initial four-year award, followed by a subsequent three year award with staff review and Council concurrence for progress and expanded scope of project. Investigators may not apply directly for a Javits Award. These awards are made to distinguished investigators who (1) have a record of substantial contributions on the "cutting edge" of some field of neurological science, and (2) can be expected to be highly productive for a seven-year period. Any application selected for nomination would be expected to be exemplary of the investigator's body of work and would have been judged especially meritorious by a peer review group (study section). For more information, see the Javits Award description.

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NINDS/NIH Policy for Accepting Applications Exceeding $500,000 Per Year

The NIH supports research projects with large budgets but needs to consider such awards as early as possible in the budget and program planning process. Therefore, applicants must seek agreement to accept assignment from NINDS staff at least 6 weeks prior to the anticipated submission of any application requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year. Applicants with clinical research applications over $1,000,000 must contact NINDS staff a minimum of 3 months prior to the next submission deadline. (See below).
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-004.html

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NINDS Policy for Accepting Clinical Research Applications Exceeding $1,000,000 Per Year

Applicants planning to submit an application for a clinical research project requesting $1,000,000 or more in direct costs for any year must contact NINDS staff a minimum of 3 months prior to the next submission deadline for new grant applications. The applicant must obtain agreement from the NINDS staff that the Institute will accept the application for consideration for award. Any application subject to this policy that does not receive permission to submit will be returned to the applicant without review. For purposes of this policy "clinical research" is as defined in the 1997 Report of the NIH Director's panel on Clinical Research (http://www.nih.gov/news/crp/97report/execsum.htm). According to this definition, clinical research includes (a) Patient-oriented research (including research on the mechanisms of human disease, therapeutic interventions, clinical trials, and the development of new technologies); (b) Epidemiologic and behavioral studies; and (c) Outcomes research and health services research. Excluded from this definition are in vitro research studies that utilize human tissue that cannot be linked to a living individual or research that does not involve human participants. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-NS-01-012.html

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Last updated February 09, 2005