NINDS R13/U13 Guidelines

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Pre-submission approval for R13 conference grant applications is no longer required effective immediately per NOT-OD-26-040. Importantly, applications must be submitted well in advance of the meeting in order to ensure that the award can be made prior to the meeting date. Please see the table below for recommended timelines and consult a program officer if you have questions.
 

NINDS R13/U13 Purpose

The NINDS R13/U13 program supports high quality scientific conferences that are relevant to the NINDS mission and to the public health. R13 or U13 conference grants can be a critical means of promoting important and sometimes underdeveloped areas of research within the interests and priorities of the NINDS (please see our list of funding announcements for general program areas supported by the NINDS).  

R13/U13 Application Due Dates and Conference Meeting Date Timing

The application due dates for the R13/U13 are April 12, August 12, December 12. 

Receipt DateApproximate Review DateCouncil DateConference Meeting Date
April 12June/JulyOctoberJanuary through March
August 12October/NovemberJanuaryApril through July
December 12February/MarchMayAugust through December

Considerations for NINDS R13/U13 Applications

Awards are typically in the range of $10,000 to $25,000 and are intended to provide partial support for the conference.  Some appropriate uses of NINDS R13 funding include supporting the dissemination of the proceedings, web-casting or web-archiving of the meeting, supporting students or more junior investigators to attend or participate in the meeting, and other limited activities specific to the interests of the NINDS or NIH. NINDS generally only accepts R13 applications for a single year of support. However, in exceptional circumstances, NINDS may support multi-year applications that have a demonstrated history of yearly funding success and that meet NINDS mission objectives.  An additional circumstance might be a series of interrelated meetings, each of which is an essential part of achieving a defined overall goal.  In such a case, the applicant should be able to describe each of the meetings in the series in detail in the original grant application.  Applicants should contact program staff in advance if they wish to apply for larger amounts of funding and/or multi-year support.

The difference between the R13 and U13 mechanisms is that in the case of the U13, NINDS Program staff will be substantially involved in the planning and/or conduct of the meeting (exceeding the traditional role of the staff member as Program Administrator), assisting the Principal Investigator according to specific Terms and Conditions of the award.  Examples of NINDS Program staff involvement after award include, but are not limited to, development of an agenda, selection of speakers, organization of the conference or workshop, and/or post-meeting publications.  As with the R13 mechanism, the NINDS provides partial support for U13 grants with perhaps additional funds for NINDS-initiated topics/speakers.

In some cases, several NIH Institutes may have an interest in supporting or co-funding the conference, particularly if the topic spans broad or more basic areas of neuroscience.  Before submitting the application, the applicant is encouraged to contact other NIH Institutes for their interest in supporting the conference.

Contacts/Inquiries


 
Want to contact NINDS staff?

Please visit our Find Your NINDS Program Director page to learn more about contacting Program Directors, Grants Management Specialists, Scientific Review Officers, and Health Program Specialists.