NINDS R13/U13 Purpose
The NINDS R13/U13 (PA-25-080) 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
The application due dates for the R13/U13 are April 12, August 12, December 12.
| Request to Submit Date | Receipt Date | Approximate Review Date | Council Date | Conference Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1 | April 12 | June/July | October | November through February |
| July 1 | August 12 | October/November | January | March through June |
| October 31 | December 12 | February/March | May | July through October |
NINDS R13/U13 Pre-Submission Approval
Permission to submit a conference grant application must be requested by submitting the NINDS R13/U13 Pre-submission Request Form at least six weeks before the application due date (see table above). Typically, a NINDS decision on willingness to accept primary assignment for a R13 conference grant can be expected within two weeks of submission of the Request-to-Submit letter. At time of application submission, the signed Permission-to-Submit letter from the NINDS must be attached to the cover letter of the R13 application, which should also identify all NIH ICs that may have interest in providing co-funding support.
Step 1: Prepare the following information
- Contact Principal Investigator (PI) Name
- Contact PI Email
- Name of Sponsoring Institution (foreign institutions are not eligible to apply for conference support).
- Name of the Meeting
- Meeting Location (City and Country)
- Meeting Dates
- The intended receipt date (April 12, August 12, December 12)
- A short description of the purpose of the meeting and its relevance to the mission of the NINDS.
- Names of NIH Program Officers whom who have previously spoken to about the application.
- Grants numbers of previously submitted versions of this application (e.g. previous year's conference).
- A preliminary draft agenda of the program, including names and affiliations of invited and/or confirmed speakers.
Step 2: Submit information to NINDS
- Submit the above material to using the NINDS R13/U13 Pre-submission Request Form.
Step 3: NINDS Review and Determination
Typically, an NINDS decision on willingness to accept primary assignment for a R13 conference grant can be expected within two weeks of submission of the Request-to-Submit letter.
At time of application submission, the signed Permission-to-Submit letter from the NINDS must be attached to the cover letter of the R13 application, which should also identify all NIH ICs that may have interest in providing co-funding support.
Additional 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.