By Marc Smithers, Grants Development Associate (Higher Education)
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has consistently been one of the largest sources of federal grant funds and serves as the global leader in health research funding. Of its $47.7 billion budget in the fiscal year 2023, $34.9 billion was awarded across 58,951 grants to 2,743 organizations for biomedical research. For grantseekers that are either new to federal biomedical agencies or are simply looking to expand their scope of funding streams, a basic understanding of how NIH grants are applied for and awarded is an important first step in considering whether to pursue funding through this essential federal grant maker.
Considerations Before Starting Your Search
Perhaps the most important aspect of NIH funding to understand is that the mission of the NIH is to support training, research, and discovery of knowledge within the biomedical sciences. This unique focus differentiates the kinds of projects they fund from other federal agencies within scientific fields such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Though there is surely overlap in scientific research, and even instances where workers in the same lab are funded through different scientific agencies for similar kinds of research, understanding that NIH funding goes to biomedical research and support is fundamental to understanding what opportunities good fits for your organization may be to pursue.
Searching for Good Program Fits
Once you have determined that your organization engages in the type of research and training that NIH funds, searching for the right opportunity to pursue is your next task, and this is where the coding and levels of funding opportunities within the NIH can be quite daunting to the uninitiated grantseeker. The vocabulary used within their agency can be so confusing that the NIH publishes a glossary and other various tools to help grantseekers navigate their programs, which are divided into different activity codes and funding categories. As a first step, understanding how activity codes are used is helpful. Activity codes range from programs aimed at research (R) to career development (K) to training (T) and are used throughout the institutes and centers (IC) of the NIH. These letters are paired with different two-digit numbers that make up a program’s activity code, such as R01, which is the most common NIH grant for independent research, or S10, which is the Research Infrastructure Program within NIH that funds instrumentation purchases for biomedical research purposes. Activity codes are used by multiple different programs, such as the Basic Instrumentation Grant Program, the High-End Instrumentation Grant Program, and the Shared Instrumentation Grant Program, all of which have an S10 activity code. The ability to determine a program’s activity code, then, can provide grantseekers with an understanding of what funding is available and for what purposes. The NIH does warn grantseekers, however, that while these activity codes are fairly standard throughout the different institutes and centers within the NIH, there is some variation. Reviewing the notice of funding opportunity will give grant seekers the clearest understanding of a program’s purpose and eligibility requirements.
Funding Amounts
Another unique aspect of NIH programs is how they are funded. Unlike other agencies, which typically award money from a total funding amount that has been designated for that particular grant program, most NIH funding is awarded through their overall grant funding budget with all applications in competition with one another for the same funds. This is an important aspect of the review process to consider, as funding a competitive proposal is not always just a matter of your application standing out among those that have been submitted for the program you hope to be funded through but also may be judged against submissions to other programs if overall funding levels are constrained.
As you consider whether you may have a competitive project for an NIH program, one other tool the agency provides can be helpful in your deliberation. The NIH is one of the few governmental agencies that provides samples of previously approved applications. As you review their funding opportunities, look through some of these sample applications to get an idea of what is required for a competitive proposal and also the amount of time that may be needed for you to pull together the required information. The NIH suggests that a simple R01 application can take two or months to draft, so be sure to consider the complexity of your project, as well as any partnerships or internal collaboration that will likely impact on the time required for you to draft a competitive proposal.
Conclusion
As the NIH continues to revise some of its processes under the new presidential administration, now is a perfect time for those who are unfamiliar with its funding cycles to become acquainted with some of the nuances of its programs. Knowing the fundamentals of what NIH tends to fund as well as basic terminology used in their programs can provide a helpful starting point for institutions that are new to the grantseeking space or those seeking to partner with biomedical researchers.