Skip Navigation

Office of Research

News & Information

NIH application changes affect UNL applicants

The National Institutes of Health has released a new application format that includes significant changes that will affect UNL faculty seeking NIH funding and current NIH principal investigators. NIH has reduced the number of pages allowed in its grant applications, reformatted bio sketches and reorganized proposal components. The new bio sketch format is required for all noncompeting continuation progress reports starting Oct. 1. The new grant application format is required for all applications, including resubmissions, due on or after Jan. 25, 2010. Major changes are highlighted below along with useful links to details and online resources from NIH.

NIH application format changes

Two of the goals of NIH's Enhancing Peer Review initiative have been to shorten the length of NIH grant applications and to reorganize proposal components to more closely align with the agency's review criteria. Specific details regarding the shortened, restructured NIH grant application format were recently announced in NIH Notice OD-09-149: Restructured Application Forms and Instructions for Submissions for FY2011 Funding. They also are described in a document entitled "Details of Application Changes" and more information is available on the NIH Restructured Applications Web page.

Major changes to NIH grant applications requesting FY2011 funding include:

  • Three sections of the current Research Plan (i.e., Background and Significance, Preliminary Studies/Progress Report, and Research Design and Methods) will be streamlined into a single section called "Research Strategy." The Research Strategy section will be comprised of three components: Significance, Innovation, and Approach.
  • The page limit for the new Research Strategy section will be six or 12 pages, unless otherwise indicated by an individual funding opportunity announcement. Specific Aims sections will be allotted one additional page, and for most resubmission or revision applications, the introduction also will be limited to an additional single page. The NIH Table of Page Limits provides a quick reference on how many pages are allowed in each section.
  • The Facilities and Other Resources section will require applicants to describe how the project's overall success will be facilitated by the scientific environment at the investigator's institution, including a description of unique research resources and, for early career investigators, institutional investment in and support for the applicant's longer-term professional success.
  • Biographical sketches will be reformatted to include a Personal Statement, and applicants will be required to limit their list of selected peer-reviewed publications to no more than 15. Publications listed within the biographical sketch should be selected "on the basis of recency, importance to the field, and relevance to the proposed research."  A template for and an example of the new biosketch format may be accessed by clicking here.

The new grant application format will be required for all submissions requesting FY2011 funding, beginning with application due dates on or following Jan. 25, 2010. Grants.gov packages reflecting these new requirements are expected to be available during December; remember to download an updated application package prior to any 2010 NIH grant application submission.

Effective Oct, 1, 2009, the new biographical sketch format will be required for all PHS 2590 Noncompeting Continuation Progress Reports (see NOT-OD-09-139). However, NIH has not yet updated its biographical sketch template to include a Personal Statement section. Check the SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission Information or PHS 398 fillable forms pages for an updated biographical sketch template prior to submitting an NIH progress report due on or following October 1.

Staff in the pre-award division of the Office of Sponsored Programs and in the Office of Proposal Development are available to help you comply with these new regulations. Please contact them if they may be of assistance.

Related Links:

Enhancing Peer Review: Use New Resources to Prepare for Upcoming Application Changes
NIH Restructured Applications Web page
Restructured Application Forms, Instructions for Submissions for FY2011 Funding
Enhancing Peer Review initiative
NIH Table of Page Limits
Enhancing Peer Review: Start Planning Now for Shorter Page Limits/Restructured Application Due January 25, 2010 and Beyond.