NOT-OD-07-056: Announcing the NIH Director’s Bridge Awards

Announcing the NIH Director’s Bridge Awards

Notice Number: NOT-OD-07-056

Key Dates
Release Date: March 14, 2007

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

As indicated in previous announcements regarding the financial operating policy for FY 2007 (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-030.html and http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/financial/index.htm) the NIH is taking specific steps to buttress investigators whose R01 applications receive review scores near the Institute or Center nominal payline and who have limited additional support. This approach was reinforced with the enactment of PL 110-005: Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 on February 15, 2007.

This announcement describes the NIH Director’s Bridge Award (NDBA) designed to provide continued but limited funding for new and established grantees who have submitted a competing renewal grant application that describes a highly meritorious project. The continued funding will permit the Principal Investigator additional time to strengthen a resubmission application. The Guidelines for this award are similar to those described for the High Priority, Short-Term Project Award (R56) (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-04-047.html). NDBA recipients will receive R56 awards for a single year.

Investigators submitting a competing renewal research project grant (R01) application or the first resubmission of the competing renewal application (A1), who just miss the nominal funding payline for the IC to which it is primarily assigned may be nominated for the NDBA by the administering NIH Institute, providedthe PI has less than $200,000 in other support (total costs) from all sources to fund their research. Nominations will be sent to the NIH Office of the Director for final selection for the NDBA. Total costs approved by the Institute or Center for the first year of the project up to $500,000 will be provided using a one year R56 grant. At this time, the second resubmission (A2) of an R01 will not be considered for selection as an NDBA. Note that applicants may not apply for an R56 grant and applicants may not nominate themselves.

NIH received $91 million in the FY 2007 Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution to support vulnerable research programs. Applications submitted for funding in FY 2007 and applications submitted in FY 2006 that are still being considered for funding may be nominated for the NDBA.

Inquiries

Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive , Room 350
Bethesda , MD 20892 7963