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Start to formulate a research idea, check for available resources, and consider potential teammates. These initial assessments inform your upcoming decisions, such as your choice of funding opportunity and what to write in your application.
Develop Research Ideas
Start formulating your ideas for a research plan and application topic. You don't have to define all the specifics yet. We suggest that you keep your project concept somewhat flexible while you work out your resources, team, and NIH funding opportunity in the next steps.
Keep the following rules in mind for your application topic:
- You must propose research that is unique. By law, NIH cannot support a project that is already funded or pay for research that has already been done.
- You may not send an essentially identical proposal to more than one Public Health Service (PHS) agency at the same time. However, you can apply to an organization outside of PHS with the same application.
- If another organization funds your project, NIH cannot also fund it.
To check if your research ideas are unique and innovative, you may want to use the NIH RePORTER tool to search for similar NIH-funded research projects. Try the Quick Search field, Matchmaker, or the Advanced Search options. Through RePORTER, you may also discover gaps in NIH funding of your area of science, potential collaborators, or publications and patents resulting from NIH funding.
Evaluate Resources
Figure out what equipment, facilities, and other types of support your organization has available for your project:
- Your department chair, for example, may be able to tell you what resources and level of support your organization will furnish.
- Your organization may also have access to external resources or partnerships you can leverage.
Determine whether the available resources are adequate and the environment is conducive to your research idea. You could plan an experimental design that fits the resources you have, request additional resources in your application's budget to fill in the blanks, or combine both approaches.
Consider Collaborators
Most scientific work requires collaboration among researchers. NIH is dedicated to fostering such relationships. Collaborators can fill gaps in your own expertise and resources. You want to assure peer reviewers of the competence of your proposed team.
We recommend that you start assembling your research team now.
- Determine what kinds of expertise you need to strengthen and execute your research plans.
- Investigate ways to collaborate with other organizations. For example, some organizations have preexisting relationships with local communities that are relevant to your research.
Consider a multiple project director/principal investigator (PD/PI) approach:
- Multiple PD/PIs could be appropriate if your work includes multidisciplinary efforts and collaboration, where a team science approach could be most effective.
- The multiple PD/PI model differs in some significant ways from the traditional single PD/PI model.
- In a multiple PI application, you should account for the differences in application content, peer review, and award administration. As one example, multiple PI applications need a Leadership Plan.
- Note that the multiple PD/PI model can affect your eligibility for Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Status.
- Find more information and guidance at Multiple Principal Investigators.
Arrange for Letters
Start making arrangements with your team and organization for Letters of Support. Some mentored training opportunities also require Reference Letters. Find more detail about Letters of Support, Reference Letters, and Other Letters.
Your referees can complete Reference Letters once you identify your funding opportunity and target due date. Your organization and team will be able to finalize Letters of Support after you finish working out related aspects of your project plan and budget.