NOT-AR-10-025: Announcement of NIAMS Revised Procedure for Acceptance of Applications Requesting $500,000 or More Direct Costs in any Grant Year

Announcement of NIAMS Revised Procedure for Acceptance of Applications Requesting $500,000 or More Direct Costs in any Grant Year

Notice Number: NOT-AR-10-025

Key Dates
Release Date: January 15, 2010

Issued by
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)(http://www.niams.nih.gov)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to announce a change in the procedures by which the NIAMS considers requests for acceptance of grant applications that request $500,000 or more in direct costs for any project year.

Background

The most recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy on the acceptance of applications requesting direct costs of $500,000 or more for any one year states that effective with the January 1, 2002 receipt dates, NIH requires applicants to seek agreement to accept assignment from Institute/Center staff at least 6 weeks prior to the anticipated submission.

Revised Procedure

Previously, the NIAMS accepted such large budget applications during two of the three grant cycles each fiscal year. Under this revised policy, the NIAMS will consider acceptance of requests for all three grant cycles. All applicants interested in submitting an application with $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year are encouraged to contact the appropriate NIAMS Program Director well in advance of submitting the application and the formal Request for Acceptance.

This policy applies to new, resubmission, renewal, and revision applications (definitions).

To facilitate review of requests by staff, requests for acceptance must be made in writing. Applicants are advised that the NIAMS is less likely to grant permission for submission of an application for the February 5/March 5 receipt dates (Cycle I) due to the timing of application cycles relative to formulation of fiscal year budgets.

The submission cycle requested by the applicant in the Letter of Request does not obligate the NIAMS to accept an application for that cycle. NIAMS staff may determine that the application should be submitted for a different receipt date, and should this be the case, it will be indicated to the applicant in the NIAMS decision letter.

Exclusions

This policy does not apply to applications submitted in response to Requests for Applications (RFAs). Applications submitted in response to the Omnibus Solicitations for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) applications are also exempt.

Additional Guidance

Applicants are directed to the NIAMS web site (NIAMS large grant policy) for specific information about what to include in the request, criteria for acceptance, and other pertinent information.