Notice Number: NOT-GM-19-009
Key Dates
Release Date: December 20, 2018
PAR-17-190
Issued by
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Purpose
The purpose of this Notice is to inform the biomedical research community that in order to reduce the administrative burden on Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) and applicant institutions, NIGMS is changing the timing of submission of the required letter of support from the applicant institution’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) in PAR-17-190 "Maximizing Investigators' Research Award for Early Stage Investigators (R35)". This FOA is hereby modified by removing the requirement for a letter of support from the AOR at the time of application submission. This letter from the AOR will now be required from potential awardees with the Just-in-Time Information prior to award.
The FOA is modified accordingly.
Part 2. Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission
PHS 398 Research Plan
The FOA currently reads:
Letters of Support: The application must include a letter from the institution's Authorized Organizational Official (AOR) indicating that they are aware of and accept the condition that other NIGMS research awards must be relinquished and pending NIGMS research applications, except as allowed inSection I, withdrawn as a condition of receiving a MIRA, and providing a statement that if chosen to receive an award, the PD/PI will devote at least 51% of their time available for research to this award. The time available for research should be determined in person-months and should not include time expended towards teaching, administration, and/or clinical duties. In addition, a letter of support should be included from the department chair, dean, or other academic unit leader testifying to the institutional commitment to development of the investigator and any other pertinent information. This information could include start-up packages and other institutional research support, space available to the PD/PI, salary support commitment for the PD/PI, skills and career development opportunities for the PD/PI, mentoring during the promotion and tenure process, and career advancement prospects for non-tenure track applicants. Letters from former mentors are not required, nor encouraged, except in the case of continuing collaborations.
Letters of support from collaborators must be limited to 1 to 2 pages, must not include attached Biographical Sketches, and should not circumvent page limitations by including figures and data.
Applications involving a consortium/contractual arrangement are expected to be rare. If a consortium/contractual arrangement must be included, the application must also include a letter from the subcontract PD/PI indicating why they cannot participate in collaborative research with the PD/PI without support from the MIRA.
The FOA is modified to read:
Letters of Support: A letter of support should be included from the department chair, dean, or other academic unit leader testifying to the institutional commitment to development of the investigator and any other pertinent information. This information could include start-up packages and other institutional research support, space available to the PD/PI, salary support commitment for the PD/PI, skills and career development opportunities for the PD/PI, mentoring during the promotion and tenure process, and career advancement prospects for non-tenure track applicants. Letters from former mentors are not required, nor encouraged, except in the case of continuing collaborations.
Letters of support from collaborators must be limited to 1 to 2 pages, must not include attached Biographical Sketches, and should not circumvent page limitations by including figures and data.
Applications involving a consortium/contractual arrangement are expected to be rare. If a consortium/contractual arrangement must be included, the application must also include a letter from the subcontract PD/PI indicating why they cannot participate in collaborative research with the PD/PI without support from the MIRA.
A letter from the institution’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) stipulating to the following points will be required as Just-In-Time information after review for applications being considering for funding:
- The PD/PI will devote at least 51% of his/her time available for research to this award; and
- The institution and PD/PI are aware of and accept that other NIGMS research awards, except as allowed in Section I, must be relinquished, and pending NIGMS research applications withdrawn, as a condition of receiving a MIRA.
Do not include this AOR letter in the application.
Part 2. Section VI. Award Administration Information
Award Notices
The FOA currently reads:
If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
The FOA is modified to read:
If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Additionally, a letter from the institution's Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) stipulating to the following points will be required as Just-In-Time information after review for applications being considering for funding:
- The PD/PI will devote at least 51% of his/her time available for research to this award
- The institution and PD/PI are aware of and accept that other NIGMS research awards, except as allowed in Section I, must be relinquished, and pending NIGMS research applications withdrawn, as a condition of receiving a MIRA.
All other aspects of the FOA remain the same.
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
Kristine Willis, Ph.D.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Telephone: 301-594-0943
Email:[email protected]
and Human Services (HHS)
