1 Introduction

The National Institutes of Health Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) is intended to make available to NIH recipients, in a single document, the policy requirements that serve as the terms and conditions of NIH grant awards. These terms and conditions apply not only to the recipients of NIH Grant Awards, but also flow down to any subawards as well as to subrecipients unless specified otherwise in the regulation or the terms and conditions of the specific NIH award (see Consortium Agreements).

This document also is designed to be useful to those interested in NIH grants by providing information about NIH, its organization, its staff and its grants process. The NIHGPS is available online. This version includes many links within the document as well as links to some web resources outside of this document. Users are strongly encouraged to use the on-line version of this document to benefit from these links.

nihgps organization

The NIHGPS has three parts, which allows general information, application information, and other types of reference material to be separated from legally binding terms and conditions:

  • Part I: NIH Grants General Information. Part I (chapters 1 and 2) contains a glossary defining commonly used terms and abbreviations used throughout the document; describes NIH and its relationship to other organizations within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); specifies recipient, NIH, and other HHS staff responsibilities and outlines the grant application and review processes.
  • Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards. Part II (chapters 3-19) includes generally applicable terms and conditions (Part IIA). This part also specifies the terms and conditions that apply to particular types of grants, recipients, and activities that differ from, supplement, or elaborate on the standard terms and conditions (Part IIB). These requirements, in separate chapters, pertain to multiple PD/PI applications and awards; construction, modernization and major alteration and renovation grants; research training grants and fellowships; career development awards; modular applications and awards; conference grants, consortium agreements; grants to foreign and international organizations (and grants with substantial foreign components awarded to domestic organizations), grants to Federal institutions and payments to Federal employees; grants to for-profit organizations; and research patient care activities.
  • Part III: Points of Contact. Part III (chapter 20) lists pertinent offices with their contact information.

conventions

Certain conventions are followed throughout this document. The term "grant" is used to mean both grants and cooperative agreements; however, for clarity, certain sections mention both grants and cooperative agreements. The term "recipient" generally is used to refer to recipients of grants and cooperative agreements. "NIH" may be used in this document to refer to the entire organization or to its component organizations, or else to contrast an action by NIH, including actions by its ICs, with an action by a recipient or other organization. A reference to "Part II (IIA or IIB)" or "Part III" without further elaboration means the corresponding part of the NIHGPS.

supersession

The NIHGPS was originally published with an effective date of October 1, 1998. It was subsequently revised several years thereafter with the turn of each new fiscal year (October). This revision of the NIHGPS is an update of the December, 2022 publication. It applies to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements for budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2023. This version incorporates new and modified requirements, clarifies certain policies, and implements changes in statutes, regulations, and policies that have been implemented through appropriate legal and/or policy processes since the previous version of the GPS from December, 2022. An explanation of the major changes to the NIHGPS since the previous edition is included in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts notice announcing the reissuance of the NIHGPS.

additional information

The Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA) develops and maintains this document. Changes in statutes, regulations, or policies that take effect before the next revision of the NIHGPS will be published separately in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. Recipients are responsible for reviewing the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts for changes and for implementing them, as appropriate. Subscribe to the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts Listserv at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/listserv.htm.