Research career development K award, CDA

12.1 General

This chapter includes general information about research career development awards (CDAs), also known as "K" awards. It supplements the general information found in IIA that applies to all NIH awards.

The objective of NIH career development programs is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists are available in adequate numbers and in appropriate research areas to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. Among NIH ICs, a variety of programs are available for scientists who require additional mentored or independent experience in a productive scientific environment in order to further develop their careers in independent biomedical, behavioral and clinical research.

For mentored programs, support is provided to cover protected time for supervised career development experiences with a goal of leading to research independence. Independent (non-mentored) programs foster the development of outstanding scientists and enable them to expand their potential to make significant contributions to a field of research.