Sponsor Guidance

What makes a good sponsor?

The sponsor is generally a principal investigator (PI) closely involved in the fellowship candidate’s research training (often the candidate’s graduate mentor or supervisor). The sponsor’s role is to guide the trainee’s development throughout the training process. Among other things, sponsors should regularly communicate with the candidate about their scientific perspectives and training and career goals. Sponsors play an essential role in the fellowship application process and should encourage ongoing communication with the candidate as they conceive and develop the fellowship application.

What’s Changing

• Sponsors are not required to have had NIH support or extensive mentoring experience. NIH recognizes that the trainee’s research may be funded through a variety of means and that early career faculty may be excellent mentors for trainees. The emphasis in the application and in the review is on the individualized nature of the training plan put forth by the sponsor. 
• The Sponsor and Co-Sponsor statements will now require the sponsor(s) to submit the following statements: 

1. Mentoring Approach and Candidate Mentoring Plan
2. Prior Commitment to Training and Mentoring
3. Commitment to the Candidate’s Research Training Plan
4. Research Training Environment
5. Candidate’s Potential
6. A sixth statement on Clinical Training will be required for candidates proposing to gain experience in a clinical trial as part of the research training plan. 

• Sponsors will no longer be required to provide a description for “Institutional Environment, and Commitment to training.” 
• Note that there are changes to reference letters. Details will be available at the time of the release of new application instructions at the end of Nov 2024.  

What can sponsors do now to prepare for the fellowship changes?

Sponsors should familiarize themselves with the application sections that will now be required and start talking to their candidate(s) about the candidate’s professional goals, the research training project, and training and mentorship plans. Sponsors can use the FORMS-I application guide to start developing answers now to the Sponsor and Co-Sponsor Statements included in the updated “Commitment to Candidate, Mentoring, and Training Environment” section.