Application & Review Procedures

Prior to Applying

Choose a funding mechanism and a particular funding opportunity, solicited or unsolicited.
Become familiar with NIH application policies.
Review application due dates, which are usually three times per year. Funding decisions take at least nine months.

Application & Review Process for Unsolicited Applications

Applicant creates a Grants.gov account and an ERA Commons account.
Applicant follows instructions to have institution submit a grant application.
Applications are received by the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR), which assigns each application to a statistical Study Section (with a corresponding Scientific Review Officer/Administrator) and an Institute or Center (with a corresponding Program Director).
- For potential funding, statistical methodology applications will be assigned to a branch within the Surveillance Research Program or another extramural program. Most biostatistical groups at NCI or other institutes do not administer grants.
- For review, statistical methodology applications are usually reviewed in one of the Study Sections.
The Study Section reviews the application for scientific merit and releases a summary statement of its critiques.
- After a preliminary review, about half of the applications reviewed by a Study Section are discussed and given an overall impact score.
Discussed applications undergo a second round of review at an Institute-specific advisory council, where funding recommendations are made.

Archived Presentations on Funding Opportunities

Peer Review Process for NIH Grant Applications

CSR produced a couple of excellent videos. The first informative video presents a mock Study Section review of a grant application. The second video gives insight by seasoned reviewers into what makes a good application.

Perspectives of Biostatisticians

A session about NIH grants was held during one of the Joint Statistical Meetings in Vancouver. Biostatistical Methods and Research Design (BMRD) Study Section chair Dr. Jeremy Taylor (University of Michigan) gave a presentation (PDF - 533 KB) in 2010 describing what BMRD looks for in an application. A description of the NIH funding process can be found in these slides (PDF - 877 KB).