FY 2013 FUNDING AND OPERATING GUIDELINES

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National Institutes of Health

December 3, 2012

Available Funding and Operating Guidelines

FY 2012 Archive
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FY 2008 Archive

The NIH is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) which continues government operations at 2012 enacted levels. Until FY 2013 appropriations are enacted, NIH will issue non-competing research grant awards at a level below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award.

All legislative mandates that were in effect in FY 2012 remain in effect under the CR, including the salary limitation set at Executive Level II of the Federal Pay Scale ($179,700) which was effective with grant awards with an initial Issue Date on or after December 23, 2011 (see NOT-OD-12-034 and NOT-OD-12-035).

See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-13-002.html for the complete notice published in the NIH Guide
 

GOALS

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) will continue to apply National Institutes of Health (NIH) cost management guidelines when making fiscal year 2013 grant awards. Interim guidelines have been posted in the NIH Guide and will remain in effect until NIH receives a full appropriation. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-13-002.html

Payline Information

The NHLBI has established an interim payline at the 6th percentile (inclusive) for investigator initiated R01/R21 research grant applications. Initial paylines will be determined for other funding mechanisms - such as program project grants, training and career development grants, and small business grants - later in the fiscal year. We remain hopeful that our final appropriation will allow us to reach paylines comparable to FY2012. As in previous years, paylines will be updated throughout the year as appropriate and will be posted to this site when available. Applicants are advised to use information in the Funding and Operating Guidelines in conjunction with information available in the applicant’s organizational eCommons account to determine the probability of funding. Final funding decisions will be based on programmatic priorities and availability of funds.

Future Year Commitments on FY 2013 New and Competing Renewal Awards:

Inflationary increases for future year commitments are no longer provided for all competing and non-competing research grant awards issued by the NHLBI, however adjustments for special needs (such as equipment and added personnel) will continue to be accommodated whenever possible. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-12-036.html Although the NHLBI remains committed to funding at recommended levels, fiscal constraints and NIH policy may necessitate adjustments in future awards.

Duration of Research Project Grants

Competing awards are adjusted to achieve a four-year average duration for research project grants and to meet cost management goals. Applications from ESIs, program project grants, and clinical trial grants are generally awarded for the full length of their Council-recommended project period. Competing applications with a Council-recommended duration of four years will not be reduced further to three years. Please note that amended applications (A1s) will be reduced by one year, regardless of the priority score or percentile accorded the application.

Beginning in FY 2014, it is anticipated that NHLBI policy will be to fund investigator-initiated R01 competing applications, regardless of percentile or priority score, for a period of four years. The only exceptions to this policy are:

• awards made to Early Stage Investigators
• awards for studies with a patient accrual and follow-up timeline that cannot be accomplished within four years;
• awards for AIDS-related research

These applications will generally be awarded for the full length of their Council-recommended project period. As a result of this newly adopted NHLBI policy, researchers are encouraged to submit for review only applications with a project period of four years or less.
 

Early Stage Investigators

Fostering the success of Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) who are establishing careers in biomedical research is a high priority of the NHLBI and NIH. The NHLBI emphasis on ESIs is reflected in the special consideration given in determining both funding priority and period of support. The NHLBI routinely considers for funding ESI applications that score outside of the normal funding range.

The NHLBI will continue a commitment to help ESIs in accordance with NIH guidelines articulated in the NIH Guide Notice Revised New and Early Stage Investigator Policies. All awards to ESI applicants that are included under that policy will be funded for all years recommended by the NHLBAC.

Please note that the NHLBI considers ESI eligibility for special funding consideration of a resubmission application to have been determined at the time of the initial unamended (A0) submission. If an applicant would have qualified for ESI special funding consideration at the time of the A0 application submission, that eligibility would be maintained through the A1 revision.

For 2013, Type 2 applications from PIs who were initially funded as ESIs will also receive special funding consideration. Additional information on ESIs can be found in the NHLBI document Commitment to Early Stage Investigators.

As of FY 2010, new (Type 1) applications from New Investigators (NIs) who do not qualify as ESIs will no longer be considered for special funding. However, the first renewal (Type 2) application is eligible for special funding consideration if the original Type 1 application was funded before FY 2010 under the NI funding policy that was in place.
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The NHLBI will use the following guidelines for funding RPGs:

Salary Cap

The FY2012 salary cap for individuals under an NIH grant or cooperative agreement remains in effect and is established by statute at $179,700. All legislative mandates that were in effect in FY 2012 remain in effect under the CR, including the salary limitation set at Executive Level II of the Federal Pay Scale ($179,700), which was effective with grant awards with an initial Issue Date on or after December 23, 2011 (see NOT-OD-12-034 and NOT-OD-12-035). The 2013 salary cap level will be updated when it becomes available.

New (Type 1) Research Project Grants

The NHLBI policy for new grants is to award them at the NHLBAC recommended level except for specific programmatic and administrative adjustments. Applications that do not exceed $250,000 direct costs in any given year of support in the recommended competitive segment are generally awarded under the modular concept. Applications requesting direct costs that exceed $250,000 in any year of support in the recommended competitive segment will be awarded with categorical budgets.

Competing Renewal (Type 2) Research Project and MERIT Extension (Type 4) Awards

The NHLBI policy for competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that will be awarded in FY 2013 differs depending upon the nature of the award in the preceding competitive segment and the likely form of the award for a competitive renewal. Please note that if a proposed award would result in a reduction greater than 25 percent from the requested amount in the application, NHLBI program staff will contact the PI and the applicant institution before an award is issued to obtain either a statement that the approved aims and objectives can be accomplished within the proposed level of support, or a revised statement of aims and revised budget for the proposed level of support.

Program Project Grants (Type 1 and Type 2)

Type 1: Direct costs will be awarded at the recommended level or $1,515,000, whichever is less. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs associated with first tier subcontracts are not included in the direct cost ceiling. No annual increases for recurring costs in non-competing years are allowed. 

Type 2: Direct costs will be awarded at the same amount shown on the Notice of Award for the last noncompetitive segment. As with new awards, no annual increases for recurring costs are allowed.

Categorical to Categorical

For competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that were categorical awards in the preceding competitive segment and will be in excess of $250,000 direct costs in any given year of the recommended competitive segment, the NHLBI will award at the NHLBAC recommended direct cost up to a maximum of three percent (10 percent for MERIT extensions) above the level of the last non-competing award of the preceding competitive segment, except for specific programmatic and administrative adjustments that may be warranted. The maximum may be exceeded to accommodate non-recurring equipment costs. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs for first tier consortia are not considered in the direct cost base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Modular to Modular

For competing renewal and MERIT extension grants that were modular awards in the preceding competitive segment and will be no more than $250,000 direct costs in any given year of the recommended competitive segment, the NHLBI will award at the NHLBAC recommended direct cost amount. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs for first tier consortia are not considered in the direct cost base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Modular to Categorical

If the previous award is 10 modules, a requested increase will cause the competing renewal to be awarded as categorical. In all such cases, the NHLBI will award at the NHLBAC recommended direct cost up to a maximum of 3 percent (10 percent for MERIT extensions) above the level of the last non-competing award of the preceding competitive segment. The maximum may only be exceeded to accommodate specific programmatic and administrative adjustments that may be warranted or for non-recurring equipment costs. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs for first tier consortia are not considered in the direct cost base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.

Continuation Awards (Type 5 Noncompeting Renewal)

The NHLBI will award Type 5 grants at 90% while under the CR in accordance with the NIH Fiscal Policy for FY 2013. The interim policy for operations under the Continuing Resolution has been posted in the NIH Guide at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-13-002.html. 

Last Updated: December 2012