If you receive a grant from NIH, be aware that anybody can request to view your application and progress reports under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Any recipient of federal support and the information they submit to the government is subject to FOIA. Exemptions exist as a way to withhold certain information, but outside of some small business awards, very few grants contain information that qualifies for an exemption. Refer to FOIA Exemptions & Exclusions for examples, e.g., trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is obtained from a person that is confidential or privileged.
Grant applicants: Although you can select the "proprietary/privileged information" box of the SF 424 R&R Other Project Information Form, doing so does not automatically shield your information from release in response to a FOIA request. When applying, mark that box only if your application includes specific proprietary information that you wish to identify for NIH staff and peer reviewers.
Should you receive an award, and NIH receives a FOIA request, NIH staff will consider your response to the “proprietary/privileged” question and consult with you and your awardee institution. Ultimately, NIH makes the final determination of whether to release the specific information you have identified. We also consider what information may be found on the internet that is publicly available and not confidential. We cannot withhold your entire application or progress report. Under FOIA, if it cannot be withheld under one of the FOIA exemptions, the information is released and the agency reviews line by line to make such a determination.
Find a list of which types of records NIH will generally release or withhold pursuant to a FOIA request in Section 2.3.11 Availability and Confidentiality of Information of the NIH Grants Policy Statement. If you have procedural questions, direct them to NIH’s Freedom of Information Act Office.
Separately, know that NIH prioritizes Integrity and Confidentiality in NIH Peer Review. Information about peer review discussions or grant applications not selected for funding is generally protected against release for FOIA requests.
Other Information Is Shared Automatically
NIH shares certain application fields through NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) after a grant is awarded:
- Name of principal investigator (PI)
- PI title
- PI email address
- Organizational name
- Institutional address
- Names of project leaders
- Project summary/abstract
- Public health relevance statement
Further, a variety of data elements related to ongoing funded projects are automatically collected and shared publicly, as described at Exporter Data Dictionary.
Write Project Outcomes for a Lay Audience
On a related note, remember that the Projects Outcome section of the Research Performance Progress Report is shared publicly on NIH databases, e.g., RePORTER, so you should take care not to include private or sensitive details there. Moreover, you should write that section with a lay audience in mind—its purpose is to inform the public rather than, say, peer reviewers or NIH staff.