When NIH issues a correction or update to an NIH Guide notice, the original notice’s text may not change since NIH can correct some fields in the original notice but not others. If you overlook the “Related Notices” section of a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), you may not identify changes you are meant to observe. In turn, you may miss eligibility criteria or due date information that is vital to your application’s responsiveness and competitiveness.
Therefore, it’s important to check your target NOFO’s “Related Notices” section periodically for key updates to funding opportunities that can affect your application. This is especially important when you’re preparing a resubmission, as your intended due date may have been changed or cancelled.
For policy notices, the “Related Announcements” section helps you find older versions of the policy as well as any announcements related to the policy topic. You can also find new information if NIH has since issued further clarifications or policy changes in the policy area you are referencing.
As an example, NIAID no longer accepts renewal applications for Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24, Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed), as announced in the Notice of Change in the NIAID K24 Allowable Application Types and Eligibility Requirements. That information is not stated explicitly in the text of the Parent K24 NOFO; you need to realize it through the related notice.
For a policy notice example, refer to Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing. The notice links to subsequent implementation updates like Reporting Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan Activities in the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR).
Don’t Forget Related Notices in NOSIs
For a notice of special interest (NOSI), you will instead find a “Related Announcements” section. That section will list all of the NOFOs through which applicants can apply to the NOSI. It may also list changes made through related notices, e.g., an institute's added participation in the NOSI.
For more information on policy changes, read Stay Informed About Policy Changes & News on our website.
We also list key policy notices on our Special Announcements page.