Every few years, NIH updates the application form set investigators use to apply for NIH grant awards. Such transitions provide NIH with apt moments to implement new policies and procedures.
The current form set is called FORMS-H. We will transition to FORMS-I for application due dates on or after January 25, 2025. Below, we summarize the policy changes that will accompany the switch.
Planned Policy Changes
NIH’s Simplified Review Framework for Research Project Grant Applications will replace the five standard review criteria that peer reviewers use to assess a research project grant application (Significance, Investigator, Innovation, Approach, and Environment) with three new factors: Importance of the Research, Rigor and Feasibility, and Expertise and Resources. The new framework will apply to activity codes like R01, R03, R15, R21, R61, U01, and UG3/UH3; refer to Simplified Peer Review Framework for a complete list.
NIH will also implement Revisions to the NIH Fellowship Application and Review Process to improve the likelihood that the most promising applicants are consistently identified during peer review. Specifically, peer reviewers will focus more heavily on the potential of the applicant, strength of the science, and quality of the training plan.
NIH will standardize Reference Letters to improve peer reviewers’ ability to assess the strengths, weaknesses, and potential to pursue a productive career of candidates for fellowship or career development awards. The new templates should also reduce burden on referees.
Applicants for National Research Service Award (NRSA) training program support will also notice changes with the next form set. New NRSA Data Tables are being designed to reduce administrative burden on applicants and peer reviewers. Additionally, two items—training in responsible conduct of research and the recruitment plan to enhance diversity—will begin factoring into a training grant application’s overall impact score.
Lastly, NIH will realign the information investigators must send for biographical sketches and other support, which will standardize NIH disclosure requirements with those of other federal agencies. The adjustments to preaward and progress report processes should streamline those tasks.
Lessons from Last Time
Later this year, there will be moments amid the FORMS-I transition when a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) will provide applicants with links to both the FORMS-H application package and the FORMS-I application package. You, as the applicant, will be responsible for choosing the appropriate form set for your application.
There may be other instances in which two versions of a NOFO exist simultaneously, one using FORMS-H and the other FORMS-I. Or a NOFO may publish temporarily without any linked form set, and instead list the date when a link to the FORMS-I application package will become available. Again, in such moments, you will need to select the appropriate NOFO and form set.
When that time comes, rely on your targeted application due date to guide your selections. For a due date on or after January 25, 2025, you will need to use the FORMS-I form set. This rule of thumb holds true even if you are eligible for continuous submission or can leverage NIH’s late application policy—the targeted due date, rather than your actual submission date, is what matters.
Moreover, you will use FORMS-I for a renewal or resubmission application due on or after January 25, 2025, even if the original application used FORMS-H. In the past, NIH has allowed a grace period for administrative supplement applications (which don’t use application due dates in quite the same way); still, we encourage you to treat January 25, 2025, as a transition date for supplement requests as well.
More to Come
We will return to this topic throughout the coming year. NIH will host Webinars to further describe the policy changes listed above, several of which are already open for registration.
In the meantime, read the April 4, 2024 Guide notice Overview of Grant Application and Review Changes for Due Dates on or After January 25, 2025 for further details and policy resources.