A program announcement with special receipt, referral, and/or review considerations (PAR) is a type of notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). We use a PAR when the nature of a funding initiative necessitates deviation either from NIH’s Standard Due Dates, Assignment Process, or Review Criteria.
Relative to a request for applications (RFA), which is another type of NOFO, a PAR calls for projects within a broader scope of research interest. An RFA targets a narrowly defined topic area. Further, PARs typically have multiple receipt dates, are usually reviewed at NIH’s Center for Scientific Review, and (depending on activity code) generally follow our paylines; whereas RFAs often have only one due date, are reviewed at NIAID, and have set-aside funds.
Read Types of Notices of Funding Opportunities for additional details.