Last month, NIH reissued two notices of special interest (NOSIs) designed to retain investigators facing critical life events as they transition from mentored career development awards to research independence or from their first independent research project grant award to its first renewal or a second new research project grant.
- NOT-OD-23-031, NOSI: Administrative Supplements to Promote Research Continuity and Retention of NIH Mentored Career Development (K) Award Recipients and Scholars
- NOT-OD-23-032, NOSI: Administrative Supplement for Continuity of Biomedical and Behavioral Research Among First-Time Recipients of NIH Research Project Grant Awards
Both NOSIs use administrative supplements as the mechanism of support. Keep in mind, to receive an administrative supplement you must already have an ongoing NIH award and you must use the funds to conduct research within the already-approved scope of the ongoing award. To receive an administrative supplement, your ongoing award cannot be in the first or last year of its competitive segment.
For these initiatives, the critical life event must occur during the project period of the grant; projects in a no-cost extension period are not eligible. Examples of critical life events include childbirth, serious personal illness, and primary caregiving responsibilities for an ailing family member; more are listed in the NOSIs linked above.
You can request direct costs of up to $70,000 as well as applicable facilities and administrative costs. The award period cannot exceed 12 months.
The funds might then be used to pay for computational services, supplies, equipment, and supported effort of additional scientific staff to sustain the research project while you give priority to your critical life event.
Application Details
Submit your application through the Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp, Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity announcement or its subsequent reissued equivalent. You must write the Notice number of your chosen NOSI (i.e., NOT-OD-23-031 or NOT-OD-23-032) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (Box 4b) of the SF 424 R&R form.
Your application must also include a Personal Statement and a Statement of Institutional Support, as described in each of the NOSIs. While NIAID is concerned with whether the research project itself will be completed, we collect information about the applicant and their situation to assess the likelihood of the investigator returning to full productivity with the benefit of additional funds.
Note that applications for administrative supplements are reviewed by NIH staff rather than extramural peer reviewers. Staff will evaluate applications according to the criteria listed in the NOSIs under “Administrative Review Process.”
For NIAID specifically, applications are due annually on January 1, April 1, and October 1 through October 1, 2025.
If you have any questions, email NIAID’s Office of Research Training and Special Programs at AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov or call 301-594-5945.