As you contemplate a renewal application, a word to the wise: whether you're on your first grant or you have had decades of support, successful renewal is never guaranteed. Over the past several years, about one-third of renewal applications were successful and many of those failed on their first attempt. Success rates for new applications are lower still, so it’s to your advantage to build on accomplishments from your current grant by applying to renew an ongoing research project.
Read on for our advice and perspective on how to lessen your risk of falling into a funding gap when your current project period ends and what to do if it happens.
Plan Now to Avoid a Gap
You can take steps to better ensure a steady flow of funding to your lab.
Apply for Your Renewal Early
As long as you have accomplished enough to build a strong case for renewing your grant, apply early so you have time to revise and resubmit without risking an interruption in funding. Keep in mind, if your application falls within the current fiscal year’s payline but your grant doesn’t end until the next fiscal year, then your application will need to score within the next fiscal year’s payline in order to be awarded, since we cannot end your ongoing grant early.
If your renewal application succeeds, we'll time your renewal to begin when your current grant ends.
If your renewal application is unsuccessful, revise and submit a resubmission. If the resubmission is not funded, revise and submit a new application. At each iteration, identify the parts of your previous application that remain relevant and can move the field forward, then improve your research plan as much as possible. If you are submitting a new application, avoid any mention of previous attempts and do not explicitly identify changes made to address previous critiques.
There will likely have been policy and forms changes since you applied for your current award. By starting early, you allow yourself extra time to account for any new policy requirements. Verify that NIAID participates in your chosen notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), that the NOFO allows renewal applications, and that you and your institution meet its eligibility requirements.
Apply for Another R01
Don’t plan only to renew your current award. Pursue other awards as well. Having multiple grants active at the same time means you can sustain your lab even if you lose one grant.
Most funded projects generate unexpected findings in the course of pursuing the Specific Aims, and these can form the basis of a distinctly new project.
You may pursue as many applications as your time, preliminary data, and resources allow, but be mindful that your applications must be scientifically distinct; that is, not involve substantially similar research from your funded research or other grant applications you submit.
Give Yourself Multiple Streams of Funding
Consider three other ways to get NIH funding.
Spin off your research into a small grant (R03) or an exploratory/developmental grant (R21) while you're working on your current grant. These 2-year awards will keep money flowing into your lab to pursue new research or gather preliminary data for an R01 application.
An R03 is ideal for pilot projects, secondary analyses of data you've generated, or developing new research methods or technology.
An R21 is designed for exploratory and innovative research. Many investigators find success using it to pursue one or two Specific Aims from a larger, unsuccessful R01 application.
Contract with NIH. NIH needs a variety of technologies, research materials, and services to carry out its scientific activities, such as running intramural labs and clinical trials or providing data, reagents, and other benefits to the public. NIH must buy these products from somebody—and that somebody could be you.
Search for "National Institutes of Health" on the System for Award Management for a list of NIH's open solicitations. If your lab can fill any of those needs, submit a proposal in response. For an NIAID overview of the extramural contracting process and a link to NIAID’s active solicitations, refer to NIAID Contract Solicitations.
You will probably compete with biotech companies and small businesses, but don't let that discourage you. We review all proposals according to the evaluation criteria stated in the solicitation—meaning as long as you demonstrate you can meet the requirements of the solicitation, you stand a chance of being selected.
Collaborate. Lead one component or core of a multiproject application, e.g., a program project (P01). You wouldn't be the program director/principal investigator (PD/PI), but you would be responsible for conducting meaningful research. Learn more about this option in our Multiproject Awards SOP. You could also consider collaborating on another investigator’s R01 grant, conducting a portion of the research.
Another option is seeking supplemental funding to join another researcher's project. If you have a pilot study or a small project in mind that dovetails with another PI's research, talk to that PI about requesting supplemental funding to incorporate your work into his or her grant.
For projects that fit within the scope of your collaborator's grant aims, have your collaborator request an administrative supplement. He or she can do this any time of year, though NIAID has some requirements your collaborator will have to meet. For example, your collaborator's grant cannot be in its first or last year of award.
For projects that expand the scope of your collaborator's grant, wait for an opportunity for your collaborator to apply for a Type 3 (competing revision) of his or her aims through a NOFO that targets your area of research.
You might also consult for other scientists, especially NIH-funded PIs, in which case you would be paid to contribute a certain amount of effort to the project in exchange for the specialized expertise you provide. Seek out other researchers within your institution, at conferences, and through publications, and formalize these consulting relationships with letters of collaboration.
Publish
Publishing isn't just a measure of productivity. It improves your renewal application and opens new opportunities to collaborate.
Reviewers look at the quantity and quality of your publications as a reflection on your research accomplishments, and factor that into your renewal application's overall impact score.
Also, publishing gives other researchers an opportunity to learn more about your work, which may lead them to ask you to collaborate with them on an NIH grant.
If You Lose Funding, You Have Options
If NIH is your sole source of funding, losing your grant is devastating. This may mean laying off staff, taking a pay cut, or shutting down your lab. Before having to take those painful steps, consider some other options.
Find institutional support. Talk to your department chair and business office about whether your institution has options to help you through a lapse in funding.
Support eligible doctoral students and postdocs using NIH training (T), career development (K), and fellowship (F) grants. If you can get support for these junior researchers using training and career development grants, do it. You may also want to consider diversity supplements. Find more information about T, K, and F grants as well as research supplements at Training and Career Development Grant Programs.
Find a Foundation or Other Funding Source, such as non-profits, endowments, and foundations that support scientific research. Though only a few organizations can match NIH in scope, duration, and amount of support, you may be able to get some money to continue your research while you try for another NIH grant. Those avenues are also a way to get funding to generate preliminary data for new projects. Establish contacts and connections to get more advice and direction from people who have a good perspective on what these organizations seek.
Understand Consequences
A few of our suggestions come with qualifiers.
Remember the cap. When requesting a budget for your renewal, ask for enough money (i.e., the amount you need to conduct your proposed research), but also keep in mind the budget cap. NIAID caps R01 renewal budgets at 20 percent over the direct costs of the last noncompeting award, not including equipment or alterations and renovations costs. If you absolutely must exceed that cap, submit a new application instead.
Take heed before leading a component or core of a multiproject application. When you apply for a multiproject grant, your goals, methods, and aims must sync well with other projects, remain synced for the duration of your grant, and demonstrate synergy.
Often, PIs submit distinct projects on a high-level shared theme (e.g., inflammation, host defense). But reviewers will look for synergy among the projects and score the application poorly if they don't see how your combined projects would make a bigger impact than each project alone.
Be mindful of effort commitments. Remember as you balance multiple avenues for funding that your effort level cannot exceed 100 percent.
However, you can apply for multiple awards with total effort levels that exceed 100 percent. We allow this because you are not likely to get every grant you apply for. If multiple applications are funded, we will work with you during award negotiation to adjust your effort to be no more than 100 percent.
Contracts are a commitment. When you contract with NIAID, you enter a legally binding contractual agreement to deliver a product or service at a certain time and at a certain cost.
In return, we pay you according to the terms and conditions of the contract.
Grants are a commitment, too—but you're committing to pursue research aims within the scope of your award. On a contract, you're committing to produce a defined deliverable at a specific time.
Find more advice on our Apply for a Renewal, page, which includes guidance on demonstrating progress, adjusting your Specific Aims, and timing your application.