In a grant application, you should describe all proposed methods and present all preliminary data within the scientific narrative in the form of text, tables, and figures. However, you may use video technology to convey key aspects of a grant application when appropriate.
Previously, NIH allowed applicants to send videos as post-submission materials on CD/DVD. Effective immediately, we will no longer accept video on CD/DVD—instead, we will accept videos only as digital files submitted via email. Note that the same instructions apply to the submission of audio files.
Allowed Content
To be accepted within an application, your video must demonstrate devices or experimental data with a temporal element, i.e., a need to show how something functions or occurs over time, or demonstrate movement or change. Examples include:
- Unusual interventions or surgical procedures
- Prototype model use
- Visualization of 3-D structures or structural changes in molecules or cells
- Temporal changes in cell migration or interactions
- Demonstrations of interventions on animal behavior or kinetic physiopathology
- Software, database, or mobile app demonstrations
- Educational materials
- Video games
No demonstrations of data that could be feasibly presented in figures or tables will be accepted. Likewise, you cannot use video to provide the following information:
- Virtual tours of laboratories
- Equipment in place
- Platform presentations
- Testimonials
- Advertisements or commercials
- Research or outreach presentations [unless requested by the scientific review officer (SRO), e.g., in lieu of a site visit].
You can submit multiple videos for a single application, but their aggregate length (at normal speed) must not exceed 2 minutes for a single-project application or 5 minutes for a multi-component application. The maximum file size for all videos combined is 35 MB, regardless of application type.
When to Submit
You will email video files to a funding initiative’s SRO as Post-Submission Material—not as an attachment within the initial application package. Do so at least 1 month (30 calendar days) before the scheduled peer review meeting.
Your authorized organization representative (AOR) must provide concurrence, either by being the person who sends materials to the SRO on your behalf, or by documenting concurrence for the investigator to send to the SRO. It is not sufficient for the investigator to merely “cc” the AOR in an email to the SRO.
For additional information, refer to Guidance for Videos Submitted as NIH Application Materials and Videos and Devices–Frequently Asked Questions.