NIAMS strives to advance the best science on arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases, which have a profound effect on the quality of life for millions of Americans. To further the NIAMS mission, and importantly, to best steward the resources allocated to us by Congress, over the last two years, we made changes to our funding approach and strategy. These include reserving 20% of competing funding to support applications beyond the payline (which is the funding percentile up to which almost all grant applications will be funded) and considering the total number of NIH grants a Principal Investigator (PI) has.
The following FAQs provide information about the institute's three R01-equivalent threshold. Please contact your Program Officer with additional questions.
Why does NIAMS consider the total number of R01-equivalent awards that an applicant/ Principal Investigator (PI) has when making funding decisions?
NIAMS aims to fund a wide variety of research that falls within our institute’s mission and funding priorities. To ensure that we are funding a broad, stable, and robust community of scientists doing research in our mission areas, the institute has established a policy of scrutinizing applications from investigators who already hold three or more NIH R01-equivalent grants. This is a threshold and not a hard cap, which allows NIAMS to evaluate all applications on a case-by-case basis. A focus on the number of grants, rather than funding amount, avoids disadvantaging PIs conducting research in areas that are inherently more expensive
What is the Special Council Review policy? How does this three R01 equivalent threshold differ from Special Council Review?
Special Council Review is a longstanding, NIH-wide policy. It requires institute and center Advisory Councils to provide additional consideration of new and renewal applications from well-supported investigators who currently receive $2 million or more in total costs, per year of active NIH funding (e.g., grants and cooperative agreements). This extra level of review helps determine if additional funds should be provided to these investigators who are already well-supported through NIH funding.
The NIAMS policy focuses on the number of grants, rather than the funding amount, to avoid disadvantaging PIs conducting research in areas that are inherently more expensive.
An application could fall under either or both policies.
If I have three or more R01s but my application is within the payline, does the policy apply?
Yes, the policy applies to all R01-equivalent applications being considered for funding.
If, for example, an applicant has more than three R01-equivalent grants, but a smaller overall budget than an applicant with a single R01 (or equivalent) grant, will the applicant with three grants be automatically excluded from NIAMS funding?
No, the applicant will not be automatically excluded from NIAMS funding. NIAMS uses the three R01-equivalent grant policy as a threshold, and applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. NIAMS looks closely at applicants’ total research support and time commitments. As an institute, we expect that when NIAMS awards a grant to a PI, it will be a major focus of their research program, or that they have expertise needed to support team science across multiple grants.
What would be considered a "possible exception" to the three R01-equivalent grant threshold?
Exceptions to the threshold will be made on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include the role of the PI on the grants, total research support available to the PI, and alignment with the NIAMS mission and priorities. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Officer who oversees the scientific area of their grant or application if they have questions. As stated in the policy, possible exceptions include:
- If the R01 is a competing renewal application for a NIAMS-funded R01; or,
- If one or more of the existing active grant(s) will expire in less than one year, resulting in two or fewer active R01-equivalent awards; or,
- If the PI's existing active R01-equivalent awards are all from other NIH ICOs.
How does NIAMS determine what to fund through the Select Pay program?
As an institute, NIAMS does not publicly discuss specific Select Pay funding decisions. This aligns with the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which is designed to respect the confidentiality of information included in grant applications (e.g., strengths and weaknesses outlined in Summary Statements, proprietary research information, researchers’ personal information). When making funding decisions, NIAMS carefully considers a variety of issues, including the PI’s role on the grant, total research support, and the value of the proposed project to the NIAMS mission, priorities, and strategic plan. These decisions are made collectively by Program staff and NIAMS Leadership. Investigators may not request or apply for Select Pay funding.