Funding Strategy

NCCIH Funding Strategy Fiscal Year 2022

Introduction

In general, grants will be funded in rank order, based on either priority/impact score or percentile (if available), and for groups of similar types of applications. Additional considerations will include program relevance and need, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health’s (NCCIH) strategic priorities, duplication of ongoing research, availability of funds, and recommendations by the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Integrative Health (NACCIH). NCCIH will give additional consideration to applications from first-time R01 investigators (“new” and “early stage” investigators, as defined by the National Institutes of Health [NIH]).

Future Year Commitments of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 New and Competing Renewal Awards

NCCIH’s funding policy is to award competing research project grants (RPGs) in accordance with the NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards—FY 2022 (NOT-OD-22-105) and in compliance with the Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY 2022 (NOT-OD-22-117).

Duration of NCCIH’s Grants

For research project grants (e.g., R01), competing awards are often adjusted to achieve a 4‑year average duration. Grants to early stage investigators, program project grants (e.g., P01, P50), and clinical trial grants (regardless of activity code) are usually funded for the full length of their Council-recommended project period.

New and Early Stage Investigators

NCCIH will continue to support new and early stage investigators by seeking to equalize the success rates between new/early stage investigators and established investigators for new competing (Type 1) R01 and first renewal (Type 2) applications, in accordance with NIH guidelines as described in the Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2022 (NOT-OD-22-105) and the Policy Supporting the Next Generation Researchers Initiative (NOT-OD-17-101).

Research Funding Guidelines

NCCIH will use the following guidelines for funding research project grants:

• New, Competing Research Project Grants           
  NCCIH policy for new, competing grants is to award them at the NACCIH-recommended level, except for specific programmatic, budgetary, and/or administrative adjustments. Typically, investigator-initiated, R01-equivalent awards* will have a 15 percent reduction of the award, including the out-year commitments. All applications that do not exceed $250,000 in direct costs in any given year of support in the recommended competitive segment will be awarded under the modular concept. Applications requesting direct costs that exceed $250,000 in any year of support in the recommended competitive segment will be awarded with categorical budgets. Certain research project grants have established “funding zones” that are based on priority/impact scores (and/or percentiles, if available). A funding zone for a given type of application describes a zone of scores that indicate that an application will be considered for potential funding; this does not guarantee funding, but simply indicates funding consideration. Funding zones are not applicable to applications submitted in response to requests for applications (RFA) or program announcements with set-asides (PAS).
• Program Project Grants (Type 1 and Type 2)           
  Type 1: The direct cost award will not exceed $1,250,000. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs associated with first-tier subcontracts are not included in the direct cost ceiling. Annual increases for recurring costs in noncompeting years are not allowed.                         
  
  Type 2: Direct costs will be awarded up to an increase of 10 percent of the amount shown on the Notice of Award for the last noncompetitive segment (i.e., last Type 5 award). This dollar cap for the direct cost increase is exclusive of any consortium/subcontractual component of F&A costs, which may appear as direct costs in the budget of the applicant organization. For example, the increase in budget could be due to the purchase of updated equipment, an increase in number of study participants, an increase in personnel effort, and/or an increase in total number of personnel. As with new awards, annual increases for recurring costs are not allowed.
• Modular to Modular           
  For competing renewal and Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) extension grants that were modular awards in the preceding competitive segment and will be no more than $250,000 in direct costs in any given year of the recommended competitive segment, NCCIH will award at the NACCIH-recommended direct cost amount except for specific programmatic, budgetary, and/or administrative adjustments. F&A costs for first-tier consortia are not considered in the direct cost base when calculating the maximum that can be requested.    

Table of Funding Zones for Types of Applications

• Continuation Awards (Type 5 Noncompeting Renewal)         
  NCCIH will award Type 5 research and non-research grants in FY 2022 at 100 percent of the commitment level. Awards previously issued will be revised in accordance with this policy. Noncompeting awards will be issued without cost-of-living/inflationary adjustments in FY 2022; however, adjustments for special needs (such as equipment and added personnel) will continue to be accommodated. This policy applies to both modular and nonmodular grants.
• Transition Awards (Type 4 Noncompeting Renewal)         
  Transition Awards are those that typically have two distinct phases (i.e., phase 1 and phase 2), where the award of the second phase depends on having met specified milestones and/or other specified preconditions in the phase 1 award. Examples of transition grants include the following phased activity codes: R21/R33, R61/R33, UG3/UH3, and K99/R00. Milestones are established pre-award and include not only specific content but also the time in which the milestones must be accomplished. Funding of the second phase is not guaranteed, and meeting milestones (including the specified content and time) is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition. For some programs, only a portion of the grantees are anticipated to transition to the second phase. All transition applications are assessed by NCCIH program staff to determine whether they met their specified milestones. The award of a second phase is also contingent on availability of funds, programmatic relevance, and priorities. Awards for noncompeting transition applications selected in FY 2022 will be issued without cost-of-living/inflationary adjustments; however, adjustments for special needs (such as equipment and added personnel) will continue to be accommodated. This policy applies to both modular and nonmodular grants.
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA)         
  Fellowship awards will be made consistent with annual Federal appropriations. The full range of current stipend levels is described in Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2022 (NOT-OD-22-132).

* “R01-equivalent awards” include the following activity codes: DP1, DP2, DP5, R01, R37, R56, RF1, RL1, U01, and R35.