Top Policy Changes

Newest entries appear at the top of the list.
NIH Ends SNAP Progress Reports, May 7, 2013
Grantees must use the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) for streamlined noncompeting award process (SNAP) reports due on or after May 15, 2013.
SNAP no longer exists as a process, though some documents and systems may still use the term. eRA Commons will soon remove the eSNAP option from its progress reporting module.
Go to NIH's Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) site for more information, including an instruction guide that explains how to submit RPPRs.
New Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trial Applications Include Request for Prior Consultation and Responsiveness Criteria, April 4, 2013
NIAID just released a new set of funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) for investigator-initiated clinical trials, published on March 22:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to request prior consultation with NIAID program staff at least 10 weeks before applying.
Find names of program staff in the relevant FOA’s “Agency Contact” section under “Scientific/Research Contacts.”
Applicants should also pay close attention to the “Responsiveness Criteria” section listed in the R01 and U01 FOAs. Applications must meet NIAID's expectations for responsiveness to proceed to peer review.
For more information, read the April 3, 2013, article “Heads Up: Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials Opportunities.”
Changes to Public Access Reporting Requirements Affect Progress Reports, November 20, 2012
As early as next spring, NIH will delay processing noncompeting awards of investigators who don't comply with the public access policy in their progress reports. NIH will also require that those using the paper PHS 2590 provide a My NCBI-generated PDF list of publications.
Under the public access policy, PIs must include PubMed Central identification numbers (PMCID) when citing publications stemming from the grant for which they're reporting progress.
After submitting either a paper PHS 2590 or Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), PIs will be notified of noncompliant publications and have to address them before they can receive their awards.
Read the November 16, 2012, Guide notice for full details about the changes, and go to NIH's Public Access Web site for more information and resources on the policy. We covered this topic in our February 6, 2013, article "Complying With Public Access in Progress Reports."
NIH to Accept Video Technology Supplementing Grant Applications, October 2, 2012
There are new policies for grant applicants submitting video materials with their applications. Videos must communicate key temporal elements of the project, such as demonstrations of function and movement over time.
If an applicant wishes to submit a video, he or she must state this in the application cover letter, briefly describe the video in his or her application, and send it post-submission to the scientific review officer.
Previously, videos were accepted at the discretion of the scientific review officer.
For full details, including format, submission requirements, and other restrictions on the types of materials applicants can submit, read the September 27, 2012, Guide notice. You may also want to read our October 10, 2012, article "Let's Get Specific About Video."
NIAID to End Participation in F33 Awards, September 27, 2012
NIAID will no longer participate in the NRSA for Individual Senior Fellows (F33) award. The last due dates for applications are:

New, non-AIDS: December 8, 2012
Resubmission, non-AIDS: August 8, 2013
New, AIDS-related: January 7, 2013
Resubmission, AIDS-related: September 7, 2013

See the September 18, 2012, Guide notice for the official word.
NIAID to Phase Out K02 Participation, September 25, 2012
NIAID will no longer be participating in the Independent Scientist Award (K02) award. The last due dates for applications are:

New, non-AIDS: October 12, 2012
Resubmission and renewal, non-AIDS: July 12, 2013
New and renewal, AIDS-related: January 7, 2013
Resubmission, AIDS-related: September 7, 2013

See the September 25, 2012, Guide notice for the official announcement.
New Version of NIH Grants Policy Statement, September 25, 2012
Beginning on October 1, 2012, grantees will use a revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) for all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after that date.
This updated GPS does not introduce any new material but does incorporate new and modified requirements, clarifies certain policies, and implements changes in statutes, regulations, and policies. For more information, read the September 24, 2012, Guide notice.
New Process for Some Prior Approval Requests, September 6, 2012
NIH now allows grantees to use funding opportunity announcements to submit prior approval requests related to successor-in-interest activities (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, and name changes) and changes of grantee organization (i.e., transferring a grant from one institution to another).
This option is open to any grant with an activity code that uses electronic applications. Read the following August 24, 2012, Guide notices for more details:

See the Successor-in-Interest and Change of Grantee Organization parent announcements for submission instructions. Go to the Prior Approvals for Post-Award Grant Actions SOP for more information.
For changes of grantee organization, institutions may send relinquishing statements and recipient institutions may view these statements in the eRA Commons. Get details in the August 24, 2012, Guide notice.
NIH Rolls Out New Progress Reporting Form for All Grantees, September 5, 2012
On October 19, 2012, all grantee institutions have the option to use NIH's Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) for most streamlined noncompeting award process (SNAP) and fellowship awards.
Until then, the form remains restricted to institutions that are participating in the pilot mentioned in the March 28, 2012, NIAID Funding Newsletter article "This Summer's Feature: Uniform Progress Report, RPPR."
For details on implementation and an October 17 training Webinar, read the August 23, 2012, Guide notice. Go to NIH's Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) for more information and a list of activity codes under which institutions may submit an RPPR. We wrote about this in the September 26, 2012, NIAID Funding Newsletter article "The Progress of Progress Reports: RPPR."
Financial Conflict of Interest Reporting for Some FY 2012 Awards, August 30, 2012
For grantees with FY 2012 noncompeting awards issued on or after August 24, FY 2012 financial conflict of interest reports are due only if NIH asks for one.
This policy extends to multiyear funded projects—e.g., Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15)—with budget period anniversary dates on or after August 24.
These grantees send their first reports in FY 2013, at the same time as the next annual progress report. Read details in the August 24, 2012, Guide notice and see the One-Time FCOI Reporting Guidance Applicable to FY 2012 Noncompeting Awards.
New Threshold for Advisory Councils to Assess Well-Funded Investigators, August 30, 2012
Institute advisory Councils will assess new unsolicited research project grant awards slated to be made to PIs who have NIH grants totaling $1.0 million or more in annual direct costs from NIH grant awards. Previously, the threshold was set at $1.5 million in annual total costs.
Read more, including a list of application types excluded from this special review, in the August 20, 2012, Guide notice.
Also note: as under the policy announced in the May 18, 2012, Guide notice, new applications from these PIs will undergo this special Council review before Institutes can issue an award. Council members will have the option of discussing these applications and making a funding recommendation.
Policy Changes for Foreign Awards, August 17, 2012
Due to NIH's move to a new payment method for foreign awards, grantees should be aware of a resulting policy change.
Starting with awards made in fiscal year 2013—which begins October 1, 2012—NIH will issue funds to foreign institutions through the Payment Management System (PMS).
The transition to PMS affects the following policy. When reporting expenditures in the Federal Financial Report (FFR), grantees must use the currency rate that's in effect when funds are issued from PMS. This applies to initial awards made after October 1. For awards made before then, grantees should use the currency rate that's in effect when they're preparing the FFR.
For further details on PMS, policy revisions, and process changes, read the August 17, 2012, Guide notice and the September 12, 2012, article "Foreign Grantees: Prepare for New Payment Process and Other Changes."
Note: the Guide notice's section "Change in Annual Federal Financial Report (FFR) Requirement for Foreign Awards Under Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process" does not apply to NIAID since we do not use SNAP for foreign grantees.
NIH’s Limits on Chimpanzee Research, June 20, 2012
NIH now accepts applications that propose research using biological samples that were collected from chimpanzees on or before December 15, 2011. No other new projects for research involving chimpanzees will be funded until NIH develops new policies reflecting the Institute of Medicine recommendations on chimpanzee research. NIH expects to issue the new policies in early 2013.
For NIH’s full announcements and details, see the June 15, 2012, and December 21, 2011, Guide notices. Also see our July 5, 2012, article "Chimpanzee Policy News: Research on Specimens."
New Criteria for NIH Applications Including Human Embryonic Stem Cells, June 14, 2012
Applicants using human embryonic stem cells (hESC) must specify a cell line from the NIH Stem Cell Registry. Otherwise, they must provide a justification in the Research Strategy with the reason for not choosing a cell line from the Registry at that time and state that they will do so later. Reviewers may factor in the appropriateness of the cell line or lines into the score.
This policy is effective for applications submitted for the September 25, 2012, due date and after. Read more in the June 11, 2012, Guide notice.