Office of Research and Project Administration

 

Change in Funding Opportunity Announcements That Use R03, R21, R33, and R34 Grant Mechanisms: Transition to Electronic Submission Using SF424 (R&R) Grant Application Package

Notice Number: NOT-OD-06-046

Key Dates
Release Date: March 2, 2006

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov/)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), (http://www.ahrq.gov/)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), (http://www.cdc.gov/)

The purpose of this Notice is to announce the following changes regarding funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) that utilize the Small Research Grant (R03), Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant (R21), the Phased Innovation Award (R21/R33), and the NIH Clinical Trial Planning Grant (R34) mechanisms

Effective June 1, 2006, R03 and R21 paper applications will no longer be accepted by the NIH, AHRQ or CDC. See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-067.html. We are transitioning to electronic submission on the SF424 Research and Research Related (R&R) application form through Grants.gov by mechanism, which requires that we expire and/or issue separate FOAs for each mechanism to accommodate the new process. The use of "parent" FOAs will provide a means for standardizing the R03 and R21 application characteristics, requirements, preparation, and review procedures. These parent announcements accommodate investigator-initiated (unsolicited) applications and allow Institutes/Centers (ICs)/Agencies to describe how they use each mechanism and highlight their specific areas of scientific interest within a single FOA. Note, currently, there is not a Parent R34 FOA; each IC plans to issue separate R34 announcements.

The FOAs identified below are grouped in three categories according to the current plan of action. Any changes from the current plan will be reflected on individual FOAs.

1. Those that will expire effective March 2, 2006.
2. Those for which the Parent R03 and Parent R21 FOAs now include the scientific opportunities from currently published FOAs. Note: There will not be a Parent R34. Each IC will issue separate R34 announcements.
3. Those that will be reissued on or after March 2, 2006.

Where noted, R01 and other mechanisms that have not transitioned to electronic grant submission will continue to be accepted by the NIH in response to the FOAs shown below, but applicants MUST use the PHS 398 application in paper format until the mechanism transitions to the SF424 (R&R) electronic format. See http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/files/timeline_adjustments_to_r01.htm. Specifically, R01 applications must be submitted electronically effective February 1, 2007 for new applications and March 1, 2007 for resubmission, competing renewal, and supplemental applications. The current schedule and other important information related to NIH's transition from the PHS398 paper application to the SF424 (R&R) electronic application is available at: http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/.

Over time, NIH will transition all funding mechanisms to the SF424 (R&R) form and electronic submission through Grants.gov. For now we are seeking to bring individual mechanisms into this new unified process in a measured way to ensure that the NIH can accept the applications without difficulty and that institutions/organizations have time to experience the new electronic ways of doing business.