BETHESDA, MD, USA (News Release) - NIH may receive some new funds for 2009 as part of the 2009 congressional economic stimulus package. While the present outlook indicates that new funds are a good possibility—and NIH is planning to ensure that any increase is distributed quickly and used wisely—it is not yet clear what flexibility NIH will have in distributing such funds, or to what extent their use will be prescribed. With this in mind, some opportunities that these new funds might create include the following:

NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science

This new program would support research on topic areas, identified by the NIH, which address specific scientific and health research challenges that would benefit from significant 2-year jump start funds. Challenge areas will focus on knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways. NIH Institutes and Centers are presently considering areas that would have high impact in science and/or public health and that will attract sizable numbers of applications.

• Potentially up to $1.5 billion could be designated for the new initiative
• An announcement of the new program is expected to appear in the NIH Guide in mid-February 2009 and the receipt date for applications is expected to be April 2009. If this schedule is followed applications would undergo the first level of peer review in June 2009 and Advisory Council review in September 2009. Awards would be made no later than September 30, 2009.
• Applications are expected to have a 12-page limit.
• It is expected that non-modular budgets of up to $500,000 total costs per year for up to two-years may be requested.

• NCRR is considering a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on facilities repair and renovation and is working with Institutes and Centers to determine priorities that will be highlighted.
• NCRR is hoping to make substantially more equipment awards than it had originally planned for applications that will be received in March 2009 under its Shared Instrumentation Program (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-036.html); investigators with equipment needs are encouraged to respond to this announcement.
• NCRR will be issuing its biennial call for high-end equipment proposals in February 2009 for a May 2009 receipt date. It is expected that the funding cap for these awards will be elevated to $8M.

National Institutes of Health

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