NIAID Funding Policies and Considerations

Financial Management Plan

NIAID sets funding levels each fiscal year for new competing awards, renewals, and noncompeting awards. 

Current NIAID fiscal year funding levels are as follows:

Competing Awards

• Competing investigator-initiated awards may be funded up to 100 percent of approved funding level.
• NIAID does not allow for escalatory costs. Applicants must request costs, including salaries, without increases due to anticipated inflation.
• Select R01s will be multi-year funded for a maximum of 4 years.
• All unsolicited domestic R21/R03s will be multi-year funded for the full project duration.

Noncompeting Awards

• Noncompeting continuation (Type 5, Type 8) and extension (Type 4) awards may be funded up to 100 percent of the current fiscal year committed level.

We will post additional financial management plan information as it becomes available.

FY26 NIAID Unified Grants Funding Strategy

NIAID is committed to supporting a robust portfolio of meritorious research grants that fulfill its mission and address Congressionally mandated targets for specific topic areas. While peer review remains a key driver of funding decisions, NIAID will no longer use a score cutoff as the basis for funding. As such, the following factors will be considered when making grant funding decisions:

• Peer review assessment
• Principal investigator status (e.g., New, Early-Stage, Established, At-Risk)
  • NIAID aims to achieve a success rate for early stage and new investigators that meets or exceeds that of established investigators.
• Scientific portfolio balance across the NIAID Strategic Plan, including the ability to pivot during an unanticipated public health emergency
• Other active funding and level of effort of investigator
  • Single project investigator-initiated grants with direct costs of more than $1 million will receive additional levels of review.

NIAID will continue to collaborate with other NIH Institutes to develop and publish Highlighted Topics that emphasize research priority areas, as well as maintain a solicited research portfolio that direct research needs that cannot be met through investigator-initiated funding mechanisms.