OSC Funding Policies and Considerations

Visit NIH Fiscal Policies for NIH-wide information on appropriations and other budgetary information (salary limits, stipends, tuition/fees) and Funding Decisions to learn about NIH's consistent and unified approach for making funding decisions. The OSC-specific information on this page builds on that general information.

On this page:

Fiscal Year 2026

  • Each NIH Common Fund program is a unique initiative managed collaboratively by staff from the Office of Strategic Coordination and various other NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices. These staff develop funding opportunities for research activities designed to meet a series of goals within a specified time period. 
     
  • Since Common Fund programs can address any area of science relevant to the NIH mission and include a wide variety of activities to achieve their goals, NIH staff use many different funding mechanisms to support Common Fund research. These mechanisms may include grants, cooperative agreements, prize challenges, other transactions, and contracts. Because each mechanism is governed by distinct statutes and regulations, it is critical for applicants to familiarize themselves with the funding policies and considerations associated with these mechanisms. These will be spelled out clearly in each funding opportunity, which will also include any solicitation-specific requirements. 
     
  • Each Common Fund-issued funding opportunity will include contact information for NIH staff involved in the development of the opportunity announcement. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact these staff with questions about funding policies and considerations relevant to the specific funding opportunity.
     
  • In general, the Common Fund does not apply a standard budget reduction to awards. Budget adjustments may be made for scientific reasons. These guidelines apply to the Common Fund portion of funds on any award, including co-funded awards or during a Continuing Resolution.
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