Q. Are there example R01 proposals that I can view?

In seeking out examples of funded NIH grant applications, a good first step is to identify colleagues (or colleagues of colleagues) whose projects have received NIH funding and who might be willing to lend you a copy of their application. In addition to using personal and professional connections, you can use NIH RePORTER, a searchable directory of information about active and inactive NIH projects, to identify principal investigators with NIH funding whom you can contact to request their applications or advice. (To be clear: inclusion in NIH RePORTER is a condition of receiving NIH funding, but sharing one’s application with others is not.)

If you are unable to approach other researchers who might let you peruse their applications, the next best place to start is the NIH sample applications webpage, where you’ll find links to many examples of funded applications:

• R, U, K, and F series applications from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• R series applications in behavioral research, cancer epidemiology, and implementation science from the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences
• R series applications in healthcare delivery research from the division
• R series applications in ethical, legal, and social implications research from the National Human Genome Research Institute
• K99/R00 applications from the National Institute on Aging.
• Mock examples of scientific rigor
• Mock example of an authentication plan
• Examples of funded R01 and R21 applications from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

Many of the example applications provided by the NIH include only the Abstract, Project Narrative, and Research Plan (i.e., the Specific Aims and Research Strategy), but some also include Biographical Sketches and/or other attachments. Other example applications, such as those from the NIAID and NIDCD, are full applications. Aside from the NIH itself, some research institutions can be good sources of examples of funded NIH grant applications.

• Implementation Science Exchange - other examples of R series applications; some examples of grant applications funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Examples of applications for R, K, and F series and other grants from The University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Examples of R and F series applications from the University of Toledo 
• Proposal library from the Training Grants & Fellowships Office has a newly published proposal library, which provides many of the example applications mentioned above, plus more, organized by activity code.

If you cannot find an example application specific to the program to which you are applying, remember that applications for different grant programs have many overlapping elements, so you may still find it helpful and informative to look at a sample application from a different program. Keep in mind, too, that any examples of funded applications you find online were likely prepared in accordance with older NIH instructions, and you should always prepare your application in accordance with current NIH instructions. You should also consider that the way information is presented in a sample application may not be the best way to present information in your own application, so always allow time to solicit feedback from colleagues, mentors, editors, and others.