For questions about specific funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) and applications, the NIH advises contacting staff at individual NIH institutes and centers. Those staff include the following:
• Program officials develop research initiatives at the NIH and write FOAs. Program officials can help applicants find the right funding opportunity for their research and help shape an application to best address the NIH’s goals. Program officials for specific FOAs are listed in section VII of the FOA under the heading “Scientific/Research Contacts.” For applicants who have not yet chosen a specific FOA, the NIH offers a list of institute and center contacts and their areas of expertise (choose links for program or research program staff).
NIH strongly encourages applicants to contact a program official before submitting an application to discuss whether the application would be a good fit for a specific FOA. Typically, an applicant will email the program official a draft of the Specific Aims page for the application and ask if the applicant and program official might set up a time to discuss it. Program officials also can discuss applicants’ summary statements and outcomes of completed peer reviews, even if the application was not discussed during the peer review meeting. Program officials attend peer review meetings and can offer insights into how applicants might revise an application to have a better chance of success during the next round of review.
• Scientific review officers oversee the peer review process. Applicants may contact scientific review officers to discuss concerns regarding the scientific review group to which their application was assigned; to request permission to submit additional materials after application submission, as allowed by NIH policies; and to discuss concerns, such as those regarding reviewer bias, after peer review is complete.
• Receipt and referral staff are the correct contacts if an applicant wishes to officially withdraw a submitted application from consideration prior to review.
For questions about processes and policies, the NIH advises that applicants start with the NIH’s Grants & Funding website and individuals at their own institutions.
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