The final phase of NIH’s Enhancing Peer Review initiative involves major changes with restructured/shortened applications and new forms and instructions. (information slides)

These changes affect most competing applications and resubmissions with dues dates of January 25, 2010 and beyond.

Check Standard Due Dates for Competing Applications to see when the change affects your application.

Neither Grants.gov nor NIH will accept old forms after the change.

Details, including new instructions, are posted at Details of Application Changes. Here are the basics.

Research Strategy replaces Research Plan
The old Research Plan will be called Research Strategy, which has 3 parts:

• Significance
• Innovation
• Approach
• Preliminary Studies (for new applications)
• Progress Report (for renewal and revision applications)

Note that NIH kept a 1-page Specific Aims section that is not part of the Research Strategy.

Biosketches
New instructions require a Personal Statement and limit the number of publications to 15.

Resources
New instructions will align this section more closely with the Environment scored criterion.  Applicants should describe unique features and how the scientific environment will contribute to the probability of the project’s success. Early-stage investigators should discuss institutional commitment, including resources and training.

Page Limits
Always check the FOA's Guide notice in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts to confirm the limit for your application.

• Research Strategy. For R01s, the new limit is 12 pages. Some activity codes will top out at 6 pages, for example, R03, R13, R21, R41, R43, Fs, etc.
• Specific Aims. You get 1 page for Specific Aims.
• Biographical Sketches. Most are capped at 4 pages.
• Introduction to a resubmission or revision. Most are limited to 1 page.

You can find additional detail on page limits by application section and grant type at NIH's Table of Page Limits.

For more information on the initial peer review criteria, go to Enhancing Peer Review.

VIEW Peggy Schachte’s slides on the new page limits (10/12/09)
View Anthony Coelho’s Forum on New Page Limits (10/14/09)