US National Institutes of Health (NIH)

US National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Overview

The NIH is a medical research agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. Through grant programs, the NIH provides support for research grants to career development awards, research training and fellowships, and centre grants.

Key Dates

Key dates are located within each Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

The Macquarie University submission date is 4 weeks prior to the funding agency due date and requires the full draft application to be submitted via PURE.

Changes to Eligibility for DVCR Co-Funding

Eligibility for the DVCR Co-Funding Scheme is now contingent upon on-time submission of grant applications by the Macquarie University submission date.  Many applications for external funding require cash and in-kind contributions from the host institution in order to be considered for funding.  In most cases, researchers request cash contributions, such as project support funds, funding for research associates, scholarships, and major equipment, from the DVCR via the DVCR Co-Funding Scheme to support their external funding applications.  To be eligible to request this DVCR Co-Funding, grant applications must be submitted internally, via Pure, by the Macquarie University submission date.

  • Applications for major grant rounds (NIH) must be submitted to the Research Services Pre Award team 4 weeks prior to the external deadline.
  • Applications that do not have a Pure record and/or do not have all the appropriate approvals in Pure (Head of Department [HoD] and Associate Dean Research [ADR]) will not be submitted to the external funding body.
  • For further information see FAQs.
How to Apply

1. Complete the MQ Notification Of Intent (NOI)
Complete a Notification of Intent to inform your Faculty and the University Research Services teams of your intention to submit an application.

2. Communicate with the Funding Scheme Program Director The program director (also referred to as program manager or program officer) is an excellent resource to clarify something contradictory or ambiguous in the funding guidelines, guidance on whether your project is a good fit for the funding agency or scheme, or getting to know and understand the process overall. When contacting the program director, it is important not to ask questions which are provided in the material or inundate them with questions. You can find contact information for the program managers on the FOA under Grantor Contact Information. Note that it is quite common to get funding from the NIH without program director contact.

3. Access application from Grants.gov, review funding announcement and create a Grants.gov account (if you do not already have one)
Search the Grants.gov database for an appropriate funding scheme. Each scheme has a unique opportunity number (which is generally made up of letters and numbers E.G. W81XWH-20-RCRP-CA).

To create an account with Grants.gov click “register” in the top right-hand side of the webpage. To register as an MQ employee you will need to input our UEI number which is CS58C37BL6W8. Macquarie University Research Services will approve investigator’s affiliation so to allow the application to progress.

4. Foreign Justification
When considering applying for a US based grant, it is important to consider the expertise of the team and the research being proposed, as a justification for funding to be conducted outside of the USA. Areas to be considered are the expertise of the team, the resources available at MQ as well as partner organisations, and if appropriate, the populations you will be researching.

5. Complete the Application
The application has multiple forms and are completed in the Grants.gov portal. The forms can be completed directly into the workspace or the forms can be downloaded via the workspace. The resources below will assist in completing the forms required, including annotated forms which provide pertinent information for completing each of the forms.

For your sub-awardees (applications led by another institution) it is recommended that you download and send the forms directly to them to complete, especially the budget (R&R Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form 5 YR 30 ATT).

6. Submit application in PURE
A PURE record must be created, all forms must be uploaded into the PURE record and the record submitted for Faculty checking no later than 4 weeks prior to the funding agency due date. During these 4 weeks, your application will receive a strategic review and two compliance checks (if submitted on time).

7. Submission to funder
For applications led by Macquarie University, the lead PI must click the “Submit to AOR” button in the Grants.gov workspace to submit the final completed application to Research Services for us to be able to submit it to the funder. The funder recommends applications are submitted 24-72 hours prior to the deadline, as the Program Manager checks for any errors manually. If errors are found Research Services and the PI are notified to rectify. These errors are only able to be fixed if discovered prior to the scheme closing.

For sub-awardees (applications led by another institution), the MQ co-PI must submit completed documentations via PURE for HoD and ADR approval, see below.

SUB-AWARDEES
If Macquarie University is a sub-awardee and the application is led by another institution, the process is:

1. Complete the Application forms, as directed by the lead institution

2. Submit application in PURE, with a note indicating when the lead institution has requested for the forms to be submitted to them

3. Submit to the lead institution when HoD and ADR approvals have been obtained in PURE.

The MQ internal deadline for sub-awardees is 4 weeks prior to the funding agency due date.

Resources

How-To Guides

How to search for a grant

How to register with Grants.gov

How to create a Grants.gov workspace

Understanding the Grants.gov user roles

Completing the forms in Grants.gov workspace

Submitting an application in workspace

MQ Salary Rates including on-costs (for proposals submitted in 2022)

Annotated Forms

Annotated Grants.gov forms

MQ Related Policies

US Public Health Service Financial Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Procedures

US Public Health Service Financial Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Statement

MQ Resources

NIH Budget Template for Applications Led by Macquarie University

NIH Budget Template for Sub-Awardees

R&R Budget Form - Content Guide

MQ Salary Rates including on-costs (for proposals submitted in 2022)

Budget Justification  - Content Guide

Biosketch - Content Guide

Statement of Work - Content Guide

Facilities and Resources - Content Guide

MQ Letter of Organisational Support Template

Key Changes coming in 2023

Beginning 25 January 2023

NIH requires researchers to submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan. This policy applies to all research, funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH, that results in the generation of scientific data. A Plan will be submitted with any grant application. Plans should include the following elements:

  • Data Type
  • Related Tools, Software and/or Code
  • Standards
  • Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines
  • Access, Distribution, or Reuse Considerations
  • Oversight of Data Management and Sharing

NIH strongly encourages the use of established repositories to the extent possible for preserving and sharing scientific data.

Once a grant has been awarded, the Plan becomes part of the award's terms and conditions. NIH expects researchers and institutions to implement data management and sharing practices as described in their approved Plan. Compliance with the Plan, including any Plan updates, may be reviewed during regular reporting intervals.

To learn more about the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and the support available, please visit the pages linked below.

Contacts

    Information, Strategic Advice, Compliance and Eligibility
    Ms Fiona Collison
    Grant Development Manager
    Research Services
    fiona.collison@mq.edu.au
    Ph: +61 2 9850 6848

  • Faculty Contacts
  • Faculty of Arts
    artsro@mq.edu.au
    Ph 9850 9663 (x9663), Faculty Research Manager, Dr Christine Boman
  • Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences
    fmhhs.researchsupport@mq.edu.au
    Ph 9850 2788 (x2788), Faculty Research Manager, Dr Kyle Ratinac
  • Faculty of Science and Engineering
    sci.research@mq.edu.au
    Ph 9850 8912 (x8912), Faculty Research Manager, Ms Irina Zakoshanski
  • Macquarie Business School
    mqbs-ro@mq.edu.au
    Ph 9850 4496 (x4496), Faculty Research Manager, Dr Jan Zwar
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