In response to many comments and much input from the extramural community, the NIH soon will implement changes to the peer review process. The changes are centered on three priority areas: (1) engaging the best reviewers, (2) improving the quality and transparency of review, and (3) ensuring balanced and fair reviews across scientific fields and career stages. An additional aim is to reduce administrative burden.
The NIH will begin implementing changes in the Fiscal Year 2010 funding cycle. Investigators submitting applications in January 2009 and later should be aware of the following new policies.
Shorter Applications.
Shorter applications that align with review criteria will be implemented for January 2010 receipt dates and beyond.
New Investigator and Early Stage Investigator Policy. NIH intends to support New Investigators at success rates comparable to those for established investigators submitting new applications, and Early Stage Investigators should comprise a majority of the New Investigators. Details are posted in the NIH Guide (NOT-OD-09-013).
Policy on Resubmission (Amended) Applications. Beginning with original new applications (i.e., never submitted) and competing renewal applications submitted for the January 25, 2009 due dates and beyond, the NIH will accept only a single amendment to the original application. Details are posted in the NIH Guide (NOT-OD-09-003).
Scoring and Review Criteria. When these applications are reviewed in May 2009 review meetings, five new policies will be in place: (1) a 9-point scoring system, (2) enhanced review criteria, (3) formatted reviewer critiques, (4) scoring of individual review criteria, and (5) clustering of New Investigator applications during review. Changes to the scoring and review criteria are described in detail in the NIH Guide, NOT-OD-09-024 and NOT-OD-09-025.
For more details on the implementation timeline, including changes expected for the Fiscal Year 2011 funding cycle, see the NIH Guide (NOT-09-023). Comprehensive information on the enhancing peer review effort may be found at http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/.
Below is the updated timeline for implementation of key actions in the NIH peer review system:
| January 2009 Receipt Dates (FY2010 funding) |
– Revised New and Early Stage Investigator Policies (NOT-OD-09-013) – New NIH Policy on Resubmission (Amended) Applications (NOT-OD-09-003) |
| May 2009 Review Meetings (FY2010 funding) |
– 9-Point Scoring System – Formatted Reviewer Critiques – Scoring of Individual Review Criteria – Enhanced Review Criteria – Reviewer Toolkit – Cluster New Investigator Applications During Review |
| January 2010 Receipt Dates (FY2011 funding) |
– Shorter applications for R01s and Other Mechanisms – Restructured Applications to Align with Review Criteria |
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