As you’ve likely heard in the news, NIH received an increase of $2 billion over its 2015 fiscal year budget. With the passage of the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 114-113), …. Continue reading
If you are interested in the kinds of issues we discuss on Rock Talk, you might want to check out the video of my plenary presentation at the NIH Regional Seminar. I address the impact of NIH funded research and the challenges of the current NIH funding situation; highlight opportunities, new initiatives, and policy changes; and even discuss the blog. Continue reading
An important, recurring discussion topic on our blogs is ways to maximize the impact and sustainability of NIH-funded biomedical research. In 2011, a Rock Talk post on managing NIH’s budget in fiscally challenging times solicited many comments and led, in part, to an NIH-wide policy on special council review for applications from PIs who have more than $1 million in NIH funding. We have also implemented new programs that provide more stable support for investigators over longer time periods. A more recent example of the “maximizing impact and sustainability” theme is an NIGMS Feedback Loop post that discussed ideas for how to optimize the biomedical research ecosystem. …. Continue reading
Happy 2015! Just a quick blog to let you know that last week, NIH announced policies for fiscal operations for fiscal year (FY) 2015, implementing the 2015 Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Obama on December 16, 2014. NIH has a budget of $30.31 billion, an increase of approximately $240 million over the FY 2014 final budget allocations of $30.07 billion. We also announced the stipend levels for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA), and salary limits …. Continue reading
How can we at NIH compare a $1 million investment in research today with the same $1 million investment twenty years ago, ten years ago, or even five years into the future?
You might be familiar with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation experienced by consumers in their day-to-day living expenses, or the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Price Index, which measures general inflation across the nation’s economy. But as readers with an active interest in biomedical research, you might be interested in how these numbers ‘translate’ into the research world. Naturally, so are we, and this is where the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index, or BRDPI, comes in. …. Continue reading
You probably saw earlier this week that we announced policies for NIH’s fiscal operations and legislative mandates for the 2014 fiscal year, implementing the 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Obama on January 17. NIH has a budget of $30.15 billion, an increase of $1 billion over fiscal year 2013. I am particularly grateful that NIH was able to recover a significant portion of the funds lost due to sequestration, which should bring our budget situation back on track not only for this year, but hopefully into the future.
Here are some key points from the new NIH Guide notices that were published Monday. …. Continue reading
I’m pleased to announce that the NIH Data Book has been updated with statistics of fiscal year 2013 grant funding. There is much to look at throughout the Data Book so I encourage each of you to do so, but let me just highlight some notable trends. Application success rates, as I blogged about in December, declined in 2013 to a historic low. …. Continue reading
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Until recently, we’d never have dreamed of mentioning the famous opening line of Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities in the context of U.S. biomedical research. But now those words ring all too true. …. Continue reading
I have detected conversation swirling in our community about a rumored change in NIH’s policy for granting no-cost extensions. The thought is that no-cost extensions should not be sought because if funds remain at the end of the project period then NIH will take money back from the grantee. …. Continue reading
Today we announced NIH policies for fiscal operation for the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year (FY). These policies implement the continuing resolution signed by President Obama on March 26, and also incorporate the provisions of the sequester (formally known as the 2011 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act). Continue reading