The National Institute of General Medical Sciences has published new guidelines for awarding R01s and other research grants to investigators with substantial levels of long-term, unrestricted research funding from any source.
NIGMS defines unrestricted funding to mean that it is not project-based and may be used to conduct research on a broad topic at the Principal Investigator’s or Program Director’s discretion. NIGMS considers such support substantial and long-term if it is over $400,000 in direct costs (excluding the PI/PD’s salary and direct support of widely shared institutional resources) and extends for at least two years from the time the NIGMS grant would be funded.
NIGMS implementation is effective for applications submitted on or after January 2, 2016.
See the January 13 NIH Guide notice New NIGMS Guidelines for Funding Investigators with Substantial Unrestricted Research Support (NOT-GM-15-102) and the NIGMS Funding for Investigators with Substantial Unrestricted Research Support guidance for more information.
