SF 424: What does a PI need to prepare for an NIH Challenge grant?

Houskeeping

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Information needed by staff support

Component	NIH Instructions
Title	Long title: No more than 81 characters (including spaces.) Short title (for eGC-1): No more than 22 characters.
Type of grant	What funding mechanism are you using? Is there a specific funding opportunity number?
Who will collaborate?	What will the relationship be? What work with the collaborators provide? Will they be paid? Who are the contact people who will be working on the grant?
Budget	Work with staff to prepare an accurate budget. Do this well in advance since budgetary constraints will shape your research plan. Make sure the staff have enough time to verify the budget with other sources.
Consortium/Contractual Arrangements	Identify subcontracts while preparing the budget. Make sure support staff have names and contact info for subcontract personnel.
Human Subjects	Will a new application be prepared for this application? If not, make sure the support staff has the information for the previous approval. Is this a clinical trial?
Letters of Support	Create a list of collaborators who will be sending letters. Forward any letters received to support personnel.
Key persons	Give support staff a list of all key persons. Forward any biosketches sent to you.
Special Cases	Let the support staff know if any of the special cases apply: Stem cells Multiple PIs Select Agent Research Vertebrate animals Program income

Documents to prepare for the SF 424 (R&R) form

All documents should be prepared in a word processing program. When you have finished editing these documents, supporting staff (if available) will convert them into pdf documents for you. The document may have no more than .5 inch margins. Text must be no smaller than 11 point, and in Palatino, Georgia, Arial or Helvetica typeface. For full formatting instructions see the PHS 398 instructions page I-16.

Blank formatted template
Research Plan template (Omit any unneeded sections. Keep heading numbers.)

Component	Template	NIH Instructions
Abstract	Abstract template	See SF 424 instructions page I-58 Abstract should specify which challenge topic the application addresses. Abstract may be used for the eGC-1
Relevance	Relevance template	See SF 424 instructions page I-58
Biosketch	Biosketch template	Limited to two pages. Publications are limited to 10. Pick the ten that are most relevant to the current research. Follow example provide in sample
Budget Justification OR	Budget template	See SF 424 instructions page I-81
References	Use Endnote or other reference software to automatically create this at the end of your research plan.	Limited to one page No reference format specified, but should be one standard form. Most PIs prefer AMA because it requires less space in the research plan. Any publications that are the result of NIH funding should include PMID numbers in the reference. See SF 424 instructions page I-58
Resources	SON resources template	This is a template with all SON resources. Please customize it to your individual grant. If you are using resources external to the SON, make sure they are added. See SF 424 instructions page I-59
Equipment	SON equipment template	This is a template with all SON equipment. Please customize it to your individual grant. If you are using equipment external to the SON, make sure they are added. See SF 424 instructions page I-59
Research Plan (Specific Aims/ Research Design and methods)	See research plan template	See SF 424 instructions page I-107 See also additional criteria in funding mechanism
Human Subjects	See research plan template	See SF 424 instructions page II-7
Inclusion of Women and Minorities	See research plan template	See SF 424 instructions page II-11
Enrollment Table	Enrollment table template	See SF 424 instructions page II-13
Inclusion of Children	See research plan template	See SF 424 instructions page II-14
Vertebrate Animals	See research plan template	Omit if no vertebrate animals. See SF 424 instructions page I-109
Select Agent Research	See research plan template	Omit if no select agents. See SF 424 instructions page I-110
Multiple PI Leadership Plan	See research plan template	Omit if there is only a single PI. See SF 424 instructions page I-111
Resource Sharing Plans	See research plan template	Required for all challenge grants regardless of dollar amounts. See SON examples See SF 424 instructions page I-112
Appendix	Not allowed