Before you can begin your NIH grant application, there are several steps you must take. For instance, you have to define your research project idea. This may seem rather obvious, but the process for doing so is anything but simple.

You also have to determine whether your research project will even qualify for an NIH grant, and several factors influence that decision.

Then — before you write a single word of your application — you should map out a strategy for it, which can include the following:

There are specific sections of NIH’s R01 application that allow you to outline your research topic and direction.

As you approach these areas, your goal is to get the reviewers emotionally involved to the point that they champion your proposal.

But NIH has placed limits on your efforts. The Project Summary (or Abstract) and the Project Narrative, for instance, have specific page counts that you cannot bypass. Working within these page counts can be particularly challenging with the Summary because initial NIH reviewers will use it to determine which Study Section it will be assigned.

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One of the core criteria National Institutes of Health (NIH) reviewers use to score your grant application is the Environment in which you perform the research.

They want to ensure you will have the resources — meaning the institutional support, equipment and physical items — you need to successfully complete your proposed investigation. 

Additionally, they want to know of any unique features of your scientific environment, subject populations or collaborative arrangements that will benefit your project. You will detail these elements in the Facilities and Other Resources and Equipment sections of the short-form application.

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Probably the most important parts of your NIH R01 application are those where you describe your proposed research. Specifically, these are the Specific Aims and Research Strategy sections. They address your project’s Significance, Innovation and Approach, which are three of the five core grant criteria that reviewers use to score your application.

At the same time, these sections will heavily influence your application’s Overall Impact score. Unfortunately, there is no template for incorporating overall impact into your application, and there is no section called “Overall Impact” — or even an incentive to simply add a paragraph labeled as such.

Consequently, this report examines how you can use the Specific Aims and Research Strategy to perform double-duty:

1. Fulfill the Significance, Innovation and Approach criteria
2. Support the Overall Impact of your research
   

This may sound rather elementary, but when applying for an NIH grant, you have to know how much money you will need to complete your research. Therefore, you will use the budget and associated justifications to present and support all the expenses required to achieve your proposal’s objectives.

The agency’s short-form application uses a series of special forms you will use for this purpose. In addition, there are two types of budget proposals that you can submit:

1. Modular budget
2. Detailed budget
   

This report will help you decide which works for you and how to use it effectively.

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Once you have constructed all the necessary sections of your R01 grant application, you are still not quite ready to hit the Submit button.

Inside this special report, you’ll learn tips for making sure your grant application works as a whole rather than a group of disconnected parts. Remember, your ultimate goal is to communicate that your research deserves funding, you’re the right person to conduct the research, and your institution is the right place to do it.

That’s why it’s important to review your proposal for content. Take a good look at the most important sections. Ensure your project summary is complete and your budget is in synch with your research strategy. Make certain you’ve adequately addressed your project’s significance, innovation and approach.

When you submit your R01 application to NIH, the Center for Scientific Review assesses it and assigns it to a review group. The study section then rates your application using five criteria — Significance, Innovation, Approach, Investigators and Environment.

Once your application has been processed, you will receive a Summary Statement. Then, you must interpret:

• The Overall Impact score
• What the percentiles mean
• Reviewer critiques