Notice Number: NOT-OD-20-091
Release Date: March 26, 2020
Purpose
NIH will be highly accommodating of late applications submitted through May 1, 2020. We anticipate, but cannot guarantee, that all late applications submitted by that date will be reviewed in the council round to which they were submitted (e.g. August or October 2020). As much as NIH would like to extend flexibility further, this rapidly evolving situation also creates multiple challenges for conducting review, and the timeline for getting review outcomes to councils (so that funding can occur) can only be delayed so long. Therefore, applicants should assume that late applications submitted after May 1 may not be reviewed until meetings for the January 2021 council round (e.g., October-November 2020).
NIH understands that the emergency declaration related to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will adversely affect many NIH applicants' ability to submit applications in a timely manner.
Therefore, all grant applications submitted late for due dates between March 9, 2020, and May 1, 2020, will be accepted through May 1, 2020.
This notice applies to all relevant funding opportunity announcements, including those that indicate no late applications will be accepted. Institutions need not request advance permission to submit late due to this declared emergency and a cover letter providing a justification is not required.
Disclaimer: This notice pertains to applications reviewed by CSR and does not supersede the IC's discretion nor authorities to make these decisions on case by case basis as noted in the third bullet below.
For Funding Opportunity Announcements that expire prior to May 1, 2020, NIH will extend the expiration date for 90 days to accommodate the submission of late applications and Grants.gov will be adjusted to allow NIH to receive applications.
- Reference Letters for Fellowships and Career Development Award applications submitted during this interval will also be accepted through May 1, 2020.
- Non-AIDS applications eligible for continuous submission (NOT-OD-20-060) will also be accepted through May 1, 2020.
- Some Institute/Center (IC)-reviewed FOAs with due dates during this time may be able to accept applications beyond the May 1, 2020 deadline. However, applicants must contact the IC first, to confirm that a later deadline is possible.
Due dates after May 1 (including the May 7, 2020, AIDS and AIDS-Related Research due dates) will remain as posted and follow usual late application policies.
Late Applications
NIH will be highly accommodating of late applications submitted through May 1, 2020. We anticipate, but cannot guarantee, that all late applications submitted by that date will be reviewed in the council round to which they were submitted (e.g. August or October 2020). As much as NIH would like to extend flexibility further, this rapidly evolving situation also creates multiple challenges for conducting review, and the timeline for getting review outcomes to councils (so that funding can occur) can only be delayed so long. Therefore, applicants should assume that late applications submitted after May 1 may not be reviewed until meetings for the January 2021 council round (e.g., October-November 2020).