NIH Announces New Application Policies

NIH recently released a notice containing two policy updates, both effective immediately. First, NIH will no longer request or accept Letters of Intent as part of the application process. Additionally, it will no longer require applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs (excluding consortium facilities and administrative costs) in any one budget period to contact the funding Institute or Center before submission.

Separately, emergency modifications to NIH peer review updates were announced in an NIH funding blog post. NIH will review all applications submitted for the January 2026 Councils. Also, the more than 370 peer review meetings cancelled Oct. 1- Nov. 14, are being rescheduled.

NIH no longer posts Notices of Funding Opportunities in the NIH Guide; grants.gov now serves as NIH’s single official source for grant and cooperative agreement funding opportunities.

All of these changes are intended to align with NIH’s centralization of peer review processes to improve efficiency and strengthen integrity through the Center for Scientific Review. NIH continues to make policy adjustments aiming to further increase efficiency and minimize applicant burden.

For more information, contact Katie Grady, ACR® Government Affairs Director.