the following is excerpted from NIH Notice: NOT-OD-10-091 released May 21, 2010

NIH soon will change its Amended NIH policy on submission of late grants application materials prior to initial peer review (NOH-OD-10-070), and will rescind the NIH best practice guidelines for accepting additional grant application materials (revised 3/19/2010); these changes will become effective for applications submitted for the September 25, 2010 receipt date and thereafter. Note that this policy does not modify the existing Just-In-Time requirements or any other requests for additional information after the initial peer review.

The new policy is intended to expedite timely peer review, reduce burden on NIH extramural staff and peer reviewers, and provide a uniform amount of materials for each grant application going to review. For the September 25, 2010 receipt date and thereafter, the new policy will only allow grant application materials to be accepted after submission of the application but before the initial peer review if they result from unforeseen administrative issues.

The deadline for receipt of post-submission materials is one month (30 calendar days) prior to the peer review meeting. Post-submission materials will not be accepted if fewer than thirty calendar days remain before the peer review meeting.

Acceptable post-submission materials under the new policy will include:

• Revised budget pages (e.g. change in budget request due to new funding or institutional acquisition)
• Biographical sketches (e.g. change in senior/key personnel due to the loss of an investigator)
• Letters of support or collaboration resulting from a change in senior/key personnel due to the loss of an investigator
• Adjustments resulting from natural disasters (e.g. loss of an animal colony)
• Adjustments resulting from change of institution (e.g. PI moved to another university)
• News of an article accepted for publication.