Administrative Supplements

Principal Investigators (PIs) with active NIGMS awards may apply for administrative supplements to promote diversity in the scientific workforce, or facilitate re-entry and re-integration into the workforce of individuals who have taken time off to attend to family responsibilities. Please see this link to view all NIGMS Administrative Supplement Notices of Special Interest (NOSI).

NIGMS also will accept administrative supplement applications for active NIGMS awards to address unforeseen circumstances that are seriously impeding progress on the funded project or unanticipated opportunities that would greatly accelerate progress. Examples of unforeseen circumstances include broken equipment that is essential for the project and cannot be repaired, institutional changes that severely limit or preclude access to essential equipment, or other roadblocks that could be alleviated by the one-time acquisition of reagents or services or by short-term access to core facilities. Examples of unanticipated opportunities include new technologies or reagents that were not available or anticipated when the parent grant application was submitted and whose cost cannot be accommodated by rebudgeting the parent grant.

At NIGMS, funds for "unforeseen circumstances or opportunities" supplements have always been and will continue to be limited. In addition, there is some variability among the NIGMS divisions regarding when during the year these types of administrative supplements are considered for funding, what types of supplement-funded activities are likely to be funded and whether high-budget supplement applications will be considered for funding.

If you are considering the possibility of applying for any supplement, contact your program director for the parent grant first to discuss whether the parent grant is eligible for a supplement and whether a supplement application is likely to be competitive for funding. If the answer to both questions is yes, your program director will be able to give you advice about when to apply and what to include in your application.

NIGMS will support only certain types of administrative supplements for MIRA grantees.