Administrative supplements are designed to provide extra funding to currently-funded NIH grants. They can help address unforeseen costs that arise during the course of the project, ensuring that the research can continue effectively. All additional costs must be within the current scope of the peer reviewed and approved project and the activities must not extend beyond the term of the current award. Administrative supplements do not require peer review. 

NIGMS will accept administrative supplements from active NIGMS awards, for the following workforce development related areas: 

• Full or part-time mentored research training experiences for individuals with high potential to reenter, reintegrate into, or retrain in an active research career 
• Retention of investigators facing critical life events who are transitioning from mentored career development awards to research independence and to minimize departures from biomedical research workforce

NIGMS also will accept a limited number of administrative supplement applications for active NIGMS awards to address well-justified unforeseen circumstances that are impeding progress on the funded project. 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.

Note that for R21, R15, and R16 awards, NIGMS will consider equipment supplement requests, that in combination with the parent award amount, exceed the budget limits specified in the parent grant award Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

The Administrative Supplement Parent Announcement is used for the submission of all of these administrative supplement applications.

If you are considering the possibility of applying for any supplement, we strongly encourage you to 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.

Note that MIRA grantees are only eligible for certain administrative supplements, as described in the Frequently Asked Questions on the NIGMS MIRA webpage.​