This supplement opportunity is for career development (K) or first-time research project grant (RPG) awardees whose progress is likely to be hindered by a critical life event such as childbirth, adoption, or primary caregiving responsibility for an ailing immediate family member.

If such an event occurs (or will occur) during the project period, awardees may qualify for administrative supplement funding to sustain research, remain competitive, and maintain progress toward research independence.

NIH’s offers supplemental support for the following award types:

• For career development awards: K00, K01, K07, K08, K22, K23, K25, K38, K43, K76, and K99/R00 (on the mentored K99 portion of the K99/R00)
• For first-time RPGs: DP1, DP2, DP5, R01, R00, R15, R16, R21, R34, R35, RF1, R37, and U01

As described on the Administrative Supplements page, these administrative supplement awards are designed to retain investigators facing critical life events who are transitioning from mentored career development awards to research independence and to minimize departures from the biomedical research workforce. For the Qualifying Critical Life Event, the PD/PI must demonstrate a critical life event during the parent grant project period, such as childbirth, adoption, serious personal health issues, or illness and/or debilitating conditions, high-risk pregnancy, primary caregiving responsibilities of an ailing spouse, child, partner, parent, or a member of the immediate family. In circumstances in which the critical life event is pending and is expected to occur during the project period, the supplement period may be submitted in advance of the event. Detailed personal health information such as specific diagnoses or medical conditions is not required or necessary to be considered for this supplement.

The parent award must still be eligible to receive funds at the time of the supplement award. Projects in a no-cost extension period are not eligible to apply.

For supplements to parent awards that include multiple PDs/PIs, the supplement may be requested by any of the PDs/PIs (in accordance with the existing leadership plan and on behalf of the PD/PI who meets the eligibility criteria) and submitted by the grantee institution of the parent award. It should be noted that for the parent grant and for the administrative supplement, the grantee is the institution, not the PD/PI.

The application must provide evidence that the event has or will impact the advancement of the awardee’s research project or productivity. If an upcoming life event is imminent, the awardee may apply for the supplement before the event begins.

Application Details

Before you apply, applicants should contact the grant’s program officer to confirm whether the supplement plans will fall within the scope of the parent award.

Potential applicants should also discuss the application plans by sending a request to GMsupplements@nih.gov and consult the FAQs.

Applications may be submitted at any time and are administratively reviewed within NIGMS on a continuous basis. The review process typically takes 12 weeks.

The administrative supplement budget is limited to 1 year. The application budget cannot exceed a maximum direct cost of $70,000; applicable F&A (indirect) cost can also be requested. Flexible use of supplemental funds is highly encouraged to support successful research within the scope of the parent project, including supported effort of additional personnel, computational services, supplies, and equipment to sustain the research of the PD/PI of the award during a critical life event. Supplement funds may not be used for PI salary support during the regular or extended period of the grant.

The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages. Follow the instructions as detailed in the parent program announcement or its subsequent reissued equivalent.

Additional application requirements for career development awards include:

1. Candidate Information and Goals for Career Development attachment: Personal Statement from the applicant, including long-term research objectives and career goals, a justification for the supplemental support, and a plan to return to full productivity at the end of the supplement period.
2. Institutional Commitment to Candidate's Research Career Development attachment: Institutional letter of commitment that includes details of resources and mentoring to be made available to the applicant to ensure strong productivity on the parent grant. The letter should also detail the institutional commitment to the applicant's return to full productivity and research career trajectory at the end of the supplement period.

Additional application requirements for RPG award include:

1. Attach Personal Statement of the applicant, including long-term research objectives and career goals, a justification for the supplemental support, and a plan to return to full productivity at the end of the supplement period.
2. Attach Institutional letter of commitment that includes details of resources and mentoring to be made available to the applicant to ensure strong productivity on the parent grant. The letter should also detail the institutional commitment to the applicant's return to full productivity and research career trajectory at the end of the supplement period.

The additional requirements for both the RPG awards and career development awards should be included in the R&R Other Project Information form, in the "Other Attachments" field.

If you plan to apply to an NIH institute or center (IC) other than NIGMS, find your contacts and due dates here: Institute and Center's (IC) web site page for ICO-specific information (e.g., due dates).