NIH Scoring Process

NIH Review Categories 1.Significance How important is the research? 2. Investigator Is the team comprised of experts in the area? 3. Innovation Is the research novel? 4. Approach Are the methods sound? 5. Environment Does the environment support feasibility?

NIH Scoring Impact Impact/Priority ScoreDescriptor High 1Exceptional Exceptionally strong with essentially no weaknesses 2Outstanding Extremely strong with negligible weaknesses 3Excellent Very strong with only some minor weaknesses Moderate 4Very Good Strong but with numerous minor weaknesses 5Good Strong but with at least one moderate weakness 6Satisfactory Some strengths but also some moderate weaknesses Low 7Fair Some strengths but with at least one major weakness 8Marginal A few strengths and a few major weaknesses 9Poor Very few strengths and numerous major weaknesses Minor: easily addressable weakness that does not substantially lessen the impact of the project. Moderate: weakness that lessens the impact of the project. Major: weakness that severely limits the impact of the project.

NIH Scoring Guidelines 7.Go it alone. 8.Underestimate the administrative burden. 9.Cover anything up.

Funding has been reduced but opportunities exist