NIH’s
commitment to unsolicited, investigator-initiated research is deep and
longstanding. Investigators are the innovators of the future—they bring
fresh ideas and technologies to existing biomedical research problems and
they pioneer new areas of investigation. NIH-funded researchers are
essential to the success of this country’s biomedical research enterprise.
NIH’s interest in pioneering new areas of investigation is stronger than ever. The implementation of “Parent” Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) is a strategic part of this interest. To apply for a grant from NIH, all applications now must be submitted in response to an FOA. Parent FOAs are designed to provide a solicitation mechanism for unsolicited, investigator-initiated applications. Responding to a Parent FOA ensures that the correct application package is used by applicants, and enables NIH to receive the application through Grants.gov.
Parent Announcements are NIH-wide, but some NIH Institutes may limit their participation, so check the announcement's statement of interest. For institute-specific opportunities in your area of science, search the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. There may be an FOA published by an NIH Institute or Center that is searching specifically for research that you are interested in pursuing.
We have received feedback from the applicant community that the use of Program Announcements (PAs) for the unsolicited, investigator-initiated opportunities does not reflect correctly the spirit of unsolicited research. Further, the “PA” acronym found in the announcement number can be seen as standing for Program Announcement or Parent Announcement, adding an additional layer of confusion for applicants searching for Parent Announcements. Although NIH cannot address this issue for the initial R01 submission rounds, we are developing plans to address it in the future.