Earlier this year, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. From the total $789 billion allocated in the bill, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) carries the responsibility for $10.4 billion.
Because these funds are intended to fuel the weakened economy, the money must be distributed and used rapidly. This presents a significant challenge to the NIH. Following 5 years of flat funding, they are currently screening grant applications for distributing slightly more than 30% of their 2008 budget ($29.5 billion) within the next few months.
With the goal to spend as much as possible within the 2009 fiscal year, the NIH divided the funds for the following purposes:
$8.2 billion for extramural scientific research:
Recently peer-reviewed, exceptional R01 grants capable of significant advancement within 2 years
New R01 grants with potential for substantial progress within 2 years
Supplemental support for current grants that will accelerate scientific progress
Funding of new RC1 and RC2 grants
$1 billion for extramural repair, improvements, and construction
$500 million for NIH buildings and facilities
$400 million for comparative effectiveness research
$300 million for shared scientific instruments and equipment.
With these funds, the NIH began new programs to encourage research careers and recruit new research faculty by providing summer jobs in labs for students and teachers. It also offered two new types of grants: Challenge Grants (RC1) and Grand Opportunities Grants (RC2) will each receive $200 million in funding from the $8.2-billion allocation for scientific research.
Requirements for grants supported by the recovery package include not only the high scientific caliber and originality expected for all NIH-funded projects and the ability to make significant advances within 2 years, but also the realization of the goals of the Recovery Act: preserve and create jobs, promote economic recovery, assist those impacted by the recession, drive advances in science and health, improve the country's infrastructure, and stabilize state and local government budgets. Grantees must also submit detailed quarterly budget reports summarizing expenditures and estimating the number of jobs created or retained through those projects. The reports and more information can be publicly accessed at www.recovery.gov.
