Funding Health Sciences Research A Strategy to Restore Balance (1990) / Chapter Skim
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4 Supporting Research Through NIH and ADAMHA
4 Supporting Research Through NIH and ADAMHA
Pages 79-116
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From page 79... ...
and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration ~ The NIH has become a world-renowned and highly respected biomedical research organization with a mission to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone.) Currently, NIH consists of 13 categorical institutes, 2 support divisions, 4 specialized centers, the Clinical Center, the Fogarty International Center, and the National Library of Medicine, all located primarily on a 300-acre tract in Bethesda, Maryland (Figure 4-1~.
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In addition to conducting and supporting biomedical and behavioral research and research training, ADAMHA is responsible for demonstrations, clinical training, treatment, prevention, and public information activities on public health problems
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ALLOCATIONS FOR NIH AND ADAMHA The policy change following World War II to advance basic knowledge by supporting civilian R&D in academic institutions stimulated steady increases in the NIH budget (Figure 2-6~. This growth has resulted because of the emphasis society has chosen to give to health research and because of the subsequent legislation that created numerous new institutes and expanded the extramural programs of NIH.
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Allocations among NIH extramural and intramural programs and program management have not changed significantly since the late 1970s (Figure 4-4~. Extramural programs account for nearly 80 percent of the NIH budget.
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, the committee tried to isolate them for the purposes of this review. 1b this end, this chapter explores the policies that have affected the levels of support as well as the number and types of research project support programs available from NIH and ADAMHA The chapter also examines the characteristics and trends of the scientists performing research sponsored by NIH and ADAMHN NIH DIRECT OPERATIONS Appropriations for research support divisions, extramural grant management, and for the National Library of Medicine (NLM)
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d606~d 77 78 79 80 81 =3 Community Programs Training 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 YEAR Research Projects Program Support FIGURE 4 ~Allocation of ADAMHA budget from 1977 to 1989. (Appendix A-10)
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The key features of the intramural program include freedom from competitive grant procedures; unique research resources, including the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center; and research related directly to the individual institute missions. Whereas the intramural programs were allocated sizeable portions of the NIH budget during the early postwar expansion, allocations for the intramural program were stable throughout the 1980s at 10 to 12 percent of the total NIH budget (Figure 4-4~.
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Despite NIH's difficulties in coordinating activities across institutes effectively and in responding efficiently to new challenges or crises, the IOM study committee also concluded that the federated organizational structure of NIH has helped meet the nation's biomedical research needs. In order to maintain the intramural program's excellence and credibility and to improve deficient areas, the study committee recommended some changes in NIH administration as well as in the scope of responsibilities of scientific administrators directing the intramural programs.
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NIH Extramural Programs: R&D Grants R&D grants, particularly investigator-initiated research project grants (RO1) , continue to be the cornerstone of the NIH extramural program (Bible 4-1 and Figure 44~.
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Branch agreed on a policy that specified the minimum number of new and competing grants NIH and ADAMHA would be required to fund each year-"stabilization policy." The 1979 Steering Committee report suggested that the minimum number of competitive research grant awards for fiscal year 1981 be 5,000 for NIH and 569 for ADAMHA-4 From 1981 to 1988 increasing minimum numbers of new and competing research grants to be awarded were specified in either report or statutory language accompanying congressional appropriations bills. Whereas the initial NIH base was established at 5,000, the administration requested funding for only 284 awards for ADAMHA in 1981-only half the recommended level.
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as well as the amounts paid to new and competing awards in what is commonly referred to as "downward negotiation" a recent practice for reconciling NIH and ADAMHA research grant commitments to annual appropriations by making acrossthe-board reductions in all grant awards. Downward negotiation is a euphemism, for little if any negotiation actually occurs between the scientist and NIH or ADAMHA Rather, these decisions concerning the overall proportions of the previously committed funds to be withheld in order to fund the required annual level of new and competing awards are made between the NIH or ADAMHA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
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This is the only portion of the NIH extramural budget that has grown in constant dollars over the past decade. As competition for funding intensified throughout the 1980s, the number of grant applications with very high-priority scores increased.
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Additionally, longer award periods were viewed as a means to reduce the administrative workload for NIH and ADAMHA study sections by reducing the number of competitive renewal applications processed each year. Although increasing grant duration has a stabilizing effect on research careers, it also obligates NIH and ADAMHA appropriations further into the future.
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Similarly, the ADAMHA research grant portfolio grew from 1,250 to more than 1,900 over the same period. As a result of the growth of research project grants, other extramural categories have received less and less of the total extramural budget (Figure 4-9.
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The peer review process for research project grant applications is based on two sequential levels of review; the first level is review by a select group of scientist peers serving on the so-called study sections, and the second level is a review (consisting of approval or disapproval) by the National Advisory Council for the respective NIH institute, center, or division (Figure 4-13~.~3 Applications for research project grants are submitted to NIH's Division of Research Grants (DRG)
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Bethesda, Md.: National Institutes of Health.) Study sections are composed mainly of nonfederal scientists representing a wide range of specialties; these sections evaluate applications for scientific and technical merit.
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behavioral changes by reviewers who know that even excellent proposals will not be funded if they are not ranked in the very top percentiles. Previously, grant awards were made by order of the priority ranking assigned by the study sections and approved by the advisory councils.
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Approval Rate - Award Rate - + -- Success Rate FIGURE 4-15 Approval, award, and success rates for NIH research project grant applications from 1970 to 1991. (Appendix Table A-11)
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ADAMHA also experienced an increase in annual grant applications from about 1,800 in 1978 to 2,750 in 1988. The average award rate for research project grants has not declined as rapidly as that of NIH, hovering between 40 and 50 percent since the late 1970s.4~5 Although this is much higher than NIH, a smaller proportion of ADAMHA grant applications are approved by the peer review panels.
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Whereas the study sections evaluate proposals for their scientific merit, the councils concentrate more on a proposal's importance in terms of the institute's goals. The councils also advise the director and program managers on institute matters concerning overall program priorities and policies.
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lYends in Grant Size The average size of NIH research project grant (RPG) awards has grown from $82,200 per year in 1977 to $198,100 per year in 1990 (direct and indirect costs included)
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However, this committee noted that the percent of research project awards allocated for permanent laboratory equipment dropped from nearly 12 percent in 1966 to less than 4 percent by 1989.~7 Several other factors may directly affect the size of research project grants including the following: the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI) adjustment for inflation used by NIH; the mix of new, competing renewal, and continuation grants funded in a particular year; indirect cost recovery; increasing complexity of research; increasing regulations on animal use; and increasing use of human subjects.
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Many factors contribute to the higher turnover rate of principal investigators. Much discussion and analysis have focused on award periods.
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(Source: NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research and Division of Research Grants)
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An analysis of principal investigators receiving RO1 grant awards revealed a slight trend toward multiple awards. Between 1978 and 1989 the total number of RO1 research project grants grew from 11,929 to 16,084 (Table 4-2~.
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Additionally, the committee believes that intense competition and downward negotiation have forced many investigators to apply for multiple grant awards to avoid funding gaps and to fund their research program fully. The committee also heard speculation that senior investigators with a proven track record of grant support may be listed as the principle investigator to ensure a steady stream of NIH or ADAMHA research grants.
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105 on Go on in C, ._ s .; *
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Specialized Centers, Center Core Grants, and General Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) comprise the bulk of the centers program (Table 4-1~.
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This study committee recommended the following: . The NCI should strengthen its core support of cancer centers in
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The committee recommended further that the directors of NCI and NIH, with the secretary of DHHS, work with the appropriate committees of Congress to develop an adequate budget for the program's 1990 fiscal year. · The NCI should develop a systematic program plan to ensure adequate fiscal, managerial, and organizational resources; coordination with related programs; and effective scientific oversight for the cancer centers program.
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(Appendix Bible A-17) RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION Grants Management The Florida Demonstration Project As the federally sponsored research system has grown and aged, it has acquired a myriad of administrative, managerial, and financial procedures.
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Biomedical Research Support Grants One program that is tied closely to NIH research project grant awards is the Biomedical Research Support Grant (BRSG) program sponsored by the National Center for Research Resources (formerly known as the Division of Research Resources)
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The BRSG program may be an increasingly valuable grant mechanism for maintaining career stability for mid level scientists if the number of research grants awarded becomes more unpredictable. INCREASING COSTS OF ANIMAL USE The cost of acquiring and caring for laboratory animals has continued to increase since 1978.
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The Office of Management and Budget circulars A-21 and A-110 set the governmentwide accounting principles for direct costs and indirect costs of sponsored research at colleges and universities.26 The indirect costs are calculated as an average cost of research on a prorated share of all overhead costs in proportion to the ratio of sponsored research expenditures (all sources) to the total expenditures of the university, rather than the marginal costs of a research project.
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However, individual investigators perceive rising indirect cost rates as a threat to the available pool of funds for the direct costs of health research. Indirect costs for facilities renewal is covered in more detail in Chapter 6.
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These declines also have been caused in part by the fact that study sections have been approving steadily increasing percentages of the applications and assigning increasingly higher (lower-numbered) priority scores.
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1986. DRG Peer Review [lends; Member Characterisitcs: DRG Study Sections, Institute Review Groups, Advisory Councils and Boards, 1977-1986.
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. Washington, D.C.: AAU Ad Hoc Committee on the Indirect Costs to the Executive Committee of the AAU.
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