Who is eligible to apply...
To be eligible for funding, a grant application must be approved for scientific merit and program relevance by a scientific review group and a national advisory council. Any nonprofit organization engaged in biomedical research and institutions or companies organized for profit may apply for almost any kind of grant( an exception being the NRSA grant). An individual may apply for an NRSA or, in some cases, for a research grant if adequate facilities to perform the research are available. SBIR grants can be awarded only to domestic small businesses (entities that are independently owned and operated for profit, are not dominant in the field in which research is being proposed, and have no more than 500 employees). Primary employment (more than one-half time) of the principal investigator must be with the small business at the time of award and during the conduct of the proposed project. In both Phase I and Phase II, the research must be performed in the U.S. or its possessions. To be eligible for funding, a grant application must be approved for scientific merit and program relevance by a scientific review group and a national advisory council. STTR grants can be awarded only to domestic small business concerns (entities that are independently owned and operated for profit, are not dominant in the field in which research is proposed and have no more than 500 employees) that "partner" with a research institution in cooperative research and development. At least 40 percent of the project is to be performed by the small business concern and at least 30 percent by the research institution. In both Phase I and Phase II, the research must be performed in the U.S. and its possessions.
Credentials/Documentation
Applicants for individual NRSAs must be citizens of the United States or have been admitted for permanent residency; must hold a doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D., D.D.S., D.O., D.V.M., Sc.D., D.Eng., or equivalent domestic or foreign degree); and must possess a desire for training in one of the health or health-related areas specified by the National Institutes of Health. Each applicant must be sponsored by an accredited public or private nonprofit institution engaged in such training. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments. For-profit organization costs are determined in accordance with Subpart 31.2 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. For other grantees, costs will be determined in accordance with DHHS Regulations 45 CFR, Part 74, Subpart Q. For SBIR and STTR grants, the applicant organization (small business concern) must present, in a research plan, an idea that has potential for commercialization and must furnish evidence that scientific competence, experimental methods, facilities, equipment, and funds requested are appropriate to carry out the plan. The grant application form PHS 398 is used to apply for all SBIR and STTR grants.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.