Published February 9, 2026, via Research News
The NIH has recently announced several significant structural changes designed to streamline the application process and unify funding decisions across all Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs). These changes, which include a new funding framework and new resources for identifying research priorities, will impact how you plan, search for, and receive feedback on grant applications.
1. Implementation of a Unified NIH Funding Strategy
NIH is implementing a unified funding strategy across all ICOs, effective with the Council of Councils meeting on January 29, 2026.
- Holistic Review of Merit: While peer review remains essential, NIH funding decisions must now consider peer review information alongside multiple other factors, including health priorities, scientific opportunities, the workforce, availability of funds, and the wider research portfolio.
All ICO funding decisions are now guided by six core principles:
- Align with the NIH’s mission
- Prioritize scientific merit; ICOs should consider peer review information in its entirety
- Integrate a breadth of topics and approaches relevant to the ICO’s priorities
- Consider investigator career stage and promote sustainability of the biomedical research workforce
- Promote broad distribution and geographic balance of funding, considering the total amount and type of NIH funding already available to each investigator
- Align with the availability of ICO funds
Peer review scores and critiques continue to be essential, but ICOs will consider the peer review information in its entirety.
- Move Away from Paylines: NIH ICOs will not rely on funding paylines in developing pay plans. Eliminating paylines intends to ensure that funding decisions are not based solely on overall impact scores. Even top-scoring applications (e.g., 1-5%) may not be selected.
- The number of new awards is likely to decrease due to multi-year funding commitments.
- Funding decisions will emphasize alignment with NIH’s goals to ensure stewardship of taxpayer’s dollars. At this time, details are unclear regarding who makes these decisions and how they will be implemented. A new section on the NIH Grants and Funding site is in development to enhance transparency into and accountability for ICO decision-making. Faculty are encouraged to be in contact with program officials to help navigate the IC specific processes for funding decisions.
2. Introducing “NIH Highlighted Topics”
The NIH has launched a new centralized resource called Highlighted Topics to inform the research community about specific areas of scientific interest.
- Instead of visiting individual ICO websites, faculty can now use this tool to find areas of science that NIH has prioritized.
- It is important to note that these are topical descriptions, not direct funding opportunities. If your research aligns with a Highlighted Topic, you should typically apply through a Parent Funding Announcement or other opportunity found on Grants.gov.
3. Strengthening Replication and Reproducibility
NIH has introduced a centralized resource dedicated to Strengthening Replication and Reproducibility of NIH-funded research.
- The centralized hub highlights NIH’s emphasis on reproducibility and provides specific tools to help faculty address rigor in applications and progress reports.