May 31, 2024
Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)
This notice announces updates to the NIH Institutional Training Program applications and required training data tables. These changes take effect starting with submissions for due dates on or after January 25, 2025. The overall goal of these changes is to:
Advances in biomedical research depend upon a workforce composed of individuals trained in multiple disciplines and from a range of backgrounds who can provide the breadth of creativity, and individual interests, perspectives and experiences needed to identify and address important and complex scientific problems, engage with increasingly diverse patient populations, and effectively serve as mentors to trainees from increasingly diverse backgrounds who are pursuing biomedical research careers. Despite tremendous advancements in scientific research, information, educational and research opportunities are not equally available to all. These gaps limit the ability for NIH to effectively cultivate the diverse and highly trained workforce necessary to meet the needs of the Nations biomedical research agenda.
NIH has made significant investments to develop, implement, assess and disseminate innovative, effective approaches to research training and mentoring and to prepare trainees for a variety of career paths in the biomedical research workforce. Additionally, NIH established the UNITE initiative to identify structural barriers and promote equity in the NIH-supported biomedical research ecosystem. Through these initiatives, the research community has identified the need for:
Importantly, access to high-quality mentoring, and opportunities for skills development through structured training programs have been linked to enhanced trainee productivity, increased self-efficacy and strengthening an individuals commitment to a research career ( The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM, 2019). NIH will leverage the lessons of these initiatives to enhance institutional research training programs, including by enhancing opportunities to strengthen mentor training.
These updates will be effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2025, for Institutional Training Grant applications, including international training and institutional career development, and will impact applications that use Research Training Data Tables.
The following activity codes are affected:
Updates to PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan Form
NIH will update the instructions and collection fields within the Training Program Section of the PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan Form. Currently, the Training Program Section has the following attachments:
The Program Plan attachment currently has three sections:
Planned Updates: NIH will move the Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity from the Program Plan attachment and make it a separate attachment. The Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity Attachment will:
The Training Program Section will now include the following attachments:
Defining Mentor Training Expectations in Training Programs
Planned Updates: The Parent T32 NOFO will incorporate new language outlining expectations for mentor training and oversight into the program considerations, application instructions, and review criteria. IC specific training NOFOs may include similar language.
Funded training programs will be expected to support effective mentorship by ensuring all program faculty complete formal mentor training and periodic refreshers. Applicant organizations should consider the following topics (as well as other evidence-informed curricula) as potential mentor training components, and are encouraged to adapt to program and trainee needs:
In the Parent T32 Program Plan (Program Faculty section) applicants will be expected to describe both (a) the faculty participants and (b) planned mentor training and oversight. This should include a description of:
NIH will incorporate additional questions into the review criteria to align with these changes.
Updates to Data Tables
Planned Updates
All table types (Predoctoral, Postdoctoral, Undergraduate, International)
Additional Updates to Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Tables
Table 1 - Census of Participating Departments or Interdepartmental Programs
Currently, applicants are expected to complete Parts I (Predoctorates) and II (Postdoctorates), regardless of whether the proposed program is a predoctoral or postdoctoral training program.
Planned Updates: Applicants will be expected to provide data only for the training stage(s) reflected in the proposed program.
Table 2 – Participating Faculty Members
Currently, applicants are expected to provide the record for mentoring predoctorates and postdoctorates who have been or are currently engaged research training in under the faculty members primary supervision, regardless of whether the proposed program is a predoctoral or postdoctoral training program.
Planned Updates: Applicants will be required to provide data that are relevant only to the training stage(s) in the proposed program:
Table 6 - Applicants, Entrants, and their Characteristics for the Past Five Years: Predoctoral and Postdoctoral
Currently, applicants are asked to provide detailed, structured information on individuals who applied to and entered the program for each of the last five academic years.
Planned Updates:
As applicable, applicants can include relevant information in the program plan.
Table 8 - Program Outcomes: Predoctoral and Postdoctoral
Currently, these tables include Part II Those Clearly Associated with the Training Grant, which is reported in the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) and competitive renewal applications.
Planned Updates:
As applicable, applicants can include relevant information about the broader impacts of the program in the RPPR narrative (non-competing) or Program Plan (competing).
Additional Updates to Undergraduate Tables
Currently, undergraduate training programs require Tables 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8.
Planned Updates: To align with data standards for other training grants, and better structure information already incorporated in the application, the following new Tables will be added.
Table 5 – Publications of Those in Training
Currently, applicants provide information based on the participating faculty member, instead of based on the trainee. Additionally, the table is limited to peer-reviewed publications.
Planned updates: In addition to the updates described above (for example, reorganization so the trainee is the first column, and the inclusion of interim research products), applicants will be able to include published abstracts at external scientific meetings to which the undergraduate trainees contributed.
Table 8 – Program Outcomes
Currently, the table examples for Initial Position and Current Position that are broad and can impact the ability for program staff and peer reviewers to clearly assess subsequent trainee career progress.
Planned Updates:
Peer Review
Institutional training awards will retain the five scored review criteria. For example, for Training Grants (T) reviewers will continue to score Training Program and Environment, Training Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s), Preceptors/Mentors, Trainees, and Training Record when determining the overall impact score.
Planned Updates: NIH will now also include Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research and Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity as items that contribute to the overall impact score. These items will move from Additional Review Considerations and will be included as Additional Review Criteria. As such reviewers will evaluate the Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research and the Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score.
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