Policy & Compliance

By accepting a grant award, grantees agree to comply with the requirements in the NIH Grants Policy Statement unless the notice of award states otherwise. Specific policy topic pages listed below expand upon this resource to provide additional context and resources.

NIH Grants Policy Statement

NIH Grants Policy Statement

The National Institutes of Health Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) makes available, in a single document, the policy requirements that serve as the terms and conditions of NIH grant awards.

Notices of Policy Changes

Notices of Policy Changes

Notices published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts can supercede information in the NIH Grants Policy Statement and/or provide reminders to applicants and grantees. NIH incorporates these notices into the annual update of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Compliance and Oversight

Compliance and Oversight

Federal requirements, guidelines and resources for the extramural community involving grants compliance. The information provided on this website is designed to assist the extramural community in understanding the compliance obligations of their grant award, and understand the proper use of grant funds.

Select Policy Topics

The web pages below provide more in-depth information on specific policy topics, including context, resources, contacts and more.

Animal Welfare

Animal Welfare

The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare ensures the humane care and use of animals in PHS-supported research, testing, and training by providing guidance and interpretation of the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, supporting educational programs, and monitoring compliance with the policy.

Sharing Policies

Anti-Sexual Harassment

Learn about NIH's commitment to supporting a safe and respectful work environment, who to contact with questions or concerns, and what NIH's expectations are for institutions and the individuals supported on NIH-funded awards.

Application Submission Policies

Application Submission Policies

Learn about the policies that may impact your application submission, including late applications, due dates on holidays/weekends, post submission application materials, continuous submission, guidelines for applicants experiencing system issues, resubmission policies, overlapping applications, weather and other disasters, and more.

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trial Requirements for Grants and Contracts

If you are submitting a grant application or responding to a contract proposal to NIH that includes a clinical trial, or are involved with conducting, managing, or overseeing clinical trials, learn about NIH policies, and find resources to guide you in your work.

New and Early Stage Investigator Policies

Early Stage and Early Established Investigator Policies

NIH is committed to the continued support of new and early stage investigators; they bring fresh ideas and pioneer new areas of investigation. NIH has a number of policies and programs to encourage the support of these populations. Learn about these policies and whether you might qualify as a new or early stage investigator.

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Financial Conflict of Interest

The NIH is committed to supporting research free from the bias of investigators’ financial conflict of interest. Learn more about the Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) regulation, including reporting requirements, training, and resources.

Human Subjects Research

Human Subjects Research

HHS and NIH requirements and resources for the extramural community involved in human subjects research in their roles as: applicants/grantees, offerors/contractors, peer reviewers, and institutional officials.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

Inventions arising from federally funded research are required to be reported to the government agency that funded the project. Learn about the systems and policies related to intellectual property and invention reporting.

Lobbying Guidance for Grantee Activities

Lobbying Guidance for Grantee Activities

A general overview of lobbying restrictions on the work of NIH grantees, along with examples of restricted and permissible activities.

NIH Funding Strategies

NIH Funding Strategies

Learn about the NIH budget process, grant funding strategies for each NIH Institute and Center, and more.

Peer Review Policies and Practices

Peer Review Policies and Practices

Learn about the regulations and processes that govern peer review, including management of conflicts of interest, applicant and reviewer responsibilities in maintaining the integrity in peer review, appeals, and more.

Public Access

Public Access Link to External Site

The NIH public access policy requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication. Learn how to address copyright issues, post manuscripts that have been accepted for publication to PubMed Central, and include the PMCID in citations in compliance with the policy.

Research Integrity

Research Integrity

Learn about research integrity, responsible conduct of research, and research misconduct, including related policies and regulations, and what you can do to promote research integrity.

Sharing Policies

Rigor and Reproducibility

Key to the successful application of knowledge toward health outcomes is scientific rigor in conducting biomedical research. NIH promotes the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, and social responsibility in the conduct of science. This page assists the research community in addressing rigor and reproducibility in their grant applications.

Sharing Policies

Sharing Policies

NIH expects grantees to make the results and accomplishments of their activities available to the research community and to the public at large. This site highlights NIH policies and guidance on sharing of research resources developed with NIH funding.