Research@KU

NIH Funding: `It’s Still $28 Billion’

Jim Roberts, Vice Provost for Research, discusses the NIH budget and offers encouragement to those who apply for research funding.

A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article described the NIH as an agency with a “bleak budgetary future,” whose rapid growth over the past decade is comparable to the recent dot.com or real estate bubbles. Another headline described the current level of NIH funding as the “End of a Golden Era.”
Researchers who depend on NIH funds may find this apocalyptic language disturbing. I also find it disturbing, but it’s because of the “doom and gloom” language. Let me provide some context to counter this rhetoric:

1. The worst-case scenario for NIH funding in FY07 is $28.3 billion, about the same as FY06. While the NIH reauthorization bill may allow for as much as a 5% increase over FY06, the actual appropriation will probably hold the budget constant. But it’s still $28 billion, and that is a lot of money by any standard. It remains a huge opportunity for the funding of strong, well-crafted research proposals.
2. During FY05, KU researchers had a 24 percent success rate on new proposals to the NIH, vs. a 19 percent national average. The same was true with NSF proposals: 28 percent success for KU vs. 23 percent nationally.
3. You won’t receive grants you don’t apply for. A plateau in NIH funding is a problem only if you stop trying to obtain NIH grants.

You should absolutely keep trying. After all, KU accounts for more than 80 percent of all NIH-funded research in the state of Kansas. Provost Lariviere, in his Convocation remarks on September 7, underscored the importance of KU research and obtaining the necessary financial support when he said:

This is a research university. Doing research is your first responsibility. The university provides salary and support in significant quantities to enable you to do what you have told us you value very highly — your research.

KU must continue to make strides in the area of funded research. Whether the grant that you have been awarded is for $1 million or $1,000, it is confirmation of the quality and direction of your work. This makes getting grants very important for your individual career. I promise that we will strive to make our infrastructure — through KUCR, the Med Center’s Research Institute and other offices — user friendly and effective at helping you get those grants.

Remember, more than $28 billion in NIH funding is still available, and KU has a proven record of success in obtaining NIH grants. The same is true of NSF funding. Don’t let a leveling off of the NIH budget (or any other source of research funding) stifle your initiative. At every step of the process, the KU Center for Research is here to assist.

Jim Roberts
Vice Provost for Research