If you are an R01-funded researcher, the NIH center grant might be a fulfilling way to expand the impact of your work. If you are a research development professional, it may be a novel way to align research strengths and encourage collaboration among entities on your campus. But when do you know you are ready to take that step?
The NIH center grant, also known as a program project or P-series grant, is a large, multi-project effort that generally includes an array of multidisciplinary research activities centered around a specific theme. There are typically at least two (and often many more) related research projects whose work is facilitated by shared cores, all of which is organized through an administrative component.
The point of a center grant is to accomplish something that no single R-series project could accomplish on its own. The research projects should address a range of problems unified around the central theme or focus of the center. Collaboration among the components is key, and demonstrating synergy is crucial.
10 Questions to ask yourself to determine whether you are ready for a center grant:
- Do we have multiple areas of true research strength at our university (e.g., departments with substantial R01 funding, publications)?
- Do our areas of research strength complement and form potential synergies around a central theme?
- Is the program truly innovative? Have others proposed something similar, or is this a unique strategy for attacking a given biomedical problem?
- Do we offer a competitive advantage when compared to other potential P applicants across the country? Could another university conduct this work?
- Why will POs care about this topic? Does it address an area of highest programmatic priority for the IC, given that POs have very limited money?
- What would Congress, taxpayers see as the national relevance of this center?
- Do we have several candidates for PI who offer strong scientific backgrounds, R01 funding, a track record of leadership, and bandwidth to run a center?
- Do we have strong facilities and potential for cores (or expansion of existing cores)?
- Are we likely to obtain university support for the program project?
- Is there potential for seed funding in advance of application, both from the university and from other entities?
Center grants can be daunting to write. It is crucially important to give yourself time to strategize and prepare for an application. In an upcoming blog post, we will discuss some steps to help you prepare to write a competitive center grant application.
For a deep dive into this topic including many templates and samples from recently successful applications, we offer a self-paced virtual course Master the P Series, which was updated in July 2025.
