What are Administrative Supplements? What are their purpose?
Administrative supplement is a noncompeting award that provides additional funding to a currently funded grant to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved project, but that were unforeseen when the new or competing renewal application was awarded.
Examples of unforeseen increased costs:
- Addition of patients, populations, or other items related to a protocol — such as additional resources needed to ensure adequate safety of participants in clinical research [e.g., per recommendations of Data and Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs)] or the addition of resources to supplement recruitment and enrollment to ensure an adequate sample to address the study aims.
- Increased cost of equipment or loss of equipment originally available to the project from other sources.
- Purchase of add-on to equipment identified in the parent application.
The applicant must be unable to pay for the requested item via rebudgeting.
Examples of unallowable costs: Increased costs due to an investigator’s promotion or change of institution.
What is a Diversity Supplement?
Diversity supplements are types of administrative supplements sponsored by NIH that are intended to improve the diversity of the research workforce by recruiting and supporting post-baccalaureate, predoctoral students, post-doctorates, and eligible investigators from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented in health-related research. This supplement opportunity is also available to PD(s)/PI(s) of research grants who are or become disabled and need additional support to accommodate their disability in order to continue to work on the research project. Diversity supplements generally are for 2 years.
The main theme with Administrative Supplements is that they vary greatly by I&C. NIH advises that the PI speak with the Program Official (PO) ahead of submitting a request.
Award periods
The award period of an administrative or diversity supplement must fall within the project period of the parent award.
How to Apply
Administrative and Diversity Supplements vary among I&Cs. There may be specific FOAs per I&C that need to be followed. There is also a parent FOA. Additionally, just like FOAs for parent awards, some supplement FOAs support clinical trials and others do not.
Timelines on when to apply
Submission deadlines vary by I&C, so check your respective I&C website or the FOA. Remember that the supplement needs to fall within the award period of the parent grant. You need to factor in time to prepare and submit the application, leave enough time for review, and possible resubmission.
Administrative Supplements typically don’t align with the standard due dates and are reviewed on shorter cycles.
Can you have more than one?
A parent grant can support more than one supplement at a time, though each must be sufficiently distinct from another. Some I&Cs specify that only one diversity supplement candidate may be supported at one time. As always, your best bet is to check with your PO.
How much support do you get with a supplement?
This depends on the I&C and the FOA. The administrative supplement request cannot exceed the amount of the parent award and must reflect actual project needs.
Salary coverage on diversity supplements also vary by I&C. For example, some I&C cover up to $75,000 in salary plus fringe benefits, others cover up to $100,000 plus fringe, and some don’t list any amount at all. Diversity supplements can also cover some research and travel expenses. Additional support for the PI cannot be included in a diversity supplement.
Are there tips/tricks for how to successfully apply for one?
– Make sure that the parent grant has more than 2 years of funding left since that is the typical length of an administrative supplement (factor in time to have your supplement reviewed).
– Talk to your PO!
– Follow any I&C guidance.
– Have solid justification for your request. Remember that a supplement is within the purview of the parent grant, but it doesn’t overlap.
– Have a solid research plan. For Diversity Supplements, be sure to have a strong mentoring plan.
