In a previous post I reported that NIDDK is the latest IC to pull out of the R21 program. My colleagues and I have been discussing (read: bemoaning) the demise of the small grant programs at NIH for some time, so it got me wondering about the actual numbers. Below is a table I created of data on the total number of awards and total funding under the R01, R03, and R21 programs over the past ten years. Below the table is a link to three line graphs I created from these data.
The R03 program appears to have peaked in 2004, with 1,632 awards and about $131.3M in funding. That number has been trending downward ever since, with 2010 numbers dipping to 1,058 awards and $87.3M in funding. Both of these R03 2010 numbers are about 65% of what they were at their peak in 2004.
The R21 program looks like it peaked in 2008 (3,649 applications and $678M in funding), with the numbers trending down since.
The number of R01 awards peaked in 2004 and have gone down each year since, dropping from 29,060 (2004) to 26,752 (2010). However the total R01 funding has remained relatively constant over the same time period and was actually at its highest in ten years in 2010 ($10.6B).
Click here for line graphs comparing R03 and R21
| R01- # awards | R01- total funding | R03- # awards | R03- total funding | R21- number awards | R21- total funding | |
| 2001 | 26,173 | $8,092,593,805 | 1250 | $85,588,331 | 1279 | $222,627,134 |
| 2002 | 27,568 | $8,985,081,987 | 1378 | $100,859,126 | 1822 | $334,251,476 |
| 2003 | 28,698
|
$9,742,052,935 | 1506 | $119,237,600 | 2464 | $463,441,579 |
| 2004 | 29,060 | $10,176,053,099 | 1632 |
$131,256,249
|
2934 | $565,855,342 |
| 2005 | 28,622 | $10,288,217,875 | 1603 |
$129,112,877
|
3056 | $590,944,052 |
| 2006 | 28,192 | $10,121,779,877 | 1409 |
$110,742,609
|
3126 | $599,204,776 |
| 2007 | 27,850 | $10,045,800,665 | 1430 |
$107,986,148
|
3453 | $676,573,619
|
| 2008 | 27,012 | $9,956,033,585 | 1479 |
$107,464,019
|
3649 | $736,213,063
|
| 2009 | 26,580 | $10,261,795,174 | 1284 |
$99,073,147
|
3271 | $678,182,707
|
| 2010 | 26,752 | $10,641,893,906 | 1058 |
$87,331,891
|
3124 | $658,330,834
|
Source: NIH Reporter website. Total # awards excludes number of awards for noncompeting supplements
Click here for line graphs comparing R03 and R21
