Are R03s and R21s Disappearing from NIH?

By Bouvier Grant Group

We stay current on NIH happenings and would be delighted to keep you informed.

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

 

Author:
Dr. Meg Bouvier

Margaret Bouvier received her PhD in 1995 in Biomedical Sciences from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. After an NINDS post-doctoral fellowship, she worked as a staff writer for long-standing NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins in the Office of Press, Policy, and Communications for the Human Genome Project and NHGRI. Since 2007, Meg has specialized in editing and advising on NIH submissions, and began offering virtual courses in 2015. She's recently worked with more than 40% of the nation's highest-performing hospitals*, four of the top 10 cancer hospitals, three of the top five medical schools for research, and 14 NCI-designated cancer centers. Her experience at NIH as both a bench scientist and staff writer greatly informs her approach to NIH grantwriting. She has helped clients land over half a billion in federal funding. Bouvier Grant Group is a woman-owned small business.

*Our clients include 9 of the top 22 hospitals as recognized by the 2023/24 US News & World Report honor roll

Categories:
Related posts

You May Also Be Interested In

We read all NIH notices for our clients. When you join our mailing list, we’ll pass along important changes directly to your inbox, as well as opportunities to improve your grantsmanship skills.
Primary Position
Lead Source

Wait!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for the latest NIH news, grantwriting tips, and more.

NIH-October-2023-Newsletter