A shutdown was avoided in the eleventh hour last night. The budget for the rest of FY11 will be cut by $39B, but Planned Parenthood and NPR will be spared. Details about the HHS budget were not yet available. Perhaps now NIH can make some funding decisions on Cycle II NIH grants from last year. As of now, grants submitted during Cycle II last calendar year should have been notified in January ’11. Only the highest scoring grants were funded, though in many cases information about the funding award ($) was delayed or is still not available. Many proposals at or near the anticipated funding line have not yet received a decision, as nervous NIH Program Officers were reluctant to overcommit funds in the absence of a budget. Cycle III grants from last calendar year should hear in May, so hopefully now that we have a budget those decision will not be delayed.
