Research Resources

NIH Shares Tips about Grants

Keep up with policies and procedures

The NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER)—which is the hub for grants policy and operations, grants administration, and the coordination of NIH's extramural programs and activities—publishes a monthly newsletter called NIH Extramural Nexus (Nexus). This electronic newsletter provides the scientific community with updates on NIH policies and activities as well as an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the operation of extramural programs.

To learn more about the Nexus or to subscribe, please visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/nexus.htm.

Get help with grant application writing

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCIH) held a 3-day Grantsmanship Workshop from June 3-5, 2008 in Rockville, Maryland. Researchers, fellows, and graduate students learned about the NIH grant application and review processes, received direction about how to plan a research endeavor that follows NIH policies, and gathered insight on the common characteristics of successful grants, particularly when pertaining to CAM research.

Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of NCCIH, opened the workshop by offering two pieces of advice to the attendees. She stressed the importance of working with experts in the particular disease you are interested in studying or the research methodology you are interested in using, even if they are not experts in CAM research. In addition, she stressed how important it is to get acquainted with the program officers who can provide input about developing proposals at the various NIH Institutes related to your topic area.

NCCIH has made each day of the conference available to those who were unable to attend. To view the sessions, please visit http://nccam.nih.gov/news/pastmeetings/grants08/.