The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is centralizing the peer review process for all applications for grants, cooperative agreements, and research and development contracts. This effort is expected to save more than $65 million annually by eliminating redundancies across the agency and improving efficiency.
More than 80% of NIH funding supports research institutions nationwide through competitive grants administered by NIH institutes, centers, or the NIH Office of the Director. Each entity has its own budget and research priorities, often focused on specific diseases or body systems.
Funding decisions follow a dual-level review process. Scientific review groups, composed of volunteer scientists overseen by NIH staff, assess research proposals for scientific and technical merit. NIH advisory councils then evaluate proposals for mission relevance, with final funding decisions made by institute and center directors based on research priorities and existing portfolios.
The centralization effort will streamline the first stage of this process. NIH’s Center for Scientific Review (CSR), established in 1946 to manage the scientific review of NIH grant applications, currently oversees peer review for more than 78% of NIH grants. The remaining 22% are reviewed separately within 23 NIH institutes and centers, each with its own administrative structure. Consolidating these reviews under CSR will standardize evaluation processes and enhance efficiency.
An analysis of fiscal year 2024 data shows that CSR reviews more than 66,000 applications annually while using only 0.3% of the NIH budget. In contrast, peer review costs within individual institutes and centers are, on average, three times higher. The consolidation will also reduce the potential for bias by fully separating the peer review and funding decision components of NIH.
The proposal is under external review before implementation, including review by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget. Congress will be notified with a 15-day review period and a Federal Register notice.
Click here to read the original press release.
