Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/National Institutes of Health (NIH)

FYI: Appendices to Paper PHS 398 Applications to be Submitted on CD

The NIH has announced that all paper PHS 398 applications submitted for May 25, 2008 and subsequent due dates must provide appendix material on CD only, and include five identical CDs in the same package with the application.  Paper applications submitted for due dates prior to May 25, 2008 may voluntarily provide the appendix on five identical CDs; if submitting CDs it is not necessary to include a paper appendix. Paper appendices will no longer be accepted for applications submitted for May 25, 2008 and subsequent due dates.

A summary listing the items included in the appendix is encouraged but not required.  When including a summary it should be the first file on the CD. When preparing CDs:

• Use PDF format. Where possible, applicants should avoid creating PDF files from scanned documents. NIH recommends producing the documents electronically using word-processing software and then converting to PDF. Scanned documents are generally of poor quality and difficult to read.

• Label each disk with the PD/PI name and application title.

• If burning CD-ROM disks on a Mac, select the ISO 9660 format.

• Do not use compression techniques for the electronic files.

• Do not use password protection, encryption, digital signature and/or digital certification in the PDF files.

Appendices should not be used to circumvent the page limitations of the Research Plan.  Graphs, diagrams, tables, and charts should be included in the body of the Research Plan unless a PDF file is necessary to show detail. 

Not all grant mechanisms allow publications to be included in the appendix.  When publications are allowed, the policy limiting publications to three which are not publicly available remains unchanged.  The Funding Opportunity Announcement should be consulted for any specific instructions.

The following materials may be included in the appendix to New, Revision, Renewal and Resubmission applications:

1. manuscripts and/or abstracts accepted for publication but not yet published;
2. published manuscripts and/or abstracts where a free, online, publicly available journal link is not available; or
3. patents directly relevant to the project.

(2) Surveys, questionnaires, and other data collection instruments, clinical protocols, and informed consent documents.

(3) Color images of gels, micrographs, etc., provided that a photocopy (may be reduced in size) is also included within the 25-page limit of Items 2-5 of the Research Plan. No images may be included in the appendix that are not also represented within the Research Plan.

Publications that are publicly accessible should not be included in the appendix. For such publications, the URL or PMC submission identification numbers along with the full reference should be included as appropriate in the Bibliography and References Cited/Progress Report Publication List section of the Research Plan, and/or in the Biographical Sketch.

For materials that cannot be submitted on CD (e.g., medical devices, prototypes), applicants should contact the Scientific Review Officer for instructions following notification of assignment of the application to a study section. Applicants are encouraged to be as concise as possible and submit only information essential for the review of the application.

If you have questions or concerns about this policy, please contact the OSP Assistant Director assigned to your school or department at X3-4365.