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August 11, 2010

Archived: Impact Score Paragraph in Summary Statements, Plain Language in Public Sections of Grant Applications

By Ann Hagan

Extramural NexusThe August issue of NIH’s Extramural Nexus includes two announcements that might interest you.

Impact Score Paragraph in Summary Statements

Starting with September grant application reviews, reviewers will include a summary paragraph to explain what factors they considered in assigning the overall impact score. This should help investigators better understand the reasons for the score.

Plain Language in Public Sections of Grant Applications

The director’s column talks about the importance of communicating research value in your grant application.

Your grant title, abstract and statement of public health relevance are very important. Once a grant is funded, these items are available to the public through NIH’s RePORTER database. Many people are interested in learning about research supported with taxpayer dollars, so I encourage you to be clear and accurate in writing these parts of your application. Reviewers are being told to expect plain language in these sections.

The Nexus column includes links to these helpful resources:

topic Peer Review , Research Administration , Resources
tag Peer Review Process , Preparing an Application , RePORTER

About the Author

Ann Hagan

Until her retirement in early 2019, Ann was director of extramural activities. In this position, she set and coordinated grant funding policies and procedures, and advised staff on the best grants management practices.