Program Officials Are Here to Help
Program Officials (POs) in the NIH institutes/centers (ICs) serve as your scientific and programmatic contacts.
Among their many responsibilities, POs develop research and research training initiatives, write funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) to solicit applications in support of those initiatives, manage a scientific portfolio, and monitor grant progress. Many of them were even in your shoes prior to joining NIH and have first-hand knowledge of the challenges you may be facing. So, who better to provide guidance to investigators pre- and post-award?
Although they can answer many questions, it is important to understand what a PO can and can’t do for you.
What POs Can Do
What POs Can’t Do
Provide feedback on the fit of your proposed work with the mission and scientific priorities of the IC
Provide feedback on suitability of your proposed work for a specific FOA
Clarify program requirements
Clarify administrative policies
Provide general tips/strategies on writing strong applications
Suggest resources that might help you in preparing a strong application
Co-write or rewrite any portion of an application
Propose copy edits to your proposal
Provide specific edits to specific aims or research plan
Recommend specific advice on experimental design
Share information that is not a part of the FOA or is not in the public domain
Identifying the correct PO
The steps for identifying a program official to reach out to var...
Source: NIH Extramural Nexus - Category: Research Authors: NIH Staff Tags: Tips Before You Submit NIH contacts program officials Source Type: funding