The Assignment Process

How Application Assignments Are Made

The Division of Receipt and Referral (DRR) in the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) assigns each application to a scientific review group (study section) with the expertise to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of the application and to one or more institutes/centers for the second level of review and for funding consideration. 

While NIH policies give authority to DRR to determine assignments, DRR consults with institutes/centers and scientific review officers (SROs) and their supervisors. How much of the application is read in making an assignment? The honest answer is as much of the application as is needed to make the determination. Referral staff have access to the entire application. In many cases, they concentrate on the Abstract and Specific Aims in making an assignment, with attention also paid to the Research Strategy. Suggestions made by investigators and the assignment of previous applications are also considered. Referral staff regularly discuss the assignment of applications and how to handle unusual situations. 

The assignment of a grant application involves a series of decisions:

  • An NIH institute or center is identified for primary assignment for funding consideration. This determination is based on the focus and mission of each of the institutes/centers. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of scientific inquiry, the institutes/centers share many interests (described on the main NIH Web site). Assignments are limited to the institutes/centers that participate in the specific Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) used for application submission (listed in Part 1 of each NOFO).
  • Applications may receive dual assignments. Dual assignments acknowledge shared interests in a topic and make all appropriate institutes/centers aware of the application. The primary assignment is reflected in the assignment number (CA for the National Cancer Institute, AG for the National Institute on Aging, etc.). Both the primary and dual institute/center have access to the application and summary statement, and advisory councils of both consider it. However, a dual assignment does not necessarily increase the chance of an award.
  • The grant application is assigned to CSR for review. At CSR, a two-stage process is employed with initial assignment to the review branch level and subsequent assignment to a specific scientific review group. By assigning all applications to the review branch rather than directly to an individual review group, the review branch chief and the SROs have the opportunity to gain a broad perspective of the areas of science covered by the review branch and to appreciate changes in emphasis and the emergence of new areas. A number of methods are used to determine assignments to review groups; all involve discussions among the SROs and the chief. The review branch also may identify the application as more appropriate for a different review branch. Staff may discuss this with other SROs or review branch chiefs or return the application to DRR for reassignment.

Information about the assignment (review and institute/center) is accessed through the eRA Commons system: 

  • The assignment number, which is in the format 1 R01 CA987654-01, provides the following information:
    • The type

      Type 1 = new application

      Type 2 = renewal application

      Type 3 = revision application
    • The activity code (R01, F32, etc.)
    • The IC with primary assignment (in this example CA stands for the National Cancer Institute)
    • A unique identifier - "987654"
    • The year and any suffix (01 is year 1, A1 indicates the first resubmission, S is used for revision)
  • Any dual assignments are indicated by the additional two-letter code.
  • The review assignment, including the name of the scientific review group and the name, address, and telephone number of the SRO. The SRO is the primary point of contact for the investigator throughout the peer review process. 

If the above information is not available in eRA Commons within three weeks of submission, you should promptly contact DRR at csrdrr@mail.nih.gov.

For questions: 

  • About the scientific review group assignment – contact the SRO.
  • About the institute/center assignment for funding consideration – contact DRR at csrdrr@mail.nih.gov