The detailed budget form, an annotated detailed budget, and a sample budget justification are all available on the a2 Pilot Awards Resources page here and linked on the Invited Full (Round 2) Application. Additional NIH guidelines on developing your budget are available here. For applications involving multiple institutions, a separate detailed budget and budget justification should be submitted for each institution. Specific questions are best directed to the AITC.

Yes. The NIH salary cap applies. To ensure the budget accurately reflects the total amount requested for the project, we recommend limiting salary to the Executive Level II cap.

No specific restriction applies. Subcontractors should be commensurate with need.

Yes. The direct cost maximum is $200,000 and individual AITCs may impose additional restrictions on direct costs. Additional costs may be required to utilize AITC resources and must be included in the submitted budget. Applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the relevant AITC in advance of submitting a Round 2 application to ensure the required budget and budget justification accurately reflect the cost structure of AITC resources.

This may vary by AITC. Please reach out directly for additional information and guidance.

IRB review is not required before conditional awards are issued. If the conditional awardee organization does not have its own IRB, the awardee will, in most cases, work with the AITC’s IRB. An AITC team member will serve as the Investigator of Record and work with the awardee to submit the IRB application.

The IRB preparation process can begin as soon as conditional award notifications are delivered. Awardees are strongly encouraged to begin the IRB process immediately following notification of conditional award, as IRB approval is required before a final award can be issued by NIA. No-cost extensions (NCEs) of projects are allowable, should IRB review and approval delays occur.