Update of NIH Continuous Submission Policy: Change in Submission Deadlines and End of Recent Substantial Service Option
Notice NOT-OD-20-060 alerts the scientific research community of plans to discontinue the practice of granting one-year continuous submission status to reviewers with recent substantial review service, which was earned by serving 6 times in an 18 month period. Implementation of this change is being done so as to honor commitments to those who have already served under the prior policy:
- Reviewers who are currently eligible for continuous submission through Recent Substantial Service will remain eligible through the end of their term on September 30, 2020.
- Reviewers who earn eligibility for continuous submission through Recent Substantial Service during the period January 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, will be eligible from August 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.
- No reviewers will subsequently earn or be granted continuous submission eligibility due to Recent Substantial Service.
Effective February 8, 2020, the continuous submission deadlines for assignment to each council round have been moved back approximately one week (see Table 1 in NOT-OD-20-060). Moving the deadlines for assignment to each council round to a slightly earlier date will allow more of these applications to be assigned to study sections whenever scientifically reasonable.
Continuous submission eligibility for appointed members of NIH committees and other terms/requirements of the overall policy have not changed, with the exception that the deadlines for assignment to a given council round are as defined in Table 1.
Read NOT-OD-20-060 for the complete policy details.