Grant length and budget stability at the National Institutes of Health.

Decreasing the length of grant awards for biomedical research has been suggested as a means of ensuring greater accountability. An analysis of grant programs of the National Institutes of Health and, in particular, at the National Cancer Institute, revealed that the length recommended for grants is closely related to their perceived scientific merit. A principal conclusion is that selectively increasing the length of grants for only the most outstanding applications competing for renewal might improve research productivity while reducing research costs and easing the growing burden on the peer review process.

National Cancer Institute support for scientific conferences.

In this paper, we discuss the value of scientific conferences to both the discipline area and the individual participants and trace the growth in grant support of biomedical meetings by the National Institutes of Health and, in particular, the National Cancer Institute.

Treatment of young investigators in the National Cancer Program.

To ascertain whether young investigators (those 35 years of age and under) receive equitable treatment in the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) peer review process, we analyzed recommendation and award rates for new traditional grant applicants for 3 fiscal years (nine cycles of review). The more than 4,500 applications studied showed markedly higher recommendation and award rates for younger investigators than for senior scientists; a peak award rate differential of 15% was reached. The study also revealed that young scientists submitted just one-fourth of all the traditional grant applications sent to NCI and received less than one-third of the funds awarded. These results were consistent throughout the National Institutes of Health. As a follow-up, survey results are reported that assess researchers' attitudes and perceptions of the young scientist's role in the current biomedical review system.

Funding impact of the National Cancer Act and beyond.

During the seven years following passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971, the appropriation for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was increased by nearly $700 million. A major effect of the Act has been increased funding for grants-in-aid, which rose from $93 million in fiscal year (FY) 1970 to over $416 million in FY 1978. Grants programs account for over 60% of the total N. CI extramural research budget and are divided into four broad categories; research; training (including fellowships); cancer control; and construction. For the first 4 years following passage of the Act, funding for all grants programs increased dramatically. However, growth began to slow in 1976, and the deceleration is continuing. Total NCI obligations for FY 1978 increased at a rate of 7% (as opposed to an increase of 20.3% in FY 1975), which merely managed to keep pace with the estimated Biomedical Inflation Factor of 6.8%. Traditional grants have more than doubled in average cost over the past 10 years, a growth attributable to inflation, more sophisticated and expensive equipment and supplies, and, in some cases, more ambitious projects. The principal types of research grants include: traditional, investigator-initiated research; program projects, a team approach directed toward a common goal; and "core" support used to fund administrative and shared equipment costs of cancer centers. In FY 1977, the actual number of traditional grants awarded declined for the first time in 7 years, while the number of applications for both new and renewal grants increased at an unprecedented rate. Coincidentally, the number of traditional grants awarded this fiscal year increased by 4%, enabling the figure to exactly match that in 1978. While support for traditional grants has remained in the forefront of NCI funding, money for program projects and core support has increased at a greater rate in recent years. However, unlike the years immediately following the Act, emphasis is now being placed on core support (which increased by 9.4% in FY 1978) and program project grants (up 5.1%), as opposed to the exploratory grants necessary to initiate cancer centers. Funds allocated for construction in the wake of the Act are now being reduced, as the pace of development of new centers begins to slow. Although the number of grant awards has decreased, young investigators (35 years old or younger) continued to receiving a significant share of NCI funds, and, in fact, are faring better than older investigators in terms of recommendation, previously referred to as "approval," and award rates. Awards to foreign scientists increased steadily after the Act, achieving their greatest dollar increase ever in FY 1977; in FY 1978, however, they declined by more than 6%. As part of the NCI reorganization plan instituted by NCI Director Arthur C...

Impact of the National Cancer Act on grant support.

The National Cancer Act of 1971 resulted in a threefold increase in appropriations for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) within a 4-year period. A major effect was the increase for the Grants Program from +93 million in fiscal year 1970 to more than +280 million in 1974. Grant programs, administered by the Division of Cancer Research Resources and Centers, account for more than 50% of the total NCI extramural research budget and fall into four broad categories: research, training (including fellowships), cancer control, and construction. With the exception of the training area, funding for all grant programs has increased dramatically as a result of the Act. The ocst of research has also risen, as reflected in the average twofold increase in cost per NCI traditional grant over the past 10 years. This rise in cost is due to a number of factors, including inflation, more sophisticated equipment and supplies and, in some cases, more ambitious projects. The principal type of research grants include traditional awarded for investigator-initiated research projects, and center, awarded for comprehensive and specialized cancer centers. While support for traditional grants has remained in the forefront of NCI funding, money for cancer center grants has increased at a greater rate in recent years, reflecting emphasis on the development of cancer centers throughout the country. Compared to other institutes at the NIH, NCI is in a very favorable funding position; in fiscal year 1974 NCI awarded more money for its research grant programs than all of the other institutes (with the exception of the National Heart and Lung Institue) obligated for their entire budgets. The Act has stimulated a large increase in new cancer applications received, and the increased funding has made it possible for NCI to award a greater number of grants. Young investigators have competed well for the additional monies made available by the Act and funding for cancer research outside the United States, still only a small part of NCI's budget, has increased.