NCI's Fiscal Year 2025 Interim Paylines Announced
, by NCI Director Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell
NCI Director Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell
On October 1, NCI and the rest of the federal government began fiscal year 2025 (FY25) under a continuing resolution that extends current funding through December 20, 2024. Accordingly, NCI is announcing its interim grant funding policies that will be in place until FY25 funding is finalized.
The continuing resolution President Biden signed on September 26 provided Congress more time to reach a final agreement on appropriations to support federal government agencies. However, starting the new fiscal year without a full budget means NCI can’t establish final funding policies at this time, raising uncertainty for the institute and NCI grant recipients.
As we explained last year at this time, a flat budget poses significant challenges for NCI. So, until we have clarity about our full FY25 budget, we must be conservative in making grant funding decisions.
NCI’s interim paylines for FY25 for competing R01 and R21 grants are shown in the table below. We're continuing our strong commitment to early-stage investigators, who have a higher R01 payline than established and new investigators. During this interim period, NCI will generally pay noncompeting grants at 90% of the commitment level indicated on the most recent notice of award.
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Interim Paylines for Fiscal Year 2025 NCI Competing Grants Effective October 30, 2024 |
|
|---|---|
| Grant Type | Interim Payline |
| R01 Grants for Established & New Investigators | 9th Percentile |
| R01 Grants for Early-Stage Investigators | 15th Percentile |
| R21 Exploratory Research Grants |
7th Percentile |
Once we receive a final FY25 budget, we will update our grant funding policies and share the details with our grant recipients and the cancer research community. Whatever level of funding NCI receives in FY25, we will work diligently to ensure it translates into impactful progress against cancer for all people.
Having recently been an NCI-supported investigator, I know firsthand what it’s like to be dependent on grant support that allowed me—and my lab members—to pursue high-impact discoveries and understand the real challenges labs experience when navigating low and fluctuating paylines. I understand the layers of difficulty and tough decisions that result from grant funding uncertainty. Setting interim paylines at this level is disappointing for everyone involved, including me.
I want you to know that we at NCI are doing everything we can to improve the fiscal outlook for current and prospective NCI grant recipients. Investigator-initiated research is the bedrock of our research program.
We fervently hope to increase paylines once we receive a full appropriation for the current fiscal year. We recognize what is at stake for cancer research, researchers, and ultimately, our collective ability to make progress against cancer for people everywhere.
To learn more, visit NCI’s Budget and Appropriations page.