The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to end the subaward process that has been under scrutiny since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The policy change will first impact foreign subaward recipients and aim to eventually include domestic subawards as well.
A subaward occurs when a grant recipient redirects funds to a third party, such as another university, which then carries out part of the grant’s work. The new award structure will prohibit foreign subawards from being nested under parent grants. This change will allow NIH to track project funds individually and report scientific progress collectively by the primary institution.
The policy shift comes after reports showed that 15% of NIH grants included a foreign component in 2023, with most funding going to longtime allies like the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia. However, this new structure has been met with concerns that it may discourage international scientific collaborations.
The change is part of a larger effort by the NIH to update its subaward policy. In September 2023, the agency implemented new requirements for foreign subaward recipients to provide lab notebooks and data every six months. This move came after reports raised concerns about increased scrutiny potentially discouraging international research collaborations.
This policy change follows other recent moves by the NIH, including banning institutions in certain countries from accessing certain databases and suspending federal funding to researchers involved in controversies surrounding COVID-19 origins.
Source: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/research/nih-disallow-grantees-issuing-subawards-starting-foreign-recipients