Advisers to the National Institutes of Health have suggested a change to its grant review process that could boost its success rate, ScienceInsider reports.
The advisers recommend that "instead of allowing researchers one more shot if a proposal is rejected, NIH would give them unlimited chances to resubmit, but consider all applications to be new," ScienceInsider writes. They also suggest conducting a pilot study during which investigators would be allowed "an unlimited number of resubmissions but no more than two applications over 12 months."
According to the article, the idea is one of five that came out of the December meeting of the advisory council for NIH's Center for Scientific Review. It was originally suggested in a 2008 report that recommended an overhaul of the NIH's peer review system and an end to "the practice of allowing two resubmissions for a grant."
ScienceInsider adds that research community appears to be "divided" on the plan's merits.