The US National Institutes of Health changed its application submission policy last week so researchers can, after an unsuccessful resubmission application, submit the same idea as a new application, according to an announcement from the agency.
"The resubmission of an idea as new means the application will be considered without an association to a previous submission; the applicant will not provide an introduction to spell out how the application has changed or respond to previous reviews; and reviewers will be instructed to review it as a new idea even if they have seen it in prior cycles," adds Sally Rockey, the deputy director for extramural research at NIH, at her Rock Talk blog.
She says that though applicants don't have to make changes to their applications, NIH envisages that many will draw upon comments from reviewers to strengthen their applications.
The new policy still doesn't allow for overlapping submissions, notes Writedit at the Medical Writing, Editing & Grantsmanship blog. She also suggests that PIs work with their program officers to determine the best resubmission strategy.
"This strategy should bypass the prior 'getting in line' philosophy of the A0-A1-A2 progression while allowing PIs to continue refining, improving, and submitting proposals from their evolving research program," Writedit adds, saying, "Let the writing and rewriting begin."