Funding

Discipline(s): All

NIH updated the How to Apply – Application Guide in December 2025 to reflect recent policy and procedure updates. 

Find details on all of the major changes and revisions since the last major release at Significant Changes. Here are a few highlights of updated or new instructions: 

• Foreign justification attachments.
• ORCID iD requirements.
• Biographical Sketch Common Form.   
• NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.
• Current and Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) Common Form. 

Learn more about the topics above in our Extramural Nexus article on foreign justification, eRA ORCID iD, and the Forms Directory. 

Use the Application Guide along with the guidance in your chosen funding opportunity to submit grant applications.  

Before you apply, we encourage you to Get Advice from NIH Program Contacts to discuss whether your plans are a good fit for the program and funding opportunity. Learn more about the NIH Grants Process, including guidance and advice when you Plan to Apply and Write an Application. 

Now that Funding Opportunities are not in the NIH guide you have two options to find Notices of Funding Opportunities: search on Grants.gov or use NIH’s new Explore NIH Opportunities tool.

The NIH tool includes additional options for NIH-specific filters, sorting, and advanced search. To demonstrate, try out these preformatted search examples:

• Find NOFOs for Research Training and Career Development
• Find Research and Development (e.g., R01) NOFOs supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Find NOFOs with HIV or AIDS in the title
• Find all NOFOs that allow clinical trials
• Find NOFOs with the exact phrase “Mental Health” in the title
• Find NOFOs with any of these exact phrases in the title: Early-Stage Investigator, New Investigator, or Early Career
• Find NOFOs with any of these terms in the title: Global, International, Foreign, or Countries
• Find NOFOs with any of these terms in the title or body: Neurology, Neurologic, Neurological, Neurotechnology, Neurotechnologies, Neural, Neuro, Nervous.
• Find NOFOs with any of these exact phrases in the title: Mental Health, Mental Disorder, or Mental Illness

After searching, you can click the Release Date table header to sort the latest additions to the top of the list. Find more Search Tips for NIH Opportunities, including how to get email notifications of new opportunities.

NIH’s new tool supports the ongoing Updates to Finding NIH Funding Opportunities and Information. Find more background information in our September 2025 Nexus post "New Tool to Explore NIH Grant Opportunities."