Conference Grant Information

See Frequently Asked Questions for Conference Grants.

We support scientific meetings, conferences and workshops that advance our mission of turning research observations into health solutions through translational science.  We encourage applicants to review the NIH guidelines to enhance diversity in conferences supported by the NIH.

Applications can be for any disease or therapeutic area (or combination of areas), as long as the knowledge gained will be more broadly applicable to other areas of investigation. Examples include:

• Novel biologics technologies for better treatments of human disease
• Building multidisciplinary networks to drive science and translation

We also support scientific meetings, conferences and workshops for rare diseases. As mandated in the Rare Diseases Act of 2002, our Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation supports scientific workshops and symposia to identify research opportunities for rare diseases.

Specifically, we seek applications for conferences, meetings and workshops that:

• Include the active participation of relevant patient support groups in the meeting planning
• Leverage recent breakthroughs in research or support the advancement of new research endeavors
• Set clinical practice or guidelines

Conference grant applications that buttress CTSA Program goals will be considered for support by the CTSA Program.

Application Procedures

We require that interested applicants send a letter seeking approval before submitting a conference grant application. This applies to both new and resubmitted applications.

We can only award conference grants prior to the meeting date. Potential applicants must choose an application receipt date from the following table that allows for an award prior to the conference:

Obtaining Approval to Submit an Application

Applicants must obtain approval from NCATS before submitting a conference grant (R13/U13) application at least six weeks before the application submission date. Send request-to-submit letters by email to the NCATS Referral Office and include the following information:

• Meeting title
• Meeting dates and location
• Name and address (including e-mail) of the principal investigator
• Name of the applicant organization
• Brief description of the meeting’s purpose, intended audience and relevance to NCATS’ mission
• Draft meeting agenda, including names and affiliations of invited and/or confirmed speakers
• Nature of and participation by junior, minority and/or female investigators, if any
• List of similar meetings (recent or upcoming), if any
• Requested conference budget and intended use for the funds, including:
  • Total budget
  • Portion requested from NCATS
  • Portion requested from other NIH institutes and centers, if any
• Intended receipt date for application submission (i.e., April 12, Aug. 12 or Dec. 12)

We usually provide a decision on the conference grant request within two weeks of receiving the request-to-submit letter. If accepted, we will send an approval letter to the applicant via email. (Please note that NCATS’ agreement to accept an application does not guarantee funding.)

Submitting an Application

At the time of application submission, a copy of the approval letter must be included in the application as part of the cover letter component. Conference grant applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov. Refer to the current funding opportunity (PA-25-080) for application and submission information.

Funding Information

Typically, we provide between $3,000 and $25,000 per meeting, but the actual award is contingent upon availability of funds, programmatic priorities and recommendations by peer review and program staff. For applications in which NCATS is listed as the secondary NIH institute, center or office (ICO), we may provide the minimum of $3,000 in support. In general, we do not provide co-funding support in excess of the contribution made by the primary awarding NIH ICO.

While all allowable costs will be considered, we place an emphasis on the support for trainees, students, fellows and young investigators for conference attendance, poster presentations and meeting participation. Diversity representation among invited speakers is also encouraged. Additionally, we will consider the number of times a conference has been previously supported in making funding decisions.