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Division of Research & Innovation

Research Development

Training Grant Support - NIH

  • NIH - NRSA: Individual Predoctoral Fellowships (F30, F31), Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships (F32), Institutional Training Grants (e.g., T32, T35)

Project Description

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program aims to ensure a diverse and highly skilled pool of scientists capable of meeting the Nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. To achieve this, NRSA training programs focus on equipping individuals with the skills necessary to conduct research and pursue successful research careers.

Since its establishment in 1974, the NRSA program has served as the primary source of support for predoctoral and postdoctoral research training. Over time, the program has expanded to encompass training activities in a wide range of fields, including basic biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, behavioral and social sciences, health services research, and other disciplines aligned with the NIH mission. For more information, visit the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) website.

Institutional NRSA programs empower the Training Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) to select trainees and design a comprehensive program that includes coursework, research experiences, and the development of technical and professional skills tailored to the trainees’ needs. Each program is expected to deliver high-quality research training while offering additional opportunities beyond mentored research. The grant covers stipends, tuition and fees, and training-related expenses, including health insurance, for appointed trainees, following the approved NRSA support levels.

Applying for a Grant?

Preparing a new or competitive renewal training grant application requires careful planning. Before starting the writing process and gathering data, it is essential to review the relevant funding opportunity announcement.

Applicants (PIs) are highly encouraged to consult with the appropriate NIH Program Officer for guidance on proposal submission. For new applications, prospective PIs should verify that the proposed program aligns with the mission of the targeted NIH institute. During discussions with the Program Officer, applicants should also address any specific policies or requirements related to training grants for that institute.

Timelines

The time to prepare, finalize and submit a polished training grant submission is often woefully underestimated, especially if competing with current work responsibilities.

Below is a suggested timeline for a high-quality submission:

12 months before submission:

  • Read the specific grant PA, PAR or RFP announcement.
  • Search for the PA, PAR, RFP in NIH Reporter (under Opportunity Number in Advanced Search) to view grants currently funded under the announcement. See what your competition is doing.
  • Review NIH Instructions for preparing Institutional Training Grants and Data Tables.
  • Contact the program officer to address any questions from your read of the announcement and # of slots (# per ~2 yrs)
  • Consider composing a mock study section for tables/narrative review about 4 to 6 months prior to due date.
  • For the core set of participating faculty if known this far in advance
    • Identify & contact alumni if you haven’t maintained regular contact (15 yr for established programs)
    • Search online for alumni CVs (or check Google, LinkedIn, ORCID profiles etc): need current position and funding for Table 8 Outcomes.
    • Inform faculty and current trainees about upcoming renewal if relevant – participation is important.

6 – 12 months before submission:

  • Shape and compose the participating faculty (preceptors) list by reviewing their trainee records (pubs & outcomes), funding (in particular NIH funding), mix of academic rank, other program roles.
  • Contact collaborating institutions if any.
  • Notify Rutgers business offices and leadership of your intent to submit an NIH training grant
  • Update Participating Faculty list and enter into xTRACT or NIH Table 2 template.
  • For Table 3 check the faculty overlap with participating faculty lists of other current NIH training programs (e.g. other T32; K12; R25) at WSU.
  • Contact Participating Departments or Programs for Program-specific data on trainees (entrants and applicants).
  • Send faculty admins their individual profiles for updates, including trainee mentoring. Request admins obtain NIH eraCommons ID for current trainees of the participating faculty!

6 months before submission:

  • Enter/update Program-specific data (Table 6, data training tables)
  • Fill in gaps in Program-specific data (Table 6, data training tables)
  • Prepare initial draft of data training tables for program director/leadership review.
  • Request NIH biosketches from faculty & other contributors and draft program specific language.
  • Review and confirm institutional data (grants other than NIH) in the training tables.
  • Use Pub-Med to compile trainee publications (can be done via xTRACT too). Confirm with trainees and mentors.

3 – 6 months before submission:

  • PD(s) draft text for Research Training Plan, Diversity, RCR, Rigor, Progress Report
  • Compile a working version of proposal package to ensure cohesion and identify gaps
  • Share draft proposal package and/or research training plan only with peers or an ad hoc mock review panel
  • Construct draft Institutional Letter of Support based on training plan and standard commitments and submit for review to institutional signatory
  • Identify specific training and program resources in Facilities and Environment
  • Collect Faculty biosketches – update in current biosketch format. Personal statements should include role and information on mentoring experience and mentoring activities as well as providing an inclusive training environment (contact TGSO staff for examples and guidance)
  • Collect trainee research progress statements, publications, awards for Progress Report
  • Transfer/enter data into xTRACT or training tables templates. Review draft training tables.
  • Fill in gaps in Program-specific data
  • Prepare Budget and Budget Justification
  • Collect other supporting documents

1 – 3 months before submission:

Complete Data Tables

New proposals, renewals, revisions, and progress updates for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) and other federal training grants require preparers to submit one or more data tables to support the proposal/application.

Electronic templates of the NRSA data tables and instructions are available on the NIH’s Data Tables webpage (Please note, as of January 2025, NIH is utilizing FORMS I for Data Tables).

Below is a list of the eight data tables that are part of NRSA submissions. Please refer to the NIH’s NRSA Data Tables webpage to determine which tables are required for your NRSA submission. In addition to the list of participating faculty and trainees your PI(s) will provide, there are some WSU resources available to support the creation of some NRSA data tables. When a reporting resource is available, it will be noted in the table below with the contact information or link to the resource.

NRSA Table Description WSU Resources to Support Completion
Table 1 Census of Participating Departments or Interdepartmental Programs
  • Departmental payroll and fiscal staff can help identify faculty and trainees on training grant budgets.
  • Graduate student advisors can help identify participating students.
  • Table 1 Guidance
Table 2 Participating Faculty Members
Table 3 Federal Institutional Research Training Grant and Related Support Available to Participating Faculty Members
  • Departmental payroll staff can help identify faculty and trainees on training grant budget.
  • xTrain for your own training grant.
  • Table 3 Guidance
Table 4 Research Support of Participating Faculty Members
  • NIH RePORTER to find NIH grants associated with individual faculty.
  • Cayuse Power BI to find awards associated with individual faculty.
  • Departmental grant administrators may be able to help identify faculty grant support.
  • Table 4 Guidance
Table 5 Publications of Those in Training: Predoctoral (A) / Postdoctoral (B) / Undergraduate (C)
Table 6 Applicants, Entrants, and their Characteristics for the Past Five Years: Predoctoral (A) / Postdoctoral (B)
Table 7 Appointments to the Training Grant for Each Year of the Current Project Period
Table 8 Program Outcomes: Predoctoral (A) / Short-Term (B) / Postdoctoral (C) / Undergraduate (D)
  • Graduate School (8A only)
  • Faculty mentors and LinkedIn might be able to provide leads about trainee activities.
  • NIH RePORTER and NSF FastLane might be useful in tracking trainee activities.
  • Table 8 Guidance

How should I go about gathering data?

  • Preview the variety of tables.
  • The NIH does not require that all tables be submitted each time, so it is important to identify those tables that are needed for your type of proposal.NIH provides an introduction and overview of all Data Tables on their website.
  • Maintain a data table tracker to help manage the data tables needed for your proposal, the participating programs and contacts who contribute to the data table, and the status of the data table. 
  • It is helpful to have a standard set of request templates to use for requesting data from participating faculty and programs. 
  • Share data between grants; find whether or not there are faculty who are overlapping on multiple training grants.
  • Leverage existing older tables. Ask contacts to update information on tables from past training grant submissions rather than create a whole new table.
  • Consider asking department administrators for information before you contact faculty. They may have some of the information already on hand (e.g., current NIH biosketches)

Should I use xTRACT to build the tables?

The NIH offers xTRACT as a tool for creating data tables. xTRACT is required when submitting progress reports so it is a good idea to use the tool at the time of proposal. Access guidance for using xTRACT from the NIH User Guide. You will need to collate the data before entering it into xTRACT. Best practice is to first complete the data tables outside of xTRACT, then use that version to populate the data into the xTRACT tables.

Training Grant Topics

Guidance for NIH Institutional Training Grants

  • Set up Your Development Plan
  • Complete Data Tables
  • Prepare Training Grant Budget 
  • Gather Supporting Documentation
  • Compliance and Training Grants
  • Appointments – Set Up & Manage
  • Managing Training Grant Budgets 
  • Reporting
  • Closeout

NIH Training Grant Resources