Grant Review
Pre-application Review Heading link
The SPH Office of Research Services (SPHORS) offers pre-application grant review options to assist investigators in preparing NIH or similar grant applications and to increase the likelihood of funding. SPH ORS offers four options for grant review. Request support using the SPH grant intake form.
Contact sph-research@uic.edu with questions.
Eligible Grants:
- UIC – SPH must be the lead applicant. Sub-awards are not eligible.
- The principal investigator must have a primary faculty appointment in SPH.
- The funding mechanism must be one of the following mechanisms or similar:
- R01 Research Project
- R03, R21, R34 Research Project (junior faculty only)
- K Career Development (junior faculty only)
- P series Program/Center
- T series Institutional Training
- NSF Research Grants
Not Eligible:
- Foundation grants are not eligible except for those that meet the above criteria and are similar in scope and budget to the eligible mechanisms. Other foundation grants may request review by UIC Foundation Relations staff.
- Student and post-doctoral individual fellowships or career development grants are not eligible. The mentor team is expected to review and provide feedback on these applications.
Option 1
The Associate Dean for Research will review and provide feedback on the scientific aspects of research proposals (i.e., for R awards – specific aims, background, innovation, approach; for K-awards – candidate statement, career development plan, research study). Materials should be submitted to the ADR at least 3 weeks before the deadline to allow enough time for the ADR to provide a thoughtful review.
Option 2
SPHORS will provide an honorarium for the review of a grant application by one or two senior NIH-funded (or equivalent) researchers of the PI’s choosing at UIC. Reviewers may provide comments and scores using the NIH critique template or directly in the grant document. The PI is responsible for identifying and obtaining agreement from these individuals to review the proposal and for sending materials to review according to the agreed-upon timeline. After completing a written review, an honorarium of $200 will be paid to each reviewer’s UIC ICR fund.
Suggested Timeline:
- 6 weeks before the deadline: Identify and ask reviewers to review the proposal. Confirm dates of review. Prepare materials for review.
- 4 weeks before the deadline: Send materials to reviewers (Specific Aims, Research Strategy, References, NIH review template). Ask for reviewers to return comments in 1-2 weeks.
Option 3
SPHORS will provide honorariums for a mock review call with two senior NIH-funded researchers of the PI’s choosing at UIC. The reviewers must complete the written review process for Option 2 and participate in a ½ hour discussion/mock review on Zoom. The PI is responsible for identifying a date and time for the mock review and negotiating the review timeline. After completing a written review and call, an honorarium of $250 will be paid to each reviewer’s UIC ICR fund.
Option 4
Specific Aims Lightning Review is an opportunity for investigators to receive feedback early in the proposal development process.
- Feedback group (target size of 3 researchers with relevant expertise) is arranged – securing this group is not the responsibility of the requesting investigator, although suggestions will be welcome and solicited as part of the request process
- Session is scheduled with the goal of having it take place within a month of the date of request (unless later timing is preferred by the requesting investigator)
- Investigator provides 1-page draft of their Specific Aims at least one week in advance of the session
- Sessions will last one hour and will take place virtually
- Following each session, the investigator will provide ongoing updates on the development of their proposal (e.g., updated drafts of Specific Aims) and have the opportunity to receive further feedback from their “reviewers”; a Box folder will be used to facilitate this ongoing communication
Option 5
SPHORS will pay half of the consultant fee for Proposal Review/Revision for Center grants (multi-component applications) when the SPH division agrees to pay the remaining fee. The service is arranged through UIC Research Development and their provider Hanover Research. Hanover Proposal Review includes a teleconference to discuss draft prior to Hanover review; review of the proposal narrative for alignment with funding opportunity announcement; specific recommendations on the draft using margin comments; a memo outlining high-level recommendations; and a debrief via teleconference. Proposal Review/Revision include all aspects of “Proposal Review” as well as track changes to suggest revision to the proposal narrative and track changes to focus on achieving clarity and effective use of language, which includes addressing punctuation and grammar. The rate for this service is $3,459 and requires 3 weeks. The service should be requested 8-12 weeks before the deadline. SPH-ORS support for this service is conditional on available budget and sufficient notice to accommodate the request.
Resources
NEW! NIH Simplified Peer Review Framework