There are several National Institutes of Health (NIH) changes coming in 2026 including adoption of the Common Forms for all Biosketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support, new Research Security Training requirements available in Mason LEAPS, and the removal of requirements for Letters of Intent (LOIs) and requirements for $500k or more in direct costs on unsolicited applications.
NOT-OD-26-018 NIH's Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support
NIH will adopt the Common Forms for all Biosketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support, on or after January 25, 2026.This change is required for all new grant applications, Just-in-Time (JIT) requests, Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submissions, and Prior Approval requests. All required forms must be generated and certified digitally using SciENcv. NIH will enforce the use of Common Forms. If SciENcv is not used to generate the biosketches or Other Support documents, the system will not allow your proposal to be submitted.
NOT-OD-26-017: New Research Security Training Requirements for NIH
All key personnel on NIH grant applications due on or after May 25, 2026, are required to complete the Research Security Training (Condensed) module in Mason LEAPS, before the proposal is submitted to OSP. Therefore, the Research Security Training (Condensed) training module should be completed no later than 6-days prior to the Sponsor’s deadline.
This training will need to be completed annually and can take 60 minutes. We advise you to complete the training as you have time and not wait until grant submission time, to reduce the stress at proposal submission time.
NOT-OD-26-019 Removal of Requirements for LOIs and Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500k or more in Direct Costs
As part of NIH’s goal of reducing administrative burden, the following policies are effective. First, the NIH will no longer request or accept Letters of Intent (LOIs) as part of the application process, as the centralization of peer review processes has negated the original purpose of the LOI in estimating workload.
Second, the NIH is removing the requirement for applicants seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in a single budget period on unsolicited applications to contact the funding Institute or Center (IC) for permission before submission. Consequently, applicants are no longer required to include a cover letter identifying the Program Official contact who agreed to accept the application.
Please contact your CHSS RA if you have any questions, and we look forward to working with you all in the New Year!
December 11, 2025