Washington Update

News from NIH: Policy Implementation and Insight into the Developing Strategic Plan

By: Galen Cobb
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Over the past two weeks, NIH has published several updates to its Extramural Nexus blog, covering new policy implementations, compliance reminders, and early signals from the agency's forthcoming NIH-wide Strategic Plan.

New Layout for NIH NOFOs 
NIH has become the sixth HHS agency to adopt the redesigned Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) template introduced under the SimplerNOFO initiative, which aims to increase clarity and help applicants better understand grant requirements. The new layout debuted with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences' Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (PAR-27-032), with additional NOFOs in the new format expected to follow.

Compliance Reminders for Grantees
Grantees should be aware of two recent compliance updates. In An Update on How NIH Protects NIH-Funded Research from Undue Foreign Interference, posted May 12, NIH reviewed recent research security policies. Applicants are reminded that new Common Forms required for applications submitted after January 25, 2026, include mandatory disclosures, and that certification of research security training will be required of all senior/key personnel for applications submitted on or after May 25. On May 14, NIH also published Helpful Reminders to Ensure Integrity of NIH-Supported Research When Using Artificial Intelligence, clarifying appropriate and inappropriate uses of artificial intelligence in NIH-supported research.

Insights into the Next NIH-wide Strategic Plan
A third Extramural Nexus post, Reinforcing NIH's Continued Commitment to Fundamental Research, echoed many of the points FASEB raised in its recent comments on the Request for Information for the NIH-wide FY 2027–2031 Strategic Plan, presenting a unified case from NIH Institutes and Centers for sustained investment in foundational research.

An earlier version of the post included NIH Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) data comparing foundational and translational funding rates for research project grants over the past five years; this table was subsequently removed pending further review of data quality.