Guidelines for Reviewers - Peer Review
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Logo
NIH > Office of Extramural Research Logo
Home About Grants Funding Forms & Deadlines Grants Policy News & Events About OER NIH Home
Grants and Funding
Grants Policy
Policy & Guidance
Compliance & Oversight
Research Involving Human Subjects
Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW)
Animals in Research
Peer Review Policies & Practices
Intellectual Property Policy
Invention Reporting (iEdison)
NIH Public Access
Research Integrity
Guidelines and Fill-able Templates for Reviewers

Enhancing Peer Review Resources for Reviewers

Review critique fill-able templates are available for all current applications. Please choose the correct template based on the application due date.

General Guidelines - For Study Section Reviewers and Chairs
Description Guidelines for Reviewers
Reviewer Orientation PDF - 269 KB
Additional Comments to Applicant Box PDF- 161 KB
Chair Orientation PDF - 207 KB
Review Criteria at a Glance - Master PDF - 229 KB
Review Criteria at a Glance – Research PDF - 208 KB
Review Criteria at a Glance – Training PDF - 209 KB
Overall Impact versus Significance PDF - 301 KB
Scoring System and Procedure PDF - 227 KB
Working with the Critique Templates PDF - 70 KB
Reviewer Reimbursement Instructions PDF - 335 KB
NIH Conflict of Interest, Confidentiality, and Non-Disclosure Rules and Information for Reviewers PDF - 31 KB
NIH Pre-Review Certification Form PDF - 36 KB
NIH Post-Review Certification Form PDF - 22 KB
Budget Information PDF - 284 KB
Human Subjects, Protection and Inclusion PDF - 471 KB
Human Embryonic Stem Cells PDF - 69 KB
Vertebrate Animals PDF - 43 KB
Revision Applications PDF - 47 KB
Resource Sharing Plans PDF - 174 KB
NIH Lobbying Activities Policy Policy

R Awards (Research Project Grants; RPGs) - Guidelines and Fill-able Templates
Activity Code/Award Mechanism Guidelines for Reviewers Review Critique Fill-able Templates Review Criteria and Considerations
R01 Research Grants PDF - 83 KB RPG/R01/R03/R15
/R21/R34 Review (MS Word - 115 KB) (03/30/12)		 Research Project Grant (RPG) Criteria and Considerations
R03 Small Research Grant PDF - 83 KB
R15 Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) PDF - 66 KB
R21 Exploratory/Development Grants PDF - 79 KB
R34 Investigator Initiated Research Project Grant Applications PDF - 70 KB
R25 NIH Research Education Grant Applications PDF - 254 KB R25 Review (MS Word - 103 KB) (04/25/12) R25 Criteria and Considerations
Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) Awards PDF - 81 KB BRP Review (MS Word - 100 KB) (08/02/10) BRP Criteria and Considerations
R13-U13 Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings PDF - 52 KB R13-U13 Review (MS Word 97 KB) (05/10/11) R13-U13 Criteria and Considerations
R41, R42, R43, R44 SBIR-STTR Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Awards PDF - 106 KB SBIR-STTR Review (MS Word - 98 KB) (08/02/10) SBIR-STTR Criteria and Considerations




F Awards (Fellowships) - Guidelines and Fill-able Templates
Activity Code/Award Mechanism Guidelines for Reviewers Review Critique
Fill-able Templates		 Review Criteria and Considerations
F30 NRSA Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellowships PDF - 82 KB F Review (MS Word - 96 KB) (08/02/10) F Criteria and Considerations
F31 NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research PDF - 86 KB
F31 NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowships PDF - 86 KB
F32 NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships PDF - 84 KB
F33 NRSA Individual Senior Fellowships PDF - 82 KB

K Awards (Career Development) - Guidelines and Fill-able Templates
Activity Code/Award Mechanism Guidelines for Reviewers Review Critique
Fill-able Templates		 Review Criteria and Considerations
K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award PDF - 80 KB K Review (MS Word - 91 KB) (08/02/10) K Criteria and Considerations (09/12/12)
K02 Independent Scientist Award PDF - 81 KB
K07 Academic Career Award PDF - 82 KB
K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award PDF - 81 KB
K22 Career Transition Award PDF - 337 KB
K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award PDF - 82 KB
K24 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research PDF - 82 KB
K25 Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award PDF - 282 KB
K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award PDF - 255 KB


P Awards (Program Projects) - Guidelines and Fill-able Templates
Activity Code/Award Mechanism Guidelines for Reviewers Review Critique
Fill-able Templates		 Review Criteria and Considerations
P01 Program Project PDF - 78 KB Obtain file from your SRO Research Project Grant (RPG) Criteria and Considerations
Site Visit Procedures PDF - 63 KB    

S10 Awards (Shared Instrumentation) - Guidelines and Fill-able Templates
Activity Code/Award Mechanism Guidelines for Reviewers Review Critique
Fill-able Templates		 Review Criteria and Considerations
S10 Shared Instrumentation Awards PDF - 86 KB S10 Review (MS Word - 64 KB) (05/25/11) S10 Criteria and Considerations
High End Instrumentation (HEI) S10 Awards PDF - 80 KB HEI S10 Review (MS Word 62 KB) (08/02/10) HEI-S10 Criteria and Considerations

T Awards (Training) - Guidelines and Fill-able Templates
Activity Code/Award Mechanism Guidelines for Reviewers Review Critique
Fill-able Templates		 Review Criteria and Considerations
T32 NRSA Institutional Training Grant PDF - 23 KB T32/T35/K12 Review (MS Word - 98 KB) (03/05/12) T32 Criteria and Considerations
T35 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award
Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants		 PDF - 325KB
K12 Institutional Clinician Scientist Program Award PDF - 326 KB

Note: For help accessing PDF, RTF, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Audio or Video files, see Help Downloading Files.

This page last updated on December 17, 2012
Content Manager: ReviewPolicyOfficer@mail.nih.gov
Technical Issues: E-mail OER Webmaster

Social Media Links