Mock NIH Grant Review

The NCNS established a mock grant review process in the spring of 2004 and has already used it twice as of September 2004 in preliminary reviews of major external grant proposals.

Mock internal reviews of major grant proposals are becoming increasingly common at Nursing schools nationwide, given the competitiveness of federal funding and the new limitations placed on NIH resubmissions. In mock reviews, institutions draw on experienced local investigators to reproduce many of the conditions a proposal encounters in a national panel. Successful mock reviews come at a point where a proposal is well thought out and polished, but still open to revision so that the investigator can benefit from both the written critiques and the discussion with and among the reviewers. Schools using the mock review process indicate it often provides the equivalent of a first NIH review, thus moving proposals to funding more rapidly.

The mock review process simulates the seriousness and formality of national review procedures as closely as possible, with confidentiality, mutual respect, collegiality, and affirmation as essential parts of the process. Reviewers present both strengths and weaknesses, along with suggestions for eliminating weaknesses, in their written critiques. In general, reviewers organize their comments around the grant evaluation criteria for NIH R-series awards, i.e. significance, innovation, approach, investigator, and environment. Written critiques are read sequentially and in their entirety at the beginning of the review session.

NCNS Mock Review Guidelines

Mock NIH Grant Review

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