FASEB Submits Comments to NIH on Grant Cap Proposal

FASEB Submits Comments to NIH on Grant Cap Proposal

Wednesday, August 5, 2026
FASEB submitted comments in response to the Request for Information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research on the proposed policy to cap the number of simultaneous research project grants (RPGs) on which an individual could serve as Principal Investigator (PI) or Multi-Primary Investigator (MPI). The federation recommends the cap be set at three (3) RPGs per PI or MPI, implemented through a phased approach tied to grant renewal cycles. FASEB further recommends that NIH implement several safeguards alongside the cap, including weighting RPG counts by grant type and scientific role, counting MPI roles fractionally, exempting shared-resource infrastructure grants (such as biobanks and multi-site consortia), and establishing a documented waiver process for PIs who steward essential shared research resources.