Key update:

• NRSA stipend levels have increased by approximately 2% for both predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees
• All other budgetary categories remain unchanged, including tuition/fees, training-related expenses, and institutional allowances

These updated rates apply to new, renewal, and continuation awards issued in FY26 and will be administratively applied where applicable.

Full notice:
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-044.html

 
Board service is a great opportunity to contribute to the continued growth of the NTGCOP community, help shape future initiatives, and represent the interests of our members.

 
To help members learn more about the role before submitting a nomination, we will be hosting two 30-minute information sessions, during which current board members will provide an overview of the position, expected responsibilities, and time commitment, and answer any questions.

NTGCOP Board Service Information Session 1
Thursday, March 26, 2026
3:00–3:30 PM Eastern
Register here: https://ntgcop.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=2046616&group=

NTGCOP Board Service Information Session 2
Monday, March 30, 2026
10:00–10:30 AM Eastern
Register here: https://ntgcop.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=2046626&group=

Members interested in being considered for the Member-at-Large position may submit a nomination using the form below. Nominations will close at 5:00 PM Eastern on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

Nomination Form: https://forms.gle/t6meXaCHQSgMvtXa7

We encourage members who are interested in helping guide the future of NTGCOP to consider submitting a nomination. If you have questions, the information sessions are a great opportunity to learn more.

On December 2, 2025, NIH released Guide Notice NOT-OD-26-018: “NIH’s Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026.”

Key policy changes and dates

For applications, JIT, RPPRs, and prior approval requests with due dates or submission dates on or after January 25, 2026, NIH will require the use of:

• The Biographical Sketch Common Form

• The NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement

• The Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form
  
  

NIH will initially issue warnings in eRA for incorrect or uncertified forms and will elevate them to errors on February 6, 2026. At that point, submissions with incorrect forms will not be accepted.

SciENcv and ORCID are required

All Common Forms and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement must be generated and certified in SciENcv.

Every individual required to submit these documents must:

• Have an ORCID iD

• Link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons account

• Ensure their ORCID iD appears in the Persistent Identifier section of the Common Forms
  
  

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) prohibition and certification

Effective January 25, 2026, anyone who is a party to an MFTRP cannot serve as senior/key personnel on NIH awards.

Watch for additional NIH resources

NIH has indicated that templates, instructions, FAQs, and training videos related to the Common Forms will be updated and posted on the Common Forms webpage as they become available, and that SciENcv templates are expected to be finalized the week of December 15, 2025.

What this means for training grant programs and administrators

While the Common Forms apply broadly across NIH extramural activities, the notice includes several points that are especially relevant for institutional training grants:

• Current and Pending Support for training PD/PIs and faculty: Current and Pending (Other) Support is not specifically requested for Program Directors, training faculty, and others involved in oversight of training grants, because NIH collects applicable information in other parts of the application.

• Participating faculty biosketch packets: Biographical Sketch Common Forms for mentors and training faculty that are included in the “Participating Faculty Biosketches” attachment must be created and certified in SciENcv on an individual basis. Institutions will then combine these individual PDFs into a single, flattened PDF for submission.
  
  

• Biosketch content changes that affect training PD/PIs and faculty: The personal statement and contributions to science sections are now split between the Common Form and NIH Biosketch Supplement, with character limits and restrictions on where citations appear.
  
  

NTGCOP will continue to monitor NIH's implementation of these policies and will seek opportunities to facilitate community discussion and resource sharing on common challenges, particularly for training-focused units.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The preview forms allow you to save, reopen, and edit within SciENcv.

• Download-to-PDF is disabled for the preview versions.

• Any data entered into these preview forms will be deleted once the official NIH Common Forms become active — anticipated in November 2025.

Important caveats:

• These preview forms are not for submission. Don’t use them in applications or proposals. Submit using the current NIH Biosketch and Other Support formats until the official forms are implemented.

• NIH is not seeking feedback or testing from external users in this preview stage.

• Any information added to the preview forms will be deleted, and will not carry over to the permanent forms.

This is a great opportunity to get familiar with the new NIH Common Forms early — especially the updated instructions and interface — so when the changeover happens in November, there’re no surprises.

Why It Matters

• The move places crucial career-stage funding mechanisms and application guidance—such as Individual Fellowships and Institutional Training—right alongside other funding process tools.

• It simplifies site navigation by bringing together policy updates, funding opportunities, application steps, and career resources under one roof.

What’s Included

On the revamped pages, users will find:

1. Individual Fellowships (F awards)

2. Individual Career Development (K awards)

3. Institutional Training Grants (T awards)

4. Institutional Career Development & Other Training Programs

NIH encourages users to update any existing bookmarks from researchtraining.nih.gov—the old domain will redirect to the new pages for at least the next year.

How to Make the Most of It

• Bookmark the new pages under the NIH Grants & Funding site.

• Explore by career stage or training type—browse everything from predoctoral fellowships to institutional K and T awards with greater ease.

• Stay informed: As part of a broader effort to simplify the grant-seeking process, NIH has also rolled out related updates—like extensions for Early Stage Investigator status and expanded career development eligibility.

Quick-Access Links

NIH Extramural Nexus Announcement

New Research Training and Career Development Website

Browse by Career Stage

Browse by Program Types

Recently, NIH announced several updates that impact grant applications, funding processes, and administrative procedures. This post summarizes these key training grant-related updates to help you navigate the new landscape.

1. Implementation of New Initiatives and Policies Page: NIH has launched a dedicated page to consolidate information on recent and upcoming changes affecting grant applications and administration. This page includes updates on the status of communications, funding opportunities, application guidance, and more. Bookmark this resource to stay informed about evolving NIH priorities. Training grant specific changes can be found here.

2. Postponement of Common Forms Implementation: NIH has postponed the implementation of Common Forms Biosketches and Other Support for all applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) originally scheduled for May 25, 2025. Future Guide Notices will outline the new effective date and additional implementation details.

3. Recruitment Plans to Enhance Diversity are no longer required and those included in applications under review will not be evaluated or considered in funding decisions.

4. Data Tables: FORMS-I Training data tables 6a, 6b, and 7 have been revised to remove calculations for % underrepresented minorities. Additionally, NIGMS has removed their Table A requirement, and will now utilize data table(s) 6a and 6b.

5. NOFOs and Program Announcements: NIH is making continuous updates to training grant related NOFOs and PARs. Please make sure to continuously check for updates including required letter of support information.

6. Revised Application Forms and Instructions (FORMS-I): NIH has updated application forms and instructions, known as FORMS-I. These revisions are intended to improve clarity around recent NIH updates.

7. Trainee Diversity Reports are no longer required in RPPRs as the notice requiring the electronic submission of Trainee Diversity Reports was rescinded on March 17, 2025. 

Stay tuned for further updates from NIH and make use of the resources provided to navigate these transitions smoothly.

Tables 6A and 6B

•  Percent from Underrepresented Groups has been removed.

Table 7

• Predoctorates: Underrepresented Groups has been removed.
• Postdoctorates: Underrepresented Groups has been removed.
• Short-Term: Underrepresented Groups has been removed.
• Instructions to "refer to these data within the Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity Attachment" has been modified to "refer to these data within the Training Program section".

You can view the updated table samples and instructions here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/forms-directory/data-tables/forms-i

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued Notice Number NOT-OD-25-044 on December 10, 2024, reminding applicants of updates to the required training data tables for Institutional Training Program applications. These changes aim to reduce applicant and reviewer burden and promote consistent information collection across training programs. Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2025, the updates apply to various activity codes, including T series (e.g., T32), D43, D71, U2R, K12, and KL2. Key modifications include clarifying table instructions, removing redundancies, adding optional sections for multi-organizational programs, remove 'clearly associated' from Table 8, and reorganizing Table 5 to focus on trainee contributions. Additionally, interim research products like preprints can now be included in Table 5. For Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR), the updated tables must be used for submissions on or after January 25, 2025.