NIH Important Notices – News & Announcements

Dear Colleagues:

The NIH Guide Notices below provide important information for faculty, researchers, and administrators. Please disseminate this information as appropriate. Questions regarding these notices should be directed to a Contract and Grant Officer in Sponsored Projects.

Nancy

Inauguration Day (January 20, 2017) Impact on NIH Grant Application Due Dates and Support
(NOT-OD-17-033) National Institutes of Health

Inauguration Day is considered a Federal holiday for most NIH staff. This notice informs the community of changes to grant application due dates and staff availability for support on January 20, 2017 due to the presidential inauguration.

All application due dates that fall on January 20, 2017 will move to January 23, 2017, including (but not limited to) due dates for the following funding opportunity announcements:

- PAR-15-068 – NIDDK Multi-Center Clinical Study Implementation Planning Cooperative Agreements (U34)
- RFA-CA-16-502 – Limited Competition: The Chernobyl Tissue Bank – Coordinating Center (U24)

All eRA systems will remain operational.

NIH & AHRQ Update Font Guidelines for Applications to Due Dates On or After January 25, 2017
(NOT-OD-17-030) National Institutes of Health
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

This Notice replaces all previous font guidance. It updates NIH’s and AHRQ’s recommended font list and no longer requires that black text be used within grant application attachments.

For applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2017, text in PDF attachments must follow these minimum requirements:

·Text Color: No restriction. Though not required, black or other high-contrast text colors are recommended since they print well and are legible to the largest audience.

·Font size: Must be 11 points or larger. Smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams and charts is acceptable, as long as it is legible when the page is viewed at 100%.

·Type density: Must be no more than 15 characters per linear inch (including characters and spaces).

·Line spacing: Must be no more than six lines per vertical inch.

Since some PDF converters may reduce font size, it is important to confirm that the final PDF document complies with the font requirements.

The following fonts are recommended, although other fonts (both serif and non-serif) are acceptable if they meet the above requirements.

·Arial

·Georgia

·Helvetica

·Palatino Linotype

Applications that include PDF attachments that do not conform to the minimum requirements listed above may be withdrawn from consideration.

Nancy Lewis

Executive Director, Sponsored Projects