Below are some frequently asked questions related to NIH diversity supplement funding. A huge thank you to our colleagues at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Office of Training and Education for allowing us to share these helpful FAQs with the Duke Community. For additional information, please visit the Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute’s website on diversity supplements or the NIH RFA.
After the Matching Event, what should my next step be?
There are several good options. We suggest reaching out to the NIH Program Officer of your parent award to confirm eligibility. Follow up with the trainee(s) to hash out a project and timeline. Be sure to check out the CRTEC grant writing resources page as well as Duke’s myRESEARCHpath site. Both have a lot of great information to get you started (including sample, successful diversity supplement applications). Lastly, be sure to reach out to your Duke grants manager if you decide to apply, just like any other grant.
Who is eligible for a diversity supplement award?
Parent awards: The PI or Co-PI (either is okay) must have an active NIH award, typically with two or more years remaining before it is due for a competitive renewal at the time of the start of the supplement. Always reach out to the Program Officer of your parent award and/or a program officer for diversity supplements if you are unsure. See here for the contact list by institute for diversity supplements.
Trainees: The trainee named in the diversity supplement application must identify as belonging to a race or ethnicity that is underrepresented in science, come from a disadvantaged background, or have a disability. This includes racial or ethnic groups identified by the NSF as underrepresented in science (such as Black/African American, Hispanic/ Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander). Alternately, if the individual comes from a financially disadvantaged background or has a disability, he or she may also qualify. More information can be found here. NIH guidelines state that trainees supported through diversity supplements must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, you can read more here. Diversity supplement candidates may be considered for a supplement at the following career stages: high-school students, undergraduate students, baccalaureate and master’s degree holders, pre-doctoral students, postdocs, and faculty. Importantly, most NIH Institutes do not allow a trainee to be listed as a diversity supplement candidate if they are already listed as personnel in the budget section of the PI’s parent award. Some institutes (e.g., NCI) prefer that the trainee is a new member of the PI’s lab who has not received any salary support from the parent grant. There is some nuance to this (e.g., you may be able to pay for the trainee’s salary out of your discretionary account or even out of the parent grant after the diversity supplement has been submitted, while you are awaiting the outcome), but you should always consult with a PO about this first.
Regardless of the parent award and trainee, you should talk to two NIH contacts before you apply: your award’s current program officer, and the program officer that oversees the diversity supplement program for the parent award’s institute (a list of contacts can be found here).
What types of positions can be funded?
This depends on which institute you are applying to. Be sure to check out this NIH page for special instructions. For example, see here for the NCI’s specific guidelines.
What are the most important parts of the application?
The goal of the diversity supplement program is to increase career advancement opportunities in science for individuals who identify as belonging to an underrepresented or disadvantaged group. Therefore, the most important part of the application is the training plan, where you outline with specifics what the background and career goals of the trainee are and how this experience will benefit those goals. It is important to make this part as specific and individualized as possible so NIH can see you take the training/mentoring aspect of this opportunity seriously. If it is accurate, it is also helpful to indicate that you will support the trainee with other funds after the diversity supplement has ended. This shows that you believe the trainee will be valuable to you even when you have to pay his or her salary and it amplifies the effect of their investment in the training of underrepresented and disadvantaged trainees. It is also useful to provide evidence of your mentoring abilities, particularly of individuals underrepresented in STEM if you have had that opportunity, by describing your mentoring philosophy, where your trainees have gone after leaving your lab, and other mentor related activities (such as mentor training you participate in, etc.).
What are the least important parts of the application?
In comparison to the mentoring statement, described above, the project plan is much less important. The supplement application is only reviewed administratively (not by a study section), so as long as the project is reasonable and fits within the broad scope of the parent grant it should be fine. Check with your program officer about whether it needs to be within or separate from the Specific Aims of the parent grant – this has varied from institute to institute and within institute over time.
What are the odds of success?
We are not certain, but our estimate is 50-60%. If you (1) identify a candidate who is clearly eligible (i.e., you are not trying to stretch beyond the spirit of the program); (2) get the program officers’ approval ahead of time; (3) write a convincing mentoring statement; and (4) respond diligently to any requests from NIH after you have submitted the grant, your chance of success should be high.
Can I apply for a supplement even though the trainee is not yet hired?
Yes— it’s okay to start writing/preparing the DS application while the HR process is underway and then submit it to NIH before the person starts in the lab. This has the advantage that you avoid the problem where the person can become ineligible if they are paid off the parent grant before the application is submitted. This timing has the disadvantage that the person is not formally committed to come to the lab until they sign the offer letter, so it is possible that you will submit the application and then they do not come. Note also that the trainee will need her/his/their own eRA Commons ID and that can only be issued by a University.
Any coordinated effort or recommendation on how to get the eligibility statement form signed? Is it typical to ask the candidate to fill out the information?
Yes, you should ask the candidate for this information. It is important that they self-identify with the qualifying category. We are not coordinating to get the letters signed.
How long does the application process take?
Based on other’s experience, we recommend allocating about 12 weeks to prepare a supplement. It will likely take another 12 weeks for the supplement to be reviewed.
