NIH K Awards

NIH Research Career Development Awards or K awards/grants are to provide individual and institutional research training opportunities (including international) to trainees at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels.

Jump To K12 Award Resources

General NIH K Award Management

PI Effort

Most K awards have minimum requirements for the percentage of PI effort that is devoted and charged to the project and/or research in general which must be met.
- For example, 75% in years 1-3, 50% in year 4, and 35% in year 5 if additional NIH funding is obtained.
The specifics of K award PI effort requirements vary across the K award programs (K01, K05, K99 etc.) and by awarding institute. Always closely review and adhere to the requirements as specified in the specific K award's Notice of Award you are managing.
Appointments must meet the minimum effort requirements of the K-Award. Effort charged to the grant must clearly document and demonstrate fulfillment of the sponsor’s required effort throughout each project period (Including No-Cost Extension periods).

Reference: NIH GPS Section 12.3.6 Level of Effort

In addition, career award recipients that have a dual appointment with the VA must a 1/8th, 2/8th or 3/8th appointment to meet the 75% minimum effort requirement.

Tracking Salary Limitation & Salary Cap

K Awards often have salary limits depending on the participating Institutes and programs. The salary limit (excluding fringe benefits) is not the same as the legislative mandated salary cap.

Salary over the K grant salary limitation, but under the NIH salary cap must be accounted for in a cost sharing PTA. Salary over the salary cap should be accounted for by using expenditure type 51190.

Reference: DoResearch: 15.5 Salary Cap Administration

Rebudgeting of Funds

Funds may be rebudgeted between categories without prior approval. While you may rebudget funds from salary into other categories, doing this would create or increase the cost sharing commitment. You may rebudget funds from another category to cover a higher salary and reduce cost sharing commitment.

Reference: NIH 12.9 Rebudgeting of Funds

Allowable use of Non-Salary Funds

Career Development Awards (CDAs) may include a fixed amount for research development support costs. This amount may vary by IC and is commonly used for supplies, equipment, technical personnel, travel to research meetings or training, tuition/fees for courses and computational services.

Mentored CDA programs provide support with a goal of leading to research independence for an individual. Since research independence is achieved through applying for other research support, consistent with these objectives, it is allowable for effort devoted to proposal preparation costs for subsequent research support to be charged to a mentored CDA award. This can be considered part of the awarded effort commitment of the mentored CDA or an increase to that commitment with the allowable salary provided as applicable.

Reference: NIH GPS Section 12.8 Allowable and Unallowable Costs

K awards generally will not provide salary support for mentors or any administrative personnel.

Effort Reduction

A reduction of effort, from the minimum required effort, requires prior approval and in most cases reductions are allowed only for personal, health, and/or family matters, not to perform other research or clinical activities.

Effort during the no cost extension period must continue to meet the minimum effort requirement of the program.

Reference: NIH GPS Section12.3.5.1 Temporary Adjustments to the Full-Time Institutional Appointment Requirement

Concurrent Support

NIH allows K-award recipients to reduce their level of effort required for the career award and replace that effort with an NIH research grant or subproject provided they remain in a mentored situation. This policy will permit those candidates who are ready to apply for and receive NIH research support to continue to benefit from the period of protected time offered by the career development award.

Effort on non-NIH awards is allowable as long as NIH effort commitment is met on the CDA.

Effort on other NIH award can be subsumed under the K award when there is scientific overlap. Salary is not charged to the other NIH award.

References: NIH GPS Section 12.3.6.2 Concurrent Support

NOT-OD-18-157: Career Award (K) Policy Update: Concurrent Support from a Mentored K Award and a Research Grant

Salary Supplementation & Compensation

See: NIH Notice Number: NOT-OD-17-094

Clarification and Update: Salary Supplementation and Compensation on Research Career Development ("K") Awards

Salary Supplementation and Compensation during the Entire Career ("K") award

The recipient institution may supplement the NIH or AHRQ salary contribution on "K" awards up to a level that is consistent with the institution's salary scale. For effort directly committed to the "K" award, salary supplementation is allowable, but must be from non-Federal sources (including institutional sources). Non-Federal or institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the goals of the "K" award.

For effort not directly committed to the "K" award, "K" award recipients may devote effort, with compensation, on Federal or non-Federal sources as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) or in another role (e.g., co-Investigator), as long the specific aims of the other supporting grant(s) differ from those of the "K" award.

A request must be submitted to NIH to confirm there is no overlap.

Additional NIH K Award Resources

Need further NIH K award assistance? Have questions, feedback, or are experiencing other issues? Please reach out to your OSR Post Award Research Accountant.