Bracing for a cloudy NIA budget forecast

The 2024 federal government fiscal year (FY24) began on Oct. 1 with a more uncertain than usual budget forecast for NIA and the broader NIH. As you likely have heard by now, Congress enacted a continuing resolution that extends funding through Nov. 17 at FY23 levels, so we must await the official word on our final FY24 budget before we know the level of funds that will be available this fiscal year. Currently, it seems likely we are heading into a tighter budget scenario, and given this, NIA is preparing several prudent moves, so we are ready.

Lower pay lines, keeping options open

For starters, we will begin FY24 implementing very conservative interim pay lines for both Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and general (non-Alzheimer’s) applications. This will help us to account for scenarios in which there may be substantial cuts to NIA’s budget, relative, for example, to FY23. Other factors involved in actual pay lines include the rising cost of research in general, and the need to balance paying for existing programs with keeping funds available for new research.

While there is still hope that we could see a flat budget or a modest increase, the reality is that we are unlikely to see the high pay lines that we have seen in the past , especially for Alzheimer’s and related dementias projects. We are, however, preparing for other options in case there is a substantial cut to the budget, including:

Use of multiple pay bands based on cost/budget amounts for Alzheimer’s and related dementias research, as we have been doing for many years for non-Alzheimer’s research.
Setting limits on Awaiting Receipt of Applications accepted for Alzheimer’s and related dementias topic preapprovals over $500,000, as we have also been doing for many years for non-Alzheimer’s research.
Reductions in competing awards and noncompeting awards

Stay in touch for updates

In many past NIA budget-related posts, we’ve tried to maintain an optimistic tone, but now that we are facing the likelihood of a tighter budget, we want to be realistic while keeping the research community informed. As usual, as the budget and pay line situation comes into clearer focus, for better or worse, we will share updates.

One thing that doesn’t change year to year is our pride in supporting the excellent and important science conducted by our dedicated investigators. If you have concerns or questions about applications already submitted, be sure to contact your program officer , or leave a comment below. Keep an eye on this blog and please stay in touch for the latest updates.

Budget, Paylines, and Funding Policy 2023-10-11T00:00:00Z