NOT-OD-26-040 Effective February 10, 2026, NIH no longer requires applicants to obtain advance written permission from an NIH Institute, Center, or Office (ICO) before submitting Conference Grant (R13) or Conference Cooperative Agreement (U13) applications.
Applicants also no longer need to include documentation of prior approval in the SF424 (R&R) Cover Letter.
Application deadlines remain unchanged.
Conference support continues to depend on alignment with the mission and priorities of the relevant NIH Institute or Center.
Applicants may still indicate assignment preferences using the PHS Assignment Request Form.
As a reminder, NIH generally will not issue a conference award if the federal award date occurs after the conference start date, except in rare emergency circumstances.