NIH U13: Conference Cooperative Agreement

A Conference Plan, Not a Research Strategy

U13 applications use the SF424 (R&R) and PHS 398 Research Plan attachments, but the Research Strategy attachment is replaced entirely by a Conference Plan. There is no Specific Aims page. The Conference Plan should be organized with clear subheadings and cover:

• Objectives and program — the specific agenda, format, and logistical arrangements for the meeting
• Prior related conferences — meetings on the same or related topics held in the last 3 years, and how this conference differs from or supplements them
• Family-care resources — strategies to identify and publicize childcare and family-care resources at or near the venue
• Outreach — strategies to publicize the conference broadly to all interested participants, plus a plan for promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as appropriate to the NOFO/IC
• Evaluation and outcomes — the assessment approach and anticipated products, such as proceedings, recordings, or white papers

Detailed Budget, No Indirect Costs

U13 applications use the detailed R&R Budget form, not the Modular Budget. Facilities & Administrative (F&A, or indirect) costs are not allowed on a conference grant, so every dollar requested should be a direct cost tied to running the meeting: venue, A/V, travel support, accessibility accommodations, and dissemination of childcare information. The accompanying Budget Justification should tie each cost category back to the Conference Plan and the basis for the projected attendee count, and it should exclude any F&A line since indirect costs are categorically disallowed for this mechanism.

The Cover Letter: Permission to Submit

U13 applications require a Cover Letter documenting a "permission to submit" confirmation from a designated program contact at the funding Institute or Center. NIH guidance directs applicants to initiate that IC contact at least 6 weeks before the application due date and to reference the NOFO number and the IC program contact in the letter. An IC agreeing to consider the application does not guarantee funding, but without this confirmation attached, the application is incomplete.

Safety Plan (Submitted Just-in-Time)

Per NIH policy (NOT-OD-22-074), applications recommended for funding must submit a Plan to Promote Safe Environments as Just-in-Time material. The plan covers a statement of commitment to a harassment-free environment, expectations of behavior, confidential reporting instructions and organizer contacts, a process for assessing allegations and consequences for violations, information on the HHS Office for Civil Rights complaint process, and how concerns of harassment or discrimination can be reported to NIH. This is not required at initial submission, only if the application is recommended for funding.

Eligibility and Multi-Year Series

Only domestic, accredited organizations may apply; foreign institutions are not eligible applicants, though a U.S. representative organization of an international society may apply on behalf of an international conference. Most ICs will also accept applications proposing a series of conferences, for up to 5 years of support, from a permanent sponsoring organization. A multi-year series application should provide the topic, tentative dates and location, expected participants, and contingency plans for each future year requested, and applicants should confirm the specific IC's participation and expectations before proposing a series.

How Review Works

U13 is one of the non-research mechanisms, alongside G07 and S10, that NIH exempts from both the Specific Aims/Research Strategy structure and the Simplified Peer Review Framework; it keeps the classic five-criteria review model, but each criterion is remapped away from research merit. Significance asks whether the conference addresses an important, timely problem. Investigator becomes an assessment of whether the PD/PI and organizing committee are well-suited to organize this specific conference and promote broad, diverse participation. Innovation looks at whether the conference brings together perspectives or disciplines that would not otherwise convene. Approach maps onto the Conference Plan itself: format, agenda, speaker selection, logistics, and how it compares to related conferences in the past 3 years. Environment considers the venue, institutional support, and any co-sponsor arrangements. Because this is a cooperative agreement, reviewers also expect the plan to accommodate NIH program staff's defined post-award role in planning and conducting the meeting.