The simplified review framework retains the five regulatory criteria (Significance, Investigators, Innovation, Approach, Environment) but reorganizes them into three factors which will be considered. All three Factors will be considered in arriving at the Overall Impact score, along with the Additional Review Criteria. Furthermore, the review of some Additional Review Considerations (Applications from Foreign Organizations, Select Agents, and Resource Sharing Plans) is being shifted from reviewers to NIH staff. See Simplified Peer Review Framework for more information about how the review process is changing.
The three factors are as follows:
- Factor 1: Importance of the Research (Significance, Innovation), scored 1-9
- Factor 2: Rigor and Feasibility (Approach), scored 1-9
- Factor 3: Expertise and Resources (Investigator, Environment), to be evaluated as either sufficient for the proposed research or not (in which case reviewers must provide an explanation)
The following resources explain the three factors in more detail: