For example, according to NIH figures released this summer, the National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR) in 1987 funded the highest percentage of proposals that had been approved by its peer reviewers, 61.5%. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease funded only 30.8% of the peer-approved requests.
Fiscal 1987 was the first full year for NCNR to give grants; the center was established in the spring of 1986. Among previously established institutes, the National Eye Institute had the highest 1987 award rate, 53.4%. That institute typically funds a large chunk of its approved proposals, having posted the highest award rate seven times in the last 10 years.
Looking at NIH as a whole, 38.3% of the proposals approved by peer reviewers were funded in 1987. Eight of the 13 institutes' award rates fell under 40%, and only two funded more than 45% of their proposals.
During ...
