Preview of SF424 Forms I and New Parent T32 NOFO

Important implications for 2025 training grant applications

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By Kelly Lozo
3 min read

The NIH released a preview SF424 Forms I and new NRSA Institutional Training Grant Parent T32 NOFO, effective for all applications submitting on or after January 25, 2025. Key changes to the Research Training Program Plan for Parent T32 applications include the following (non-Parent T32s should refer to their unique NOFO and the new Forms I instructions).

A highlight of key T32 changes are included below.

Budget

  • Training related expenses can support mentor training activities 

Program Administration & Program Faculty 

  • Efforts must be made to recruit mentors from a wide variety of backgrounds (i.e., underrepresented groups, career stages, scientific disciplines) 
  • All mentors should have a mentoring philosophy appropriately tailored to the needs of potential trainees
    • NIGMS recommends including the mentorship philosophy in each mentors’ biosketch personal statement
  • Formal and ongoing mentor training and periodic refreshers required for all mentors, based on evidence-informed practices that promote development for trainees from all backgrounds
    • Suggested topics: 
      • Aligning expectations
      • Maintaining effective communication
      • Fostering independence
      • Assessing scholars’ understanding of scientific research
      • Enhancing professional development
      • Addressing equity and inclusion
      • Articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan
    • PD/PIs must have received, or plan to receive, their training prior to the start of the program 
  • Describe how mentoring will be monitored, including: 
    • The administrative oversight structure 
    • Trainee/mentor match effectiveness
  • Mentorship practices should evolve and reflect changes in the relevant research area
  • Describe a plan for removing mentors who do not meet expectations 
  • For co-mentorship structures, demonstrate how mentors will effectively coordinate communication, training, and responsibilities

Proposed Training 

  • Career development requirements:
    • Provide information on: 
      • The overall employment landscape
      • Variety of applicable careers
      • Common outcomes for program graduates
    • Describe activities that develop necessary networks and professional skills, including how: 
      • The program will engage a range of potential employers, including industry
      • The program will provide experiential learning opportunities (i.e., internships, shadowing, informational interviews, teaching opportunities)
      • Trainees will receive grant writing training applicable to their career stage 
      • Trainees will learn to teach/communicate research to a wide audience (i.e., discipline-specific, across disciplines, the public) 
    • It is encouraged, though not required, to share trainee outcomes on a publicly accessible website (example directory)

Proposed Evaluation 

  • Approaches should be grounded in literature or evaluations of other relevant training programs
  • Assess inclusivity of the training environment 
  • Describe how evaluation plans will respond to appropriate feedback

Trainee Candidates and Retention Plans 

  • Justify the number of requested slots
  • A specific “Retention Plan” has been added, requiring a description of:
    • Evidence-informed activities to sustain participation of trainees from all backgrounds
    • How approaches are selected and tailored toward individual trainee needs (examples can be found on the NIH’s Recruitment & Retention website)
    • Efforts to monitor trainees’ academic and research progress 
    • Strategies to coordinate with, and differentiate from, broader UCLA retention efforts 
  • Use a multifactorial review process that considers metrics beyond previous institution, GPA, and standardized test scores
    • Note: While a multifactorial admissions process can consider a variety of factors (i.e., how a candidate’s experiences and perspectives further their commitment to the program’s goals), it is not permissible to use a trainee’s race, ethnicity, or sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, or transgender status) as eligibility or selection criteria

Training Outcomes 

  • The section “Qualifications of Trainee Candidates and Admission and Completion Records” has been renamed “Training Outcomes”
  • Demonstrate that rigorous research that advanced scientific knowledge and technologies was conducted with increasing self-direction
  • If outcome disparities are observed, describe approaches to identify and address causes 

Progress Report (renewals only)

  • If goals from the previous period were not met, provide explanations on alternative approaches taken 
  • Make aggregate data on training and career outcomes publicly available (i.e., through a website)

Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity

  • Removed from 25-page Program Plan and is now a separate 3 page max document

Plan for Instruction in Methods for Enhancing Reproducibility

  • Renewals: Describe any changes, and plans to address weaknesses in instruction over the past project period

Data Tables 

  • A summary of Data Table changes can be found through this article

Biosketches

For applications on or after May 25, 2025

Please contact Kelly Lozo at klozo@mednet.ucla.edu for questions on how these changes may impact your upcoming submission.