How to Read NIH Grant Success Rates — Applications, Awards and a Column in Two Formats
NIH Table #218 (competing applications, FY 1970-2025): FY 2025 research project grants 8,161 awarded of 62,592 reviewed, success rate 13% vs 18.5% in FY 2024; FY 2025 cell is stored as 13.
Key figures (NIH Table #218, Fiscal Years 1970 - 2025)
As of 10 November 2026, 01:43 KST (retrieved by this page at that time); latest listed on the agency page at retrieval: Table #218, NIH Research Project Grants and R01 Equivalent Grants - Competing Applications, Awards, and Success Rates, Fiscal Years 1970 - 2025, an Excel workbook of 3 sheets linked from the Success Rates page of NIH RePORT. The page carries no date; the workbook's notes sheet prints Data last updated 12/19/2026. Primary source: https://report.nih.gov/reportweb/web/displayreport?rId=665[1][2]
| Indicator (NIH competing applications, fiscal years; counts unless stated) | Previous: FY 2024 (Table #218 [1]) | Current: FY 2025 (Table #218 [1]) | Change vs previous (this page's calculation from the cells) | Change vs year ago (annual table, so FY 2024 is also the year-ago value; % change, this page's calculation from the cells) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research project grant applications reviewed | 55,418 | 62,592 | +7,174 | +12.9% | NIH RePORT Table #218 workbook [1] |
| Research project grant applications awarded | 10,265 | 8,161 | -2,104 | -20.5% | NIH RePORT Table #218 workbook [1] |
| Research project grant success rate (% of reviewed) | 18.5 (cell 0.185…, a fraction, as printed in the workbook) | 13 (cell stored as 13, as printed in the workbook) | -5.5 points | n/a — the previous column gives the percentage-point change | NIH RePORT Table #218 workbook [1] |
| R01-equivalent applications reviewed | 37,478 | 42,022 | +4,544 | +12.1% | NIH RePORT Table #218 workbook [1] |
| R01-equivalent applications awarded | 7,000 | 5,471 | -1,529 | -21.8% | NIH RePORT Table #218 workbook [1] |
| R01-equivalent success rate (% of reviewed) | 18.7 (cell a fraction, as printed in the workbook) | 13 (cell stored as 13, as printed in the workbook) | -5.7 points | n/a — the previous column gives the percentage-point change | NIH RePORT Table #218 workbook [1] |
Comparison basis: counts are whole applications as printed (except FY 1993 to FY 1997 for R01-equivalent grants, see below); success rates for FY 1970 to FY 2024 are stored as fractions such as 0.185 and are shown here as percentages rounded to one decimal, while FY 2025 is stored as 13. Point changes in success rates are this page's subtraction of the cells. 8,161 ÷ 62,592 ≈ 13.0% is the ratio calculated from the displayed counts (5,471 ÷ 42,022 also gives 13.0%). The official formula is stated separately in the NIH definition: "Success rates are determined by dividing the number of competing applications funded by the sum of the total number of competing applications reviewed and the number of funded carryovers."[1][3]
In three lines
1. NIH reviewed 62,592 competing research project grant applications in FY 2025 and awarded 8,161 (Table #218).
2. The success rate cell for FY 2025 reads 13, against 18.5% in FY 2024.
3. For R01-equivalent grants, 5,471 of 42,022 reviewed applications were awarded, also 13.[1]
What a success rate counts
Definition and exceptions. The definition document (Last Updated 12/2023) says: "They are computed on a fiscal year basis and include applications that are peer reviewed, either scored or unscored by an Initial Review Group (IRG)." Applications withdrawn by the applicant before review, and those returned or administratively withdrawn by NIH, are excluded from the calculation. Duplicate versions are counted once in principle: "If there are multiple versions of the same project submitted in one year then only one of them is counted." The document gives exceptions, for example: "In cases where both an R01 application is funded and its corresponding R56 application is funded, both get the count (numerator and denominator)."[3]
Carryovers. "Funded carryovers are those applications which were reviewed and not funded in the review fiscal year but were funded in the next fiscal year." Such an application counts only in the denominator in its review year and in both numerator and denominator in the year it is funded. Table #218 prints only applications reviewed and awarded, so the number of carryovers in each year is not shown.[3]
Which funds. "The NIH Research Project Grant success rate provided annually to Congress is based on activities funded from Labor/HHS/ Education appropriations and the Special Type 1 Diabetes mandatory account." Table #218 does not say which funding sources it covers, so whether its rates match the figure given to Congress is not established. For jointly funded grants the administrative Institute or Center gets the count, and "For unfunded applications, the admin IC usually gets the count."[3]
Two groups of activity codes. The notes sheet lists the activity codes in each group; research project grants include R01, R21, P01, U01 and many others, and R01-equivalent grants are a narrower list. Of each list the notes say: "Not all of these activities may be in use by NIH every year."[1]
Reading in pairs
A rate stored as 13 next to fractions. Every success rate cell from FY 1970 to FY 2024 is a fraction below 1 (for example 0.18522862607817001 for FY 2024), while both FY 2025 cells hold 13. As printed in the workbook, 13 sits in a column of fractions; read with the column header, it matches 13.0%, the ratio calculated from the displayed counts 8,161 and 62,592; the workbook does not state the unit of either form, and anyone charting the column as stored would see FY 2025 jump to 13 from 0.185.[1]
The cell equals awarded divided by reviewed. For FY 2024, 10,265 divided by 55,418 reproduces the stored 0.18522862607817001. The definition puts funded carryovers in the denominator, so the printed reviewed counts are consistent with already including them, but the workbook does not say so and this is not established.[1][3]
Counts with decimals. As printed in the workbook, for FY 1993 to FY 1997 the R01-equivalent columns hold non-whole numbers, such as 21,588.355 applications reviewed in FY 1993. The workbook gives no note on these values, so how they arose is not established.[1]
A last-updated date after retrieval. As printed in the workbook, the notes sheet reads Data last updated 12/19/2026, a date later than this page's retrieval on November 10, 2026. The date cannot be reconciled with the retrieval date, and the correct update date is not established.[1]
An empty definition sheet. As printed in the workbook, the third sheet is titled Success Rate Definition but has no cell text in the retrieved copy; the definition used here comes from the separate two-page document linked on the same page.[1][3]
FY 2025 in the 1970 - 2025 series
Highest application count, lowest rate. In Table #218, 62,592 applications reviewed in FY 2025 is the largest count in the series (the previous high was 58,872 in FY 2021), and 13 is the lowest success rate; the lowest earlier rate was 0.168 in FY 2013. These are this page's readings of all rows of the converted cells, checked by assertion; the table gives no reasons for the change.[1]
Awards fell while applications rose. Awards fell by 2,104 (-20.5%) while applications rose by 7,174 (+12.9%). A success rate falls when either moves this way, so the two counts are worth reading alongside the rate.[1]
Dates and next release
Dates kept apart. Data years: fiscal years 1970 to 2025. Workbook notes: Data last updated 12/19/2026, as printed. Definition document: Last Updated 12/2023. Success Rates page: no date shown.[1][2][3]
Next release. Neither the page nor the workbook states when FY 2026 figures will be added, so the next release date is not established.[2]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
NIH RePORT Table #218 lists 62,592 competing research project grant applications reviewed and 8,161 awarded in FY 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Table #218 lists 55,418 research project grant applications reviewed and 10,265 awarded in FY 2024, a stored success rate of 0.18522862607817001.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
For R01-equivalent grants, Table #218 lists 42,022 applications reviewed and 5,471 awarded in FY 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
NIH counts multiple versions of the same project submitted in one year once in principle when computing success rates, with documented exceptions such as when both an R01 and its corresponding R56 are funded.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
The FY 2025 success rate cell of 13 matches 13.0%, the ratio calculated from the displayed counts of 8,161 awarded and 62,592 reviewed, while earlier years are stored as fractions.[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · inference from dividing the FY 2025 cells of Table #218
FY 2025 has the most applications reviewed and the lowest success rate in the 1970 - 2025 series.[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · inference from comparing all rows of Table #218
The workbook's printed update date of 12/19/2026 is later than the retrieval date of November 10, 2026.[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · inference from reading the notes sheet of Table #218 against the retrieval date
Timeline
- 2023-12
NIH's success rate definition document is last updated.[3]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- When was Table #218 actually last updated?
- How were the fractional R01-equivalent counts for FY 1993 to FY 1997 produced?
- Do the reviewed counts include funded carryovers?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 11/10/2026, 01:39
- Body characters
- 7,360
- Sources
- 3 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 11/10/2026, 01:57
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 11/10/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 11/10/2026 | First version. Read in full the Table #218 workbook (3 sheets), the NIH RePORT Success Rates page and the two-page success rate definition; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text of the document named. | Updated |
| 11/10/2026 | Revised after review: workbook observations are marked as printed in the workbook after a further assertion against the converted cells; success rate rows show n/a in the year-ago column because the previous column is a percentage-point change; 13.0% is called the ratio calculated from the displayed counts, with the official formula quoted separately; duplicate applications are described as counted once in principle with the R01 and R56 exception quoted; the R35 condition is added to the activity code answer. The NIH Data Book pages linked from RePORT returned no readable text, so they are not used. | Updated |
Frequently asked
What was the NIH success rate in FY 2025?
13 for research project grants, as stored in Table #218; 8,161 awards out of 62,592 applications reviewed gives a ratio of about 13.0% from the displayed counts. The FY 2024 rate was 18.5%.[1]
What does success rate mean at NIH?
The share of reviewed competing applications that are funded in a fiscal year, per the 2023 definition document; applications withdrawn before review, returned or administratively withdrawn are excluded, and multiple versions of one project in a year count once in principle, with exceptions such as both an R01 and its R56 being counted when both are funded.[3]
Is the success rate the same as the chance an individual application is funded?
Not exactly: the 2023 definition counts a project once per year even if it was submitted in several versions, and funded carryovers from the prior year enter both parts of the ratio.[3]
How many R01-equivalent applications were funded?
5,471 of 42,022 reviewed in FY 2025 (Table #218), down from 7,000 of 37,478 in FY 2024.[1]
Can I chart the success rate column as it is?
Not without conversion: FY 1970 to FY 2024 are stored as fractions such as 0.185, while FY 2025 is stored as 13, so the cells need a common unit first.[1]
Which grants are research project grants?
A list of more than 50 activity codes in the Table #218 notes, including R01, R21, P01 and U01; R01-equivalent grants are a narrower list of 10 codes, in which R35 counts only when it comes from select NIGMS and NHGRI program announcements.[1]
When will FY 2026 success rates be published?
Not established for FY 2026: the Success Rates page and the workbook give no date.[2]
Official links
- Official NIH RePORT — Success Rates
Sources
- [1] Table #218: NIH Research Project Grants and R01 Equivalent Grants - Competing Applications, Awards, and Success Rates, Fiscal Years 1970 - 2025 (Excel workbook) primary
- [2] Success Rates (NIH RePORT page) primary
- [3] NIH Success Rates: Definition (Division of Statistical Analysis and Reporting), PDF primary