An NIH multi-year funded (MYF) award is one in which the project period and budget period are the same and are longer than one year. The awards are funded from a single congressional appropriation which often makes the funding for these awards subject to agency cancelation.
Some examples of activity codes that NIH traditionally uses for multi-year funding awards are C06, DP2, DP3, DP4, R15, R55, RC3, RC4, RF1, UA5, UC4, UC6, and UF1.
The NIH R15 Academic Research Enhancement (AREA) and Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) is a type of MYF award.
Principal Investigators who receive AREA/REAP awards are eligible for one no-cost extension of up to twelve (12) months, with prior agency approval. Second no-cost extensions are no longer available.
Most NIH awards are funded incrementally based on annual appropriations, and funds only become available one federal fiscal year at a time, so the five-year rule applies to each fiscal year increment. However, in the case of MYF awards, such as the R15 mechanism, the award is funded from a single appropriation, typically in the first year of the project, for the entire project period. All federal agencies are required by 31 U.S.C. §1552(a) to close fixed-year appropriation accounts and cancel any remaining balances by September 30 of the fifth fiscal year after the year of availability.
For example, for NIH recipients who received grant funding from NIH in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 (10/1/2017 - 9/30/2018), the deadline to report disbursements from 2018 awards made with annual appropriations is June 30, 2023. On September 30, 2023, funds awarded with a 2018 annual appropriation will cancel and will no longer be available to the recipient organization or to the NIH. After that date, recipients will not be able to access FY2018 funds for any reason (program expenditures, obligations, or payment requests).
For questions regarding the status of funds on your account, contact your Grants and Contracts Specialist.
Pre-award and Proposals
asosp@niu.edu
Post-award and Award Management
GrantsFiscal@niu.edu
InfoEd Questions
erahelp@niu.edu