What criteria will be used to evaluate pre-applications?
The reviewers are looking for convincing evidence that the applicant is an exceptionally creative new investigator who is proposing a bold new approach that has the potential to produce a major impact on a broad area of biomedical or behavioral research. They will also assess the appropriateness of this pre-application for the New Innovator Award process rather than the standard peer review process.
The reviewers are looking for convincing evidence that the investigator will pursue a pioneering approach to an important problem of relevance to biomedical or behavioral research. They will also assess whether alternative funding is already available to pursue this direction and whether there is compelling justification for the advantage of using the Pioneer Award process rather than the standard peer review process. For more detail, see http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/pioneer/EvaluationCriteria.aspx.
