National Institutes of Health "K" Awards

NIH “Career Development Awards”, commonly known as ‘K
Awards’, normally require that recipients commit/devote a
minimum percentage of effort toward the objectives of the award.
This percentage of minimum effort is normally defined at 75%.
Therefore, during budget preparations, it is important to understand
these requirements to determine the necessary effort commitments
and maximum salary that may be charged.

The University may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to
a level that is consistent with the institution's salary scale;
however, supplementation may not be from federal funds unless
specifically authorized by the federal program from which such
funds are derived. Because the salary amount provided by these
awards is based on the full-time institutional salary, funds from
other NIH awards may not be used for salary supplementation
without prior written approval from NIH. University
supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or
responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the K
award and the minimum amount of effort that has been committed
through acceptance of the K award. Be certain to keep these
minimum effort requirements in mind when certifying effort on K
award activities.

For more information about “K” Awards, visit
http://grants.nih.gov/training/careerdevelopmentawards.htm or
contact Stewart Craig for proposal budgeting issues at 4-4744 or
via e-mail at spc4bj@virginia.edu; Andrew Bedotto for effort
reporting issues at 4-3852 or via e-mail at ab3ah@virginia.edu. In
the School of Medicine you can also contact Sarah White in the
Office of Grants and Contracts Administration at 4-8426.