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FAQs About Grants 

Q: Who is eligible to apply for a grant?
A: All AACN members are eligible to apply for grants with these exceptions:

  • Principal investigators who have received funding from AACN cannot receive additional funding during the lifetime of their original award (defined as enrollment of the first subject to completion of data analyses and preparation of abstract for presentation or publication of study findings).
  • Members of the AACN Research Grant Review Panel are ineligible during their term of review.
  • Members of the AACN Board of Directors and AACN Certification Corporation Board of Directors, who also cannot serve as consultants on a grant during their term of office, are ineligible.

Q: What is the deadline to apply for a grant?
A: All applications are due at the end business (Pacific time) on November 1. There are no exceptions.

Q: May I apply for more than one grant?
A: Yes. To apply for more than one grant, you must submit a separate and complete proposal for each application. Please make sure you tailor each proposal and budget appropriately.

Q: When will applicants know if they have been selected to receive a grant?
A: Successful applicants will be notified within 90 days of the application deadline.

Q: What is the difference between allowable direct costs and allowable indirect (facilities and administrative) costs?
A: Direct costs can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity or any other institutional activity, or can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.

Indirect (or facilities and administrative, F&A) costs are incurred by a grantee for common or joint objectives and, therefore, cannot be identified specifically with a particular project or program.

  • The total costs requested in your budget will include allowable direct costs (related to the performance of the grant) plus allowable indirect (F&A) costs.
  • Indirect (F&A) costs are determined by applying your organization’s negotiated F&A rate to your direct cost base.
    • Most educational, hospital or nonprofit organizations have negotiated their rates with other Federal (cognizant) agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services or the Office of Naval Research.
    • If you are a for-profit organization, the F&A costs are negotiated by the Division of Cost Allocation (DCA), Division of Financial Advisory Services (DFAS) in the Office of Acquisition Management and Policy, NIH.
  • For most institutions the negotiated F&A rate will use a modified total direct cost (MTDC) base, which excludes items such as equipment, student tuition, research patient care costs and rent.
    • Check with your sponsored programs office to find out your negotiated MTDC base.

Q: Is there a limit on indirect costs?
A: Yes. Indirect costs are limited to 10% of direct costs.

Q: Is it permitted to use grant funds for salaries?
A: No. Grant funds may not be used to pay any portion of the principal investigator’s salary.

Q: Is it permitted to use grant funds to pay for the research assistants?
A: Grant funds may be used to support the work of the research assistants (data collection, for example) provided the accounting is done on a cost-per-hour basis and not as a percentage of salary. Calculate the number of hours needed for the work and multiply that figure by the hourly rate to arrive at the cost of the research assistants.

Q: Is it permitted to use grant funds to pay for consultants?
A: Grant funds may be used to support the work of consultants, such as those who are engaged for the development of research tools and analysis of data. Account for such expense on a cost-per-hour or per-project basis.

Q: How should letters of support be addressed?
A: Address letters of support to the AACN Research Grant Review Panel.

Q: How are grant funds paid?
A: Grant funds will be paid according to the preference of the principal investigator — either to the PI’s institution or directly to the PI as an individual, in which case AACN will issue an IRS Form 1099 to the PI at the end of the year.

Q: How long is the period of the grant?
A: The period of the grant is two years from the date of funding, unless an extension is requested in writing by the grantee and approved by AACN.

Q: What happens to the grant money when the principal investigator transfers to another institution during the term of the grant?
A: If the original organization can provide documentation that another person there is qualified to complete the research, the funds would stay. However, if no appropriate researcher can complete the study, the funds would be transferred to the PI’s new institution.

Q: The information page states that principal investigators must hold at minimum a master's degree. Are enrollees in BSN to PhD or DNP in nursing programs eligible as PhD candidates, even though they do not have a master's degree?
A: Yes. They are eligible with documentation from their program that they have completed enough credits to have achieved a master’s degree.

Q: For the AACN-Sigma Theta Tau Critical Care Grant, is the mentor experienced in the area of research required to be a nurse?
A: Yes.

Q: Proposals selected for the AACN-Philips Medical Systems Clinical Outcomes Grant must be completed in time to allow for oral and poster presentation at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition. If grant awards are determined by February, does this mean the study must be complete for presentation in May of the same calendar year or the following calendar year?
A: No. They would need to be completed during the calendar year specified in the grant application.

Q: In my employment setting I meet the requirements for principal investigator; however, because this study includes my role in a student capacity by policy I cannot serve as the PI. The AACN-Phillips grant requires the PI to present the study at NTI. Would I still be eligible to apply for this study if I am not the PI?
A: You are welcome to apply, but the principal investigator must present the study.


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