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Hi all,
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<div>Please see the forwarded info about NIH new policy on letters of collaboration. </div>
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<div dir="ltr">Best
<div>Zhe</div>
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Begin forwarded message:<br>
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<div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> Julia Sheffler <julia.sheffler@med.fsu.edu><br>
<b>Date:</b> July 29, 2026 at 9:46:15 AM EDT<br>
<b>To:</b> Zhe He <Zhe.He@cci.fsu.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> <b>FW: NIH Is Replacing Letters of Support with Letters of Collaboration</b><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">This may be useful to share with ISL as well<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Julia L. Sheffler, PhD, ABPP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Assistant Professor<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Center for Translational Behavioral Science<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual">Florida State University College of Medicine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Sara Green <sara.green@med.fsu.edu>
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<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, July 29, 2026 8:23 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Sylvie Naar <sylvie.naar@med.fsu.edu>; Karen MacDonell <karen.macdonell@med.fsu.edu>; Scott Pickett <scott.pickett@med.fsu.edu>; Nicole Ennis <nicole.ennis@med.fsu.edu>; Jason Chapman <jason.chapman@med.fsu.edu>; Ivan Balan <Ivan.Balan@med.fsu.edu>;
Laura Reid Marks <laura.reidmarks@med.fsu.edu>; Julia Sheffler <julia.sheffler@med.fsu.edu>; Rebecca Giguere <rebecca.giguere@med.fsu.edu>; Amy Hall <amy.hall@med.fsu.edu>; Prince Addo <prince.addo@med.fsu.edu>; Sherelle Harmon <sharmon@psy.fsu.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Brenda Echeverri Alvarado <brenda.echeverri@med.fsu.edu>; Grace Sanders <grace.sanders@med.fsu.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> NIH Is Replacing Letters of Support with Letters of Collaboration
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Hi,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:9.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="color:black">Beginning with <b>Forms J (FY 2027)</b>, NIH will eliminate traditional
<b>Letters of Support</b> and replace them with <b>Letters of Collaboration</b>. These letters must be limited to confirming a collaborator’s specific role or material contribution (e.g., sharing resources or materials), may not contain endorsements of the
application, and are limited to <b>100 words</b>; applications that continue to include traditional support letters after implementation may be returned without review. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">See language and link below:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">"</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333;background:white">With the implementation of Forms J in Fiscal Year 2027, the NIH will no longer allow letters of support but
will instead require letters of collaboration to document any collaborative relationships with individuals that are not identified in the application as senior/key personnel or other significant contributors. Because senior/key personnel and other significant
contributors must provide biosketches in the application, letters of collaboration from them are unnecessary and burdensome. Letters of collaboration will also be used to document other relevant contributions to the project's success, such as Material Transfer
Agreements. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">Letters designed to endorse the application without an intent to collaborate or provide material support will no longer be permitted in NIH grant applications. Letters of collaboration
should <u>not</u> be provided from trainees or staff in the laboratory of the Program Director/Principal Investigator(s), including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and technicians. When Forms J are implemented, applicants should disregard any NOFO-specific
instructions regarding content pertaining to Letters of Support as those instructions will be superseded by the new guidance. Applications that continue to include letters of support after the implementation date may be returned without review. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">Letters of collaboration should be limited to stating the intent to collaborate or provide material support as described in the application and should not contain endorsements or
additional information about or evaluations of the proposed project. An individual letter of collaboration must not exceed 100 words. NIH encourages applicants to use the following single-sentence format for letters of collaboration.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">For all applications except for fellowships:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">"If the application submitted by [Organization Name and with PD/PI Name] as Program Director/Principal Investigator entitled [Grant Application Title] is selected for funding
by NIH, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the application."</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">For fellowship applications: </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:.5in">
<i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">"If the fellowship application submitted by [Fellow Name] entitled [Fellowship Application Title] is selected for funding by NIH, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit
resources as detailed in the application."</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">For training grant applications, applicants will use a separate form to upload the Institutional Commitment Letter. This process will be described in the Forms J instructions.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#333333">NIH will revise the application forms along with instructions to replace "Letters of Support" with "Letters of Collaboration." Further details will be issued prior to implementation."</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrants.nih.gov%2Fgrants%2Fguide%2Fnotice-files%2FNOT-OD-26-094.html&data=05%7C02%7Cisl%40lists.fsu.edu%7C50cb810a7c9f4f0d68a508deee7db222%7Ca36450ebdb0642a78d1b026719f701e3%7C0%7C0%7C639210420772159753%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ap%2FpBz16%2BjHRjq2m%2F5DjZhERHhONHgu4vxYOpGkZ8EU%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-094.html" originalsrc="https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-094.html">https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-094.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="margin:0in"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:black">Sara K. Shaw Green, MSW</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:black">Assistant Director</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:black">Center for Translational Behavioral Science</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:black">Florida State University College of Medicine</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#96607D"><a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fctbs.fsu.edu%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cisl%40lists.fsu.edu%7C50cb810a7c9f4f0d68a508deee7db222%7Ca36450ebdb0642a78d1b026719f701e3%7C0%7C0%7C639210420772182157%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4uk0QWFrCgRxO4OKT7ciW98jHM8Nce432bHm7Aqtc24%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="http://ctbs.fsu.edu/" originalsrc="http://ctbs.fsu.edu/"><span style="color:#96607D">http://ctbs.fsu.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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