NIH seeks public comment on plan to hide grant review scores

The NIH released a Request for Information on August 14, asking stakeholders to weigh a proposal to conceal the numeric scores assigned by external scientific reviewers to grant applications. Under the draft, applicants would only see whether their proposal falls into one of three impact tiers: “Most competitive,” “Competitive,” or “Not discussed.” The agency argues that this aligns with a Unified Funding Strategy that lets institute leaders consider health priorities, workforce needs, and budget constraints alongside peer review.

The notice provides a comment deadline of October 13 and does not identify the working group that drafted the recommendation. Observers note the change mirrors broader efforts by the Trump administration to limit the role of scientific peer review in federal funding decisions, potentially shifting more authority to political appointees. The proposal has sparked concern that reduced score visibility could make funding outcomes less transparent and more subject to political considerations.