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 who are not identified in the application as senior/key personnel or other significant contributors. Applications that continue to include letters of support after the implementation date may be returned without review. More information can be found here.
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.
For all applications except for fellowships:
“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.”
Traditional letters of support for non-NIH applications can be requested from the ICTS by emailing icts@wustl.edu.