Office of Research & Development |
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Since 2006, BLRD service has required all non-clinicians to obtain eligibility through a peer-review process prior to submitting applications for merit award funding. Until 2017, that process was also required by CSRD but not by HSRD and RRD. Since 2017, CSRD service no longer required that non-clinician investigators follow the same process. Because of that change, BLRD has received applications from investigators with CSRD funding who have not gone through the eligibility process. This clarification serves to remind the VA scientific community that BLRD does require non-clinician investigators to obtain eligibility through the peer-review process and will not accept applications from non-clinician investigators with funding from other services, including CSRD, who have not obtained eligibility through the peer-reviewed eligibility process. However, BLRD would consider granting limited eligibility to those CSRD investigators who can produce a letter of eligibility with a start date after January 1, 2012, when all prior eligibilities were transitioned to the peer-review process. More details on how to submit non-clinician eligibility applications can be found in the following link: BLRD/CSRD Resources For the VA Research Community .