Discussion of Federal funding agencies, including the NIH and the other Dept. of Health & Human Services Public Health Service agencies, as well as other agencies that support biomedical research (e.g., the Dept. of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Dept.of Agriculture). Discussion of NIH's different extramural funding mechanisms, including the different types of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements (e.g., research grants, program projects, career development awards, institutional training grants, individual fellowships). Discussion of the different types of funding announcements (e.g., program announcements, Request for Applications, Request for Proposal, Broad Agency Announcements) issued by NIH and other Federal agencies, and what they mean in terms of the type of requested application, funding available, and expected number of application. NIH's grant review process, including the role of Institutes and Study Section review panels, deadlines, scoring system and Impact Scores, allowed number of applications, review criteria, and how to direct an application to the most appropriate review panel.