At a glance
NIOSH made 107.5 million in extramural awards in fiscal year (FY) 2023 for research, training, and surveillance. Investigator-initiated grants had an 18% success rate and advanced occupational safety and health in all 10 NORA industry sectors. NIOSH supported 554 graduates who will become the next generation of occupational safety and health professionals.
NIOSH extramural grant distribution
The chart below shows NIOSH's extramural spending in FY 2023 across categories.
Multidisciplinary centers received $67.6 million dollars (62.9%). This category includes:
- Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health
- Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health®
- Education and Research Centers
- National Construction Center
Cooperative research agreements received $17.3 million dollars (16.1%). This category includes:
- State Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Program
- National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank (NMVB) for Translational Research
- Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research
Research and career development received $13.4 million dollars (12.5%). This category is also sometimes called investigator-initiated research.
Small Business Innovation Research grants received $1.9 million dollars (1.7%). This is a special subset of grants for small businesses.
Specialty training programs received $7.2 million dollars (6.7%)
Overall success rates for research grants
NIOSH tracks the success rates for investigator-initiated grant applications (R01, R03, R21). See success rates for full data tables.
Research funding by sector programs
NIOSH uses the 10 sector programs from the National Occupational Research Agenda as an organizing structure. The chart below shows the sector categories for research grants funded in FY 2023.
- HSA= Healthcare and Social Assistance ($3.1 million)
- ALL= All Sectors ($2.8 million)
- AFF= Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing ($2.5 million)
- PSS= Public Safety ($1.3 million)
- SRV= Services ($1.2 million)
- MNF= Manufacturing ($1.0 million)
- CON= Construction ($0.8 million)
- TWU= Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities ($0.3 million)
- WRT= Wholesale and Retail Trade ($0.2 million)
- MIN= Mining ($0.2 million)
- OGE= Oil and Gas Extraction ($0.0 million)
NIOSH-supported occupational safety and health graduates
Education and Research Centers
The table below summarizes the students and graduates from Education and Research Centers (ERCs).
| Program Area | NIOSH Supported Programs | Enrolled | Graduates | Employed or seeking occupational safety and health employment (%) |
| Industrial Hygiene | 18 | 279 | 74 | 74 (100%) |
| Occupational Health Nursing | 9 | 120 | 36 | 36 (100%) |
| Occupational Medicine | 15 | 70 | 33 | 33(100%) |
| Occupational Safety | 10 | 322 | 142 | 141(99%) |
| Allied Disciplines | 45 | 358 | 80 | 74 (92%) |
| Total | 97 | 1205 | 364 | 358 (98%) |
Training Project Grants
The table below summarizes the students and graduates from Training Project Grants (TPGs).
| Program Area | Academic Programs supported by NIOSH | Students | Graduates | Employed in occupational safety and health field or seeking advanced training (%) |
| Industrial Hygiene | 9 | 247 | 55 | 54 (98%) |
| Occupational Safety | 6 | 183 | 68 | 65 (96%) |
| Occupational Medicine | 5 | 25 | 13 | 12 (92%) |
| Allied Disciplines | 7 | 183 | 44 | 44 (100%) |
| Total | 27 | 652 | 180 | 175 (97%) |
Summary of all awards by funding type
| Award Category | Award Name | Award Mechanism | Number of Awards | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multidisciplinary Centers | 41 | $67,636,616 | ||
| Education and Research Centers | Training Grant (T42) | 18 | $30,789,403 | |
| Agriculture Safety and Health Centers | Cooperative Research Agreement (U54) | 12 | $18,530,931 | |
| National Center for Construction Research & Training | Cooperative Research Agreement (U60) | 1 | $5,750,000 | |
| Total Worker Health Centers | Cooperative Research Agreement (U19) | 10 | $12,566,282 | |
| Investigator-Initiated Research Grants | 51 | $13,424,569 | ||
| Research Grants | Investigator Initiated (R01, R03, R21, R13, U13) | 44 | $12,672,076 | |
| Career Developmental Research | Mentored Career Scientist (K01) | 7 | $752,493 | |
| Other Research (Cooperative Agreements) | 34 | $17,302,842 | ||
| Surveillance | Cooperative Research Agreement (U60) | 23 | $7,374,972 | |
| Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Collaboration, Education, and Translation (U24) | Cooperative Research Agreement (U24) | 1 | $275,000 | |
| Underground Mine Evacuation Technologies and Human Factors Research | Cooperative Research Agreement (U60) | 2 | $2,837,289 | |
| Mesothelioma Tissue Bank | Cooperative Research Agreement (U24) | 1 | $1,079,229 | |
| Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research | Cooperative Research Agreement (U01) | 6 | $3,736,352 | |
| NIOSH Robotics and Intelligent Mining Technology and Workplace Safety Research (U60) | Cooperative Research Agreement (U60) | 1 | $2,000,000 | |
| Specialty Training Programs | 32 | $7,238,725 | ||
| Training Project Grants | T03 | 27 | $4,822,879 | |
| Miner Safety and Health Training Program | Cooperative Research Agreement (U60) | 2 | $485,938 | |
| Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Training | T03 | 3 | $1,929,908 | |
| Small Business Innovation Research | 5 | $1,850,303 | ||
| Small Business Innovation Research | Phase I (R43) & Phase II (R44) | 5 | $1,850,303 | |
| Total Extramural Funding | 163 | $107,453,055 |