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NCCIH is the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a research funder inside the National Institutes of Health. This page is for applicants and research administrators who need to know what NCCIH funds, who can apply and where its funding policy lives. It is not medical advice and does not recommend any health approach.
What NCCIH is and who runs it
As described on the NCCIH “About” page on 2026-11-08, the center was established in October 1998 and is the federal government’s lead agency for scientific research on complementary and integrative health approaches. It is one of 27 Institutes, Centers and Offices within NIH, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its stated mission is to determine, through rigorous scientific investigation, the fundamental science, usefulness and safety of these approaches and their roles in improving health and health care.
The page listed Wendy J. Weber, N.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. as Director and David Shurtleff, Ph.D. as Deputy Director on 2026-11-08; leadership changes, so check the current listing. It also gave NCCIH funding as $170.3 million in FY 2024. NCCIH publishes budget, appropriations and congressional justification material at nccih.nih.gov/about/budget-and-legislation, and its Strategic Plan FY 2021-2025, “Mapping a Pathway to Research on Whole Person Health”, at nccih.nih.gov/about/nccih-strategic-plan-2021-2025.
NCCIH and NIH: how the two relate
NCCIH is not a separate agency from NIH. It is one of NIH’s Institutes and Centers, and a search for “NCCIH NIH” is a search for that funder within NIH’s grants system (grants.nih.gov).
Eligibility: who can apply for NCCIH funding
The NCCIH page “Who Can Apply for Funding”, read on 2026-11-08, says the applicant organization must meet NIH requirements, including audit and reporting requirements. The page names a DUNS number; NIH now identifies organizations with a Unique Entity ID (UEI), so confirm current registration steps on NIH’s own pages. Applicants must follow NCCIH and NIH policies on clinical trials, human subjects, animal protection, natural product integrity and data sharing.
Unless a specific notice says otherwise, the page states that for-profit and nonprofit, public and private, and U.S. and non-U.S. organizations are eligible.
Early stage and new investigators
The page defines an early stage investigator (ESI) as someone within 10 years of their terminal research degree or residency. A new investigator is someone who has not yet competed successfully for a substantial NIH research grant such as an R01. At each Advisory Council round, NCCIH may consider this status when assigning high program priority, and may make additional R01 awards beyond the formal payline depending on available funds. Training and career awards, and SBIR/STTR, have their own separate eligibility sections.
What NCCIH funds or requires
On its Grants page (read 2026-11-08), NCCIH says it funds and conducts research to help answer important scientific and public health questions about complementary health approaches. Funding opportunities and Notices can be searched by keyword and grant type on the NCCIH site, or through advanced search on grants.nih.gov, where they appear in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. NCCIH posts clinical trial notices of funding opportunities intended to fill gaps and build the evidence base. The page covers general award mechanisms as well as SBIR/STTR.
NCCIH says it prioritizes research areas and considers its budget when deciding what to fund, so a good scientific idea is necessary but not sufficient.
Application steps
- Read the “Who Can Apply for Funding” page and confirm your organization and career stage fit.
- Find a matching funding opportunity or Notice on the NCCIH funding page or grants.nih.gov.
- Contact NCCIH program staff to discuss the proposed research. The Grants page lists this and preapplication technical assistance webinars as resources, along with grant-writing advice.
- Prepare the application to the requirements of the chosen opportunity, including the clinical trial, human subjects, animal, natural product integrity and data sharing policies noted above.
- Submit through your institution. Review then follows the usual NIH route, including peer review in an NIH study section and then an Advisory Council round.
Typical timeline phases
Dates change each year and are set by the specific opportunity, so this page gives phases only: preapplication discussion with program staff; application preparation and institutional sign-off; submission against the due date in the opportunity; peer review; Advisory Council round, where program priority and funding decisions are considered; and award or resubmission planning.
NCCIH funding policy, paylines and budget
Does NCCIH have a payline?
NCCIH historically published a numeric percentile payline, but it does not currently rely on a single fixed percentile as a guarantee. Its funding strategy is now maintained on the NIH grants site, in the NIH page of Institute and Center funding policies and considerations for NCCIH (the older nccih.nih.gov funding-strategy page redirects there). As summarized from that NIH page on 2026-11-08, FY2025 grants were funded in rank order within groups of similar applications by priority or impact score or percentile; FY2024 used “funding zones”, including a separate zone for early stage investigators on R01 and R01-equivalent applications. Zones are not guarantees. For a comparison across institutes, see NIH paylines for FY2026 across all institutes, and for the concept, NIH payline.
NCCIH budget
Funding was $170.3 million in FY 2024 according to the NCCIH About page. Current appropriations and justifications are on the budget and legislation page listed above.
NCCIH strategic plan
The FY 2021-2025 plan is titled “Mapping a Pathway to Research on Whole Person Health”. Check the NCCIH About section for any successor plan.
Common mistakes
- Treating a past payline as this year’s cutoff. NCCIH describes funding by ranking and zones, not a guaranteed percentile.
- Skipping contact with program staff before applying, when NCCIH lists it as a resource.
- Overlooking early stage or new investigator status, which NCCIH may weigh at Council.
- Assuming eligibility without reading the notice, which can restrict who may apply.
- Overlooking the natural product integrity and data sharing policies.
Related funding routes on the NCCIH pages
| Route | What the official pages say |
|---|---|
| General award mechanisms | Covered on the NCCIH Grants page; opportunities searchable by keyword and grant type. |
| Clinical trial funding opportunities | NCCIH posts notices intended to fill gaps and build the evidence base. |
| SBIR/STTR | Covered on the Grants page, with a separate FAQ section. |
| Training and career awards | Separate section on the “Who Can Apply for Funding” page. |
FAQ
What does NCCIH stand for?
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, an NIH Center established in October 1998.
Is NCCIH a funder or a clinical service?
It is a research funder and research agency within NIH. It does not provide medical care.
Where do I find NCCIH grant opportunities?
On the NCCIH funding opportunities search and on grants.nih.gov advanced search, both described on the NCCIH Grants page.
Can non-U.S. organizations apply?
Yes, unless a notice says otherwise, according to the “Who Can Apply for Funding” page.
Sources
- NCCIH, About NCCIH, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/about, read 2026-11-08.
- NCCIH, Grants and Funding, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/grants, read 2026-11-08.
- NCCIH, Who Can Apply for Funding, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/grants/who-can-apply-for-funding, read 2026-11-08.
- NIH, Institute and Center funding policies and considerations: NCCIH, grants.nih.gov, checked 2026-11-08.
