PRDV009: Writing Grant Proposals

In Canada and the United States, principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often used as a synonym for "head of the laboratory" or "research group leader." While the expression is common in the sciences, it is used widely for those who make final decisions and supervise funding and expenditures on a given research project.

A co-investigator (Co-I) assists the principal investigator (PI) in managing and leading the research project. Several co-investigators may support a PI.

Federal Funding

In the context of United States federal funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NSF), the PI is the person who takes direct responsibility for completing a funded project, directing the research, and reporting directly to the funding agency.

For small projects (which may involve 1–5 people), the PI is typically the person who conceived the investigation, but for larger projects, the team may have chosen the PI to obtain the best strategic advantage for the project.

In the context of a clinical trial, a PI may be an academic working with grants from NIH or other funding agencies or may be effectively a contractor for a pharmaceutical company working on testing the safety and efficacy of new medicines.

In 2000, there were 20,458 PIs on NIH R01 grants in U.S. biomedical research. In 2013, this number grew to 21,511. At the same time, the success rate for an applicant to receive an R01 grant went down from 32 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2013.

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Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_investigator
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