Become a Peer Reviewer

Want to Improve Your Chances of Writing a Successful Proposal?

How can You Get a Feel for what Reviewers are Looking For?

This is not a comprehensive list.  If you would like to offer to serve as a reviewer for another agency/sponsor, you may contact the sponsor’s program staff directly or Sponsored Programs staff at sponsoredprograms@jjay.cuny.edu.

National Endowment for the Humanities

Ever wanted to know what happens to your application once you submit it to NEH? The flowchart at the link above breaks down the steps in the journey that your application takes.

NEH is always looking for scholars and experts in their field to serve as peer reviewers. If you’re interested in serving on an application review panel, please use NEH’s panelist sign-up form. The Endowment welcomes your questions, suggestions, and comments about its review process. Please send your comments to questions@neh.gov. 

National Institute of Justice Peer Review Panels

The National Institute of Justice draws reviewers for both its ad hoc and standing review panels from diverse backgrounds and regions who have research knowledge, professional expertise and/or lived experience in across a wide range of justice-relevant areas, including, but not limited to: 

Crime control and prevention; Community-based violence reduction; Criminology, law enforcement, or corrections; Criminal justice reform; Computer sciences; Investigative and forensic science and technology, including DNA analysis research and development; Justice systems and youth-based interventions; Law enforcement technologies; Violence, victimization, and trauma-informed responses; Health sciences; Economics.

Ad Hoc Peer Review Panels: Some ad hoc reviews are conducted remotely, whereas others involve in-person meetings. Reviewers score 10 to 15 applications within a two-to-four-week period.  Ad hoc reviewers receive $125 for each application reviewed. If you are interested, start the enrollment process by e-mailing ojpprsupport@usdoj.gov. Please include your contact information and resumé.

Standing Scientific Review Panels: Each Standing Review Panel convenes annually in Washington, D.C., for two to three days in mid- to late June. At the meeting, the full panel discusses the most competitive applications and determines a final peer review score for each application. Standing Review Panel reviewers receive $150 per application for applications for which they are assigned to complete a Technical Merit Review. In addition, all reviewers receive $150 per day of meeting attendance. NIJ selects panelists based on research and practical experience in their areas of expertise. If you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer, start the enrollment process by e-mailing ojpprsupport@usdoj.gov. Please include your contact information and resumé. 

Other Office of Justice Programs Agencies; If you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer for another OJP agency, please submit an up-to-date resume or curriculum vitae, including a valid email address to:

National Institutes of Health

NIH welcomes researchers who volunteer to serve on their peer review groups. Potential reviewers can inform NIH of their interest to serve by applying to the Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Program, which aims to help early career scientists become more competitive as grant applicants through first-hand experience with peer review and to enrich the Center for Scientific Review’s pool of trained reviewers in terms of experience and other merit-based factors. 

Those potential reviewers that are later in their career may email the Scientific Review Officer (SRO) listed for the most relevant study section with their CV and a summary of their expertise. Study Sections can be found here: https://public.csr.nih.gov/StudySections. Click on "Review Branches" and select the relevant area, then scroll down for the list of Study Sections, and click through for the relevant SRO contact.

National Science Foundation

You can express interest in serving as a reviewer by completing the volunteer to review process on Research.gov, and providing your areas of expertise. Some NSF directorates or programs provide specific instructions, detailed below, for how to contact them to express interest in reviewing. For directorates or programs not on this list, you can send an email to the NSF program officer(s) of the program(s) that fits your expertise. Use the email account you used to register as a reviewer, introduce yourself, identify your areas of expertise and let them know that you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer. It is most helpful if you also attach a 2-page CV with your current contact information. To find a list of NSF program officers, go to www.nsf.gov. The best way to locate the relevant program officers is by browsing the NSF Directorate and Office pages that match your area of research. You can also use the NSF Advanced Search Tool to find program officers who manage similar projects.

U.S. Department of Education

Each year the Department convenes panels of external education professionals and practitioners to serve as Peer Reviewers for various grants. These panels evaluate, provide written feedback on, and score grant applications against program-specific criteria. This feedback is used to inform the Secretary's funding decisions.

See this PowerPoint for information on how to become a peer reviewer: https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/documents/peer-review/peer-reviewer-toolkit.pptx 

Links to Relevant Internal Peer Review Opportunities

Research Foundation of CUNY’s Proposal Pre-Submission Peer Review Program

John Jay College Office for the Advancement of Research’s Proposal Pre-Review Program