Specific Aims Template

A complete one-page specific aims template you can edit, following the arc reviewers expect.

A complete specific aims page, prefilled with a strong example you can edit

SPECIFIC AIMS

[Project Title]

[OPENING: the hook. One paragraph that names the problem, its scale, and why it matters now.]
[Condition or problem] affects [number or population] and costs [stakes, for example "the health system an estimated $X annually"]. Current approaches [name the standard approach] fail because [the specific limitation]. As a result, [the unmet need stated plainly].

[THE GAP AND THE CRITICAL NEED.]
What remains unknown is [the specific knowledge gap]. Until this gap is closed, [the consequence of inaction, for example "clinicians cannot select the right therapy and patients continue to relapse"]. There is a critical need to [the action your project takes].

[LONG-TERM GOAL, OBJECTIVE, AND HYPOTHESIS.]
Our long-term goal is to [the broad aim of this line of research]. The objective of this application is to [the specific objective of this project]. Our central hypothesis is that [the testable hypothesis], which we formulated based on [the preliminary data or rationale that supports it]. The rationale for the proposed research is that [once we know X, we can do Y].

[QUALIFICATIONS / FEASIBILITY.]
We are well positioned to test this hypothesis. Our preliminary data show [the key preliminary finding], and our team brings [the specific expertise and resources]. We will test our central hypothesis through the following three specific aims:

SPECIFIC AIM 1: [Action verb] [the first objective].
[One or two sentences of context.] Working hypothesis: [the sub-hypothesis for this aim].
Approach: We will [the core method].
Expected outcome: [what success looks like, stated as a measurable result].

SPECIFIC AIM 2: [Action verb] [the second objective].
[One or two sentences of context.] Working hypothesis: [the sub-hypothesis for this aim].
Approach: We will [the core method].
Expected outcome: [the measurable result].
Note: Aim 2 does not depend on the outcome of Aim 1, so a negative result in one does not stall the project.

SPECIFIC AIM 3: [Action verb] [the third objective].
[One or two sentences of context.] Working hypothesis: [the sub-hypothesis for this aim].
Approach: We will [the core method].
Expected outcome: [the measurable result].

[PAYOFF PARAGRAPH.]
This contribution is significant because [restate the impact: what becomes possible once the aims are met]. The proposed research is innovative because [the conceptual or methodological advance]. Upon completion, we expect to [the deliverable], which will [the next step, for example "provide the foundation for a Phase II / R01 study" or "establish a validated biomarker for clinical testing"].

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HOW TO USE THIS SPECIFIC AIMS PAGE (delete before submitting)

The Specific Aims page is the single most important page in an NIH or SBIR application. Many reviewers form an opinion here before reading the rest. Hold yourself to these standards:

1. One page. The aims page is, by convention and often by instruction, limited to one page. Every sentence must earn its place.
2. Follow the arc. Hook, gap, critical need, long-term goal and objective, central hypothesis, then the aims, then the payoff. Reviewers expect this structure and read faster when they find it.
3. Make aims independent. Design aims so that one failing does not collapse the others. Reviewers reward a project that survives a surprising result. Avoid sequential aims where Aim 2 cannot start until Aim 1 succeeds.
4. State a hypothesis, not a wish. "Determine whether X affects Y" is weak. "We hypothesize that X increases Y through Z, and we will test this by..." shows you have a model to disprove.
5. Lead each aim with a strong verb. Define, determine, quantify, test, validate, and engineer signal a testable plan. Avoid "study," "explore," or "investigate," which sound open-ended.

Always follow the funding opportunity's instructions on length and format. They override any template, including this one.

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The specific aims template above is a complete one-page Specific Aims section laid out in the order NIH reviewers expect: an opening hook on the problem, the knowledge gap and critical need, your long-term goal, objective, and central hypothesis, a feasibility paragraph, three aims (each with a working hypothesis, approach, and expected outcome), and a closing paragraph on significance and innovation. Each block carries a bracketed prompt and a sample phrase, so you write over the prompts rather than design the structure. Edit it in the box, then copy it or download it as a text file and move it into your formatted application.

Fitting it on one page

The Specific Aims attachment is limited to one page for every NIH activity code that uses it, and NIH's general format rules apply: body text of at least 11 points in a recommended typeface such as Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, or Palatino Linotype, at least half-inch margins, and nothing in the headers or footers. The template's text is written long so you can see every element; once your content is in, expect to cut. The usual order of cuts is the feasibility paragraph (merge it into the hypothesis paragraph), the "context" sentence in each aim, and then the expected outcomes, which can shrink to a clause.

Bold the aim titles and the central hypothesis. Reviewers often reread only those lines when they write their critiques, so each should make sense on its own.

Adapting it for SBIR and STTR applications

The template's closing line already points toward a Phase II or follow-on study. For a small business application, three adjustments matter:

Phase I aims test feasibility, not mechanism. Frame each aim around whether the technology can work, with a quantitative success criterion, for example a sensitivity threshold or a production yield, rather than around a biological question.
State milestones. Give each aim a measurable milestone that would justify moving to Phase II. Reviewers look for a clear go or no-go point.
Close on the product. Replace the academic payoff paragraph with what the results make possible commercially and for patients or users, then connect it to the Phase II plan.

Our step-by-step SBIR proposal guide explains how the aims page fits the rest of a small business application, and SBIR Phase 1 vs Phase 2 covers what each phase is expected to prove.

Use the page before you write the rest

Draft the aims page first and circulate it to colleagues and, where the institute encourages it, to the program officer before you write the Research Strategy. Changing an aim on a one-page draft costs an hour; changing it after the strategy, budget, and NIH biosketch are written costs a week. Once the aims are settled, the personal statement in each biosketch should refer back to them.

For the method behind each paragraph, read how to write specific aims; to compare finished pages in different fields, see our three annotated specific aims examples. If you want the full application prepared by writers who work on research proposals, see our NIH proposal service.

Frequently asked questions

Are figures allowed in NIH specific aims?+

Yes. NIH does not prohibit figures on the Specific Aims page, and a small schematic of the central hypothesis or the study design is common. The figure has to fit inside the one-page limit, and any text in it must stay readily legible; NIH allows a smaller type size in figures, legends, and tables than the 11 point minimum for body text, but not text a reviewer has to zoom to read. Most applicants use at most one figure because it costs several lines of argument.

Should NIH specific aims have references?+

Brief in-text citations, such as a number or an author and year, are acceptable and help support claims about the problem and your preliminary data. The full references belong in the separate Bibliography and References Cited attachment, which is not page limited. Listing full citations on the aims page itself wastes space on the one page that has the least to spare.

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