Near the end of the FY98-FY03 period when NIH's budget doubled, the number of new grant applications skyrocketed while the success rate declined. From FY98 to FY01, the number of grant applications grew by about 5% annually from 18,807 to 22,854. From FY01 to FY06, applications grew 11% per year as the success rate dropped to 16.7% in FY06 from 27.1% in FY01. The NIH budget has grown at only 2% annually since FY03. Source: NIH