Notice of Intent to Publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity for Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)

Key Dates

None

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to publish a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) as a request for applications (RFA) to invite application to develop or renew a Demography and Economics of Aging and AD/ADRD Coordinating Center (D&E CC) whose purpose is to act as a hub, serving the needs of the Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging, including Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) (D&E Centers) in coordination with NIA program staff.

The CC will be a bridge among D&E Centers, institutions, individual scholars, NIA, and the research and policy communities. The CC will enhance the scientific impact of the D&E Centers Programs and foster synergies across D&E Centers, other NIA-funded P30 Centers Programs (e.g., Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Aging, the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research, the Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Centers, the Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers, Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence, etc.), and NIA-funded research infrastructure (e.g., longitudinal datasets, contextual data repositories, research networks, etc.) as well as promote an inclusive research environment across a varied group of scholars and institutions, including via shared mentorship and training activities. The CC will also build and execute approaches to raise the profile of the D&E Centers Programs and the demography and economics of aging, including AD/ADRD.

The NOFO is expected to be published in July 2024 with an expected application due date in October 2024. 

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive applications.

This NOFO will utilize the U24 activity code. Details of the planned RFA are provided below.

The D&E CC is intended to serve as a hub for the D&E Centers Program, enhancing the impact of the D&E Centers and assisting NIA staff in coordinating activity across the population sciences and disseminating resources and progress to the field at large. To accomplish the objectives of the D&E Centers Program, the CC will work collaboratively with all D&E Centers to:

• Foster communication and collaborative activities within and across D&E Centers, including for the Emerging Scholars Pilot Projects and Mentorship Programs, and with other NIA-supported Centers and infrastructure (e.g., longitudinal datasets, contextual data repositories, research networks, etc.), including via webinars, seminars, pilot projects, etc.;
• Disseminate Centers’ research advances, activities and resources to the research community, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders, also by maintaining an active multi-center website;
• Incorporate population-based social science perspectives into AD/ADRD research;
• Maintain a centralized database to track and synthesize progress and outcomes of D&E Center and CC activities for the purpose of semiannual reporting to individual Centers and to NIA Program Staff, and for future program tracking by NIA;
• Arrange an in-person/hybrid annual Center Directors Meeting and separate annual Workshop on the Demography and Economics of Aging; and
• Serve as the point-of-contact for the overall D&E Centers Program for NIA staff, other NIA-supported Centers, and the broader scientific community.

Tracking Criteria and Reporting

The continued success and sustainability of the D&E Centers Programs requires that the Centers complete their proposed Core activities. Throughout the project period, NIA expects that a Center will be able to demonstrate how its Core activities advance the following Center Program objectives:

1) Seed new and innovative lines of research in the demography and economics of aging and related interdisciplinary population-based social science areas.

2)  Integrate approaches that address the disproportionate distribution of health within and/or across populations, including with respect to those defined as Health Disparity Priority Populations in the NIA Health Disparities Research Framework.

3) Incorporate strategies that will identify and engage scholars across disciplines, career stages, and institutions.

The CC is responsible for developing a template for collecting and organizing the Tracking Criteria information provided by the Centers and reporting the information to NIA on a semiannual basis. Based on tracking criteria and other considerations, staff in the Office of Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation at NIA may evaluate the overall D&E Centers Program and may provide recommendations for continuation and/or modification of the D&E Centers Program.

Timeline of the Phased Award

This NOFO uses a phased award approach. Proposed projects must include an overall timeline of both phases of the award. The timeline should incorporate the milestones for Phase 1 (2 years) as outlined below as well as the major goals of the entire project.

Phase 1

Milestones: This funding opportunity include milestones that must be met at the end of Year 2.

Funding of Phase 1 does not guarantee support of Phase 2. If milestones are not achieved, as determined by the NIA Program Official assessment of recipient progress, NIA can choose to terminate the award, provide a mid-project extension (without additional funds), or modify aspects or conditions of the Coordinating Center at NIA’s discretion. Milestones will be included in the Terms and Conditions of the grant, if awarded. As with any award, continuation, even during the period recommended for support, is conditional upon satisfactory progress.

By the end of Phase 1/Year 2, the Coordinating Center is expected to accomplish the following milestones:

• Successful establishment of a public-facing website. The website should minimally include an overview of the D&E Centers Programs.
• Successful implementation of at least one annual Center Directors Meeting at PAA or alternate site and at least one annual Workshop on the Demography and Economics of Aging and AD/ADRD.
• Successful development of a template for collecting and organizing the tracking criteria information provided by the Centers and share with the NIA Program Official (as described in RFA).
• Organize at least 1 cross-center training and career enhancement activity for Emerging Scholars Pilot Project awardees and Mentorship Programs.

Phase 2

Prior to the end of the first phase, awardees will submit a package that requests transition to the second phase of support. This package will include a progress report that describes progress towards each of the initial milestones and a clear description of how research during the Phase 2 will be impacted by attainment of those milestones. These materials will be reviewed by NIA program staff and then, if approved, the grant will transition to Phase 2 of support without the need to submit a new grant application. Decisions on transitioning to Phase 2 will be based on the successful completion of the originally described milestones, program priorities, and availability of funds.

Non-Responsiveness Criteria

The following types of applications will be considered non-responsive and will be withdrawn prior to review:

• Applications that do not clearly articulate relevance of the Coordinating Center activities for aging research in demography, economics, and related interdisciplinary population-based social science areas.
• Applications that do not clearly articulate relevance of the Coordinating Center activities for AD/ADRD.
• Applications that do not propose administration, collaboration, dissemination, and tracking and reporting activities.

Funding Information

Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Small Business
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business)
State Government
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
County governments
Independent school districts
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
U.S. Territory or Possession
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized)
Regional Organization
Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Applications are not being solicited at this time. 

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Emerald T. Nguyen, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3136
Email: Emerald.nguyen@mail.nih.gov