Clarification of Requirements for Research Resource for Systematic Reviews of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinical Trials (R24), RFA-AT-12-001

Notice Number: NOT-AT-11-006

Release Date: September 16, 2011  

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

This Notice is to clarify the purpose and requirements for Funding Opportunity Announcement RFA-AT-12-001, Research Resource for Systematic Reviews of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinical Trials (R24) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AT-12-001.html).

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) issued this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) with the goal of supporting a research resource consisting of a database of primary reports of the full spectrum of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) controlled clinical trials. This resource will facilitate the conduct of high quality systematic reviews and when possible meta-analyses of published reports of clinical trials of CAM treatments and interventions.

Clarifications:

• For systematic reviews to be most informative to health care practitioners, patients, health care policy and research administration, they must be conducted in an independent and unbiased manner, free from any potential conflict of interest.
  Potential applicants are advised that:
  • The application must describe the methods that will be implemented to conduct independent and unbiased systematic reviews by the investigative team.
• As originally published, RFA-AT-12-001 states that “applications that do not include a plan for transition to self-sustainable funding will be considered not responsive to this FOA.” 
  Potential applicants are advised that:
  • While future complete self-sustainability is not a requirement for applications to this FOA, applications must describe:
    • Approaches the investigators will take to diversify funding sources to support the resource in the future.
    • How the investigators will ensure that additional funding from outside sources does not generate concerns about proprietary interests, bias, or conflict of interest.
• Additional Approach Review Criterion to be used in the evaluation of the application:
  Does the application adequately describe how systematic reviews will remain independent and unbiased by any potential outside funding sources?

Letter of Intent

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of intent, as described in RFA-AT-12-001.

All other aspects of the FOA remain unchanged.

Please direct all inquiries to:

Wendy Weber, ND, PhD, MPH.
Division of Extramural Research
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
6707 Democracy Blvd. Suite 401 
Bethesda, MD 20892-5475 (use 20817 for private courier services)
Telephone: (301) 402-1272
Fax: (301) 480-1587
Email: weberwj@mail.nih.gov