Administrative Supplements to Increase Public Awareness of Pediatric Cancers and Available Treatments and Research

Notice Number: NOT-CA-10-026

Key Dates
Release Date: June 4, 2010
Request Submission Deadline: July 16, 2010
Earliest Anticipated Start Date for Supplement Awards: September 1, 2010

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI) (http://www.nci.nih.gov)

Purpose

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces the availability of administrative supplements to NCI-funded research grants that address and/or are relevant to public awareness of cancers in children, adolescents, and young adults. The enactment of the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2008 gave the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), authority to award grants to increase public awareness of pediatric cancers and available treatments and research. The NCI was designated by HHS to award and administer these grants.

The purpose of these administrative supplements is to expand and widely implement activities that provide:
1) Information about ongoing treatment protocols to ensure early access to the best available therapies and clinical trials for childhood/pediatric cancers;
2) Information about the late effects of childhood/pediatric cancer treatment to ensure access to necessary long-term medical and psychological care; and
3) Information about support services related to childhood/pediatric cancers and those affected by them, such as educational outreach programs for parents, peer-to-peer and parent-to-parent support networks, and resource directories or referral services for financial assistance and psychological counseling.

Eligibility Requirements
Current NCI awardees of R01, P01, P30, P50, U01, U10, U54, and U19 grants/cooperative agreements pertinent to pediatric cancer may apply for an administrative supplement provided the following conditions are met:

  1. The topic of the administrative supplement must be related to the focus of research proposed and conducted under the auspices of the original ( parent ) award;
  2. Efforts proposed and funds requested in the administrative supplement must focus on increasing awareness of pediatric cancers, including current state-of-the-art treatments for these diseases and clinical trials of new interventions, and/or on improving the long-term care and quality-of-life of pediatric cancer survivors and their families;
  3. The proposed childhood cancer-relevant project must utilize a current partnership or establish a new partnership between the eligible NIH awardee and one or more organizations who provide support and services in areas of childhood cancer and to individuals and families affected by those cancers;
  4. The partner organization must be integrally involved in the development, review, and/or dissemination planning for the informational materials and resources;
  5. The parent award must remain active during the entire funding period of the supplement (requests for no-cost extensions on the parent grant to accommodate an administrative supplement will not be granted); and
  6. The Principal Investigator (PI) designated for the administrative supplement request and any subsequent administrative supplement award must also be the PI of the parent award.

Relevant activities for the administrative supplement include, but are not limited to, the development of informational materials and other resources designed to:

  • Increase awareness of the importance of clinical trials in the development of new treatments for pediatric cancers and to promote clinical trial participation, especially among adolescents and young adults;
  • Help parents and physicians identify appropriate clinical trials for pediatric cancer patients;
  • Provide (or increase the utility of existing) evidence-based information about pediatric cancers and their treatment;
  • Help parents and families of pediatric cancer patients cope with issues associated with a diagnosis of cancer and its treatment, including family issues and financial or insurance issues;
  • Increase awareness of potential long-term medical and psychosocial problems associated with pediatric cancers and their treatment, including risks of secondary cancers;
  • Increase the use of standardized treatment summaries, detailing therapies received for the specific childhood/pediatric cancers, and evidence-based recommendations for long-term follow-up care;
  • Help pediatric cancer patients and survivors (and their families) cope with physical, emotional, educational, and/or other issues related to their cancer and its treatment;
  • Promote to childhood/pediatric cancer patients and survivors (and their families) the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and appropriate physical activity;
  • Increase awareness of, and access to, organizations that offer cancer-related services to childhood/pediatric cancer patients and their families;
  • Increase awareness of, and access to, resources that provide financial assistance to childhood/pediatric cancer patients and their families; and
  • Enable childhood/pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and their families to share their experiences with others who may be affected by childhood/pediatric cancers.

The informational materials and resources developed with these administrative supplements must be Web-based or have a major Web component (electronic transmission platform) to facilitate their access and use, including access via NCI’s Cancer.gov Web site. These materials and resources must use plain language (http://www.plainlanguage.gov/), and all products and services should be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner consistent with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (http://www.section508.gov).

Note: Priority in funding will be given to applications that address the needs of low income and ethnically diverse populations with regard to childhood cancers and persons affected by those cancers.
The NCI intends to commit approximately $1,000,000 in FY 2010 to fund four to seven administrative supplements in response to this initiative.

Applicants may request an administrative supplement project period of up to one (1) year. The budget for total costs (direct and all F&A costs) is limited to $250,000 per request.

Although the financial plans of NCI provide support for this program, administrative supplement awards pursuant to this initiative are contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious requests.

IMPORTANT: The research proposed by an NCI grantee in the supplement application must be within the original scope of the NCI-supported grant project. The funding mechanism being used to support this program, administrative supplements, can be used to cover cost increases that are associated with achieving certain new research objectives as long as they are within the original scope of the project. Any cost increases need to result from making modifications to the project in order to take advantage of opportunities that would increase the value of the project consistent with its originally approved objectives and purposes.

Submission of Requests

Requests for these administrative supplements must be submitted to the NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) (see address below). This Notice is a one-time announcement and formal requests must be received on or before July 16, 2010.

Note that the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is NOT involved in receipt and processing of these requests.

Application Procedure

Grantees must identify the individual project for which they are seeking supplemental funds if the parent grant has multiple projects related to childhood cancers. Multiple requests for a single parent grant are acceptable if the parent grant has multiple projects. However, separate supplement request letters must be submitted for individual components of the parent grant. Additionally, each PI may not submit more than two supplement requests in total.

All requests must include the following:

Cover Letter -- Citing this Notice (NOT-CA-10-026), a request for an Administrative Supplement, and the following information:

  • Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) name (Must be the same as the parent grant PI);
  • Parent grant number and title (There must be an active parent grant during the entire funding period);
  • Request up to a single year of support and provide the amount of the requested supplement (broken out by direct and indirect costs);
  • Name and title of the institutional official;
  • Phone, e-mail, and address information for both the PI and institutional official; and
  • The cover letter must be signed by the authorized organizational representative/institutional official.

PHS 398 Form Page 1 (Face page) MS Word PDF

  • The title of the project (Box 1) should be the title of the parent award.
  • NOT-CA-10-026 Notice (number and title, Administrative Supplements to Increase Public Awareness of Pediatric Cancers and Available Treatments and Research ) should be cited in Box 2, and the yes box should be checked.
  • The Principal Investigator (PI) must be the same as the PI on the parent award. For Multiple PI parent awards, the Contact PI must be the PI listed on the supplement request, and the supplement cannot change the Multiple PI team.
  • The remaining items on the face page should be filled out in accordance with the PHS 398 application instructions.

PHS 398 Form Page 2 (Project Summary) MS Word PDF

  • Provide the Summary of the proposed supplement (NOT the summary for the parent award).

Budget for the Budget Period.
All requests must include a budget in the same format (detailed or modular) as the parent award. Applicants can request up to $250,000 in total costs for up to one (1) year and must provide a detailed budget. Use standard form budget pages.

A brief proposal describing the Supplemental Activities, including:

  1. Introduction (limit 1 page) describing how the proposed supplemental activities relate to the parent award.
  2. Specific Aims for the supplement (limit 1 page).
  3. Research Strategy (limit 3 pages, see detailed instructions below).

Research Strategy.
Provide a description of the proposed research with specific aims that explain how they relate to the specific aims of the parent grant. Provide a description of the collaboration with the organization including the specific role that partner will play in the process. The application must also describe how it will increase public awareness of pediatric cancers and available treatments and research. It should describe how the applicant will involve organizations of patients/families affected by childhood cancer in the project to help ensure that the developed information materials and resources have the greatest utility and usability. If the parent grant is a U01, U10, U19, or U54 cooperative agreement award, explain how the project will fit within the cooperative agreement terms and conditions of award. The research plan should contain sufficient detail to allow assessment of the scientific merit of the proposed plans and the appropriateness of the request for supplemental funding.

Biographical Sketch for all new key personnel (those who are additions on the supplemental project) MS Word PDF

Human Subjects/ Vertebrate Animal documentation (if applicable).

  • Any differences in the involvement or use of human subjects or specimens, or use of vertebrate animals, between the administrative supplement activity and the parent grant should be noted.
  • Additional guidance on Human Subjects Research and Vertebrate Animals is provided under Part II of the PHS 398 instructions (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html).

Requests Review and Selection Process

Administrative supplement requests will be reviewed administratively and for their scientific merit by NCI Program and Grants Management staff persons. Selection factors will include the following:

  • Relevance -- is the proposed childhood/pediatric cancer-related project a reasonable extension of the research supported by the parent grant?
  • Approach does the proposed childhood/pediatric cancer-related project include appropriate design, methodologic, collaborative (partnership), analytic/evaluative, and outcome considerations?
  • Quality -- will the proposed childhood/pediatric cancer-related project add significantly to scientific knowledge?
  • Feasibility -- can the proposed childhood/pediatric cancer-related project be conducted with the resources and within the timeframe proposed?

Requests must be signed by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) at the grantee institution.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit requests electronically as an e-mail attachment in pdf format; however, the signature of the AOR must be clearly visible. The e-mail address for electronic submission is: vandors@mail.nih.gov.

Applicants may also submit a hard copy to:

Stacey Vandor
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
6130 Executive Boulevard, EPN Room 6136, MSC 7338
Bethesda, MD 20892-7338 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPS delivery)

The request should contain sufficient detail (similar to a standard research application) to allow NCI staff members to assess the merit of the proposed project and the appropriateness of the request for supplemental funding.

All requests must include an itemized budget. Budget requests must not exceed $250,000 in total costs for a funding period not exceeding 12 months.

Requests will be evaluated by NCI program staff (and appropriate consultants) who have expertise in the areas of pediatric cancer treatment and survivorship. Awards will be determined based on relevance, potential impact, and availability of funds. For all funded supplement awards, information on the progress of the supplement activities should be included as a separately identified section of the the annual progress report of the parent grant.

Anticipated Award Date

The earliest anticipated supplemental award date for this program will be September 1, 2010.

Inquiries

Before submitting a request, each PI is encouraged to discuss their plans for supplemental research with the NIH Program Director (i.e., Program Official) who is responsible for the particular parent R01, P01, P30, P50, U01, U10, U54, or U19 award.

General inquiries concerning program and review matters should be directed to:

Stacey Vandor
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: 301-594-6786
E-mail: vandors@mail.nih.gov

Or

Lenora E. Johnson, Dr.P.H.
Office of Communications and Education
Office of the Director
National Cancer Institute
E-mail: johnslen@mail.nih.gov]

Inquiries regarding childhood cancer organizations that eligible NIH awardees might partner with should be directed to:

Shannon K. Bell, M.S.W.
Office of Advocacy Relations
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: 301-451-3393
E-mail: bells@mail.nih.gov

Inquiries regarding administrative and fiscal matters should be directed to:

Crystal Wolfrey
Office of Grants Administration
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: 301-496-8634
E-mail: crystal.wolfrey@nih.gov