Key Dates

Related Announcements

PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

Issued by

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Purpose

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to support pilot research that will catalyze formation of functionally diverse research teams through sustainable partnerships between a) historically NIDA-funded research programs and institutions and b) institutions or programs that have a historical and central mission to promote racial and ethnic equity through science and engineering research and education. These partnerships, in the short-term, should significantly enhance the involvement of such institutions and programs in designing and executing research related to the aims of the parent project and, in the long-term, establish sustainable institutional partnerships that ultimately enhance the functional diversity of NIDA-supported research teams and environments and increase the innovation and impact of NIDA-funded science.

Background

NIDA recognizes the increasing importance of team science in addressing complex problems related to substance use disorders (SUD). A body of social science research provides evidence that in the context of complex problem-solving, teams with functional diversity show higher innovation and effectiveness than teams selected primarily on the basis of high expertise. Importantly, while functional diversity includes racial, ethnic and gender diversity, but also multiplicity of skill sets, educational levels, and perspectives derived from unique cultural and experiential backgrounds. Moreover,suchdiversity is most likely to generate innovation when a high degree of mutual interaction among members is required for achieving shared outcomes.

These findings have implications for advancing the use of knowledge generated from a variety of educational, research and community settings to better understand and solve problems related to SUD. One strategy for increasing functional diversity in teams conducting SUD research is to support partnering of historically NIH-funded biomedical research-intensive institutions with research programs advance the participation and sucess of underrepresented racial, ethnic and cultural groups in the scientific enterprise, and, as such,institutions and/or research programs that have a historical and central mission to achieve racial, ethnic and gender participation in education and/or health. Such institutions) are more likely to support research programs pursing topics relevant to heritage, cultural, racial heterogeneity in health and disease, and basic science topics reflecting diverse cultural and environmental influences.

With this evidence in mind, NIDA aims to support research that builds, and is built by, partnerships between a) historically NIDA-funded research programs and b)program/institutions,with a historical and central mission to support racial, ethnic, and gender participation in the scientific enterpriseith t through science and engineering education and related research, and that historically have not received substantial NIH support.

Research Objectives

The supplemental or pilot projects supported by administrative supplements described in this NOSI should be within the scope of the NIDA-funded parent grant and increase the potential impact of the parent grant by

1) establishing a functionally diverse team of investigators with diverse demographic characteristics but also heterogeneity of expertise and education, cultural backgrounds and experiences, and stakeholder perspectives; and

2) engaging the team to design and perform preliminary data collection and/or analysis for a pilot study that increases the significance and relevance of the parent grant to multiple racial/ethniccommunities and cultures. The pilot study can address a new research question, use new types of data, and/or apply a new approach to examining understudied biologic, environmental or psychosocial research questions relevant to the mission of NIDA.

Examples of team structures that promote diverse perspectives would include but not be limited to:

• •  
• Transdisciplinary collaborations among researchers from fields including but not limited to social sciences including anthropology, computational and data sciences; bioengineering; civil engineering and infrastructure studies; neurosciences; pharmacology; cognitive, organizational and clinical psychology; nursing; public health; health technology; bioethics; civil rights and science education
• Engagement of different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive, undergraduate-focused, minority-serving, community-based).
• Participants from groups/backgrounds that are underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce see NOT-OD-20-031

The supplemental project would be expected to establish the functionally diverse team and produce a concept and research plan with sufficient supporting data to submit a competitive application for an exploratory or other NIH Research Project Grant in the future. Applications from all areas of research except Phase I or higher clinical trials are accepted. The supplemental project may not add a new clinical trial to the parent project. In addition, all proposed research must be fully within the scope of the parent grant research.

Supported applications would be required to include a model for sustaining the functionally diverse research team beyond the period of the supplement. The model should address how investigators across institutions, with different types of expertise and cultural experience will engage in designing and executing the proposed research.

For more information about NIDA's efforts to address Racial Equity in research, see Racial Equity Initiative - Research Gaps and Opportunities Workgroup | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). For more information on NIH's efforts related to Health Equity in research, see Investigating Health Disparities | National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Application and Submission Information

Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.

• PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-20-272 must be followed, with the following additions:

• Application Due Date(s) – June 30, 2021 by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DA-21-045” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the program official listed on this notice as they are developing their applicaitions.
• The parent award must be active when the application is submitted. The supplemental project and budget period must be within the currently approved project period for the parent award. Applications in a no-cost extension are ineligible.
• Requests may be for one year of support only.
• The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages.
• Applications to engage new key personnel or consultants must include biosketches and letters of commitment from additional key personnel or consultants.
• Applications that include sample augmentation must include clearly labeled new or updated planned enrollment tables.
• All applications must include an update on parent project progress, including current enrollment status if applicable.
• Applicants should consult with the program official assigned to the parent award if a larger budget will be required. The proposed budget must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the program contact for this NOSI and the program official for the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this FOA in order to facilitate efficient processing of the request.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Holly Moore, PhD
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Telephone: 301-827-7376
Email: holly.moore@nih.gov