Key Dates

Related Announcements

• October 9, 2020 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional). See NOFO PA-20-272.

Issued by

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Purpose

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) announces this opportunity for investigators with active Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Awards to submit administrative supplement requests according to PA-20-272 “Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)”.

This Notice will support additional funds to active CTSA Program Awards.  These administrative supplements are available to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted.

NCATS will support projects that may be developed, demonstrated and/or disseminated within the remaining active budget period that started in FY23 for the existing parent award.  The intent of these supplements is to provide short-term and/or catalytic support for projects with a significant and unmet need. Applicants for the administrative supplements are encouraged to utilize collaborations to enhance the reach and impact of the activity. Administrative supplements must add value to the science proposed in the aims of the original project; as such, they must be within the scientific scope of the parent grant. Enthusiasm will be higher for requests that describe a clear outcome and that have the potential for greatest impact across the CTSA Program consortium. 

As applicable, the proposed research effort should be supported by a strong rationale and should contribute to advancing translational sciences. There is no guarantee that funds are available from NCATS or for any specific grant. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss these potential requests with their NCATS Program Official listed in the Notice of Award of the parent grant. 

Award Project Period

The parent award must be active when the supplement application is submitted (e.g. within the originally reviewed and approved project period, not in an extension). The research proposed in the supplement should be requested for one year and should be accomplished within the currently approved project period for the existing parent award.  The earliest anticipated start date is July 1, 2023.

• The project period will generally be limited to 1 year. Project periods up to 2 years will be considered only with strong justification.
• The NCATS may consider on a case-by-case basis a no-cost extension for the supplement of up to an additional year at the conclusion of the first year, provided it is well justified and within the remaining parent project period.

Examples:

For parent awards with FY23 budget periods that started on April 1, 2023, supplement applicants could request a project period from July 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.

For parent awards with FY23 budget periods that start on July 1, 2023, supplement applicants could request a project period from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.

Award Budget

Budgets may not exceed the total direct costs of the current parent award and must be commensurate with the actual needs of the proposed project. An awarded supplement amount, in combination with the parent award amount, may provide support above the established dollar limit for the parent grant award.

The Budget Justification must include a statement regarding the expenditure plans of currently available unobligated grant funds for the parent award, in order to demonstrate the need for additional funds.

Funds must be used to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted.

Funds can be used to cover cost increases that are associated with achieving research objectives, as long as the research objectives are within the original scope of the peer reviewed and approved project, or the cost increases are for unanticipated expenses within the original scope of the project.

All project-related expenses must be justified as specifically required by the proposed activities and must not duplicate items generally available from the parent grant award and/or other sources at the applicant or collaborating institutions.

A letter must be submitted and approved by the program officer on your active award in advance if your application will request $500,000 or more in direct costs. If approved, the applicant must include a cover letter with the application indicating that NCATS will accept the application.

Application and Submission Information

Applications in response to this NOSI must be submitted through the following target opportunity or subsequently reissued equivalents. Submit applications for this initiative using the following notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) or any reissue of this announcement through the expiration date of this notice and designate “NOT-TR-23-020” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (Box 4b) of the SF424 (R&R) Form as directed below.

• PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional), which is intended to provide additional funds for NIH grantees for work that falls within the scope of their active grant.

When developing applications in response to this NOSI, all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and in the target notice of funding opportunity (PA-20-272) must be followed, with the following additions:

• Applications will be accepted as of July 10, 2023 and on a rolling basis through August 11, 2023 by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. This NOSI expires on August 12, 2023. An application submitted in response to this NOSI that is received on August 12, 2023 or later, will be withdrawn. Applications will be considered for funding in FY23 and subsequent fiscal years through FY24 pending: award timelines, availability of funds, and programmatic priority.
• IMPORTANT: For funding consideration, all applicants must designate “NOT-TR-23-020” (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.
• The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages. 
• Recipients may only apply for activity that is within scope of the currently approved project.
• Follow the NOFO Instructions for Electronic Application Submission through the NIH ASSIST system, an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution, or Grants.gov workspace.
• Applications must specifically address issues of potential biohazards in the Research Strategy, and all research must be conducted in compliance with the health and safety requirements found in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Reporting Requirements

Recipients of administrative supplements are required to report progress associated with the supplement activities in the annual Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) and/or the Final RPPR, as applicable. For these supplements, the reporting expectation is that major accomplishments during the relevant budget period are listed explicitly and with enough detail to allow evaluation of progress. Additionally, if funding will continue into the next budget period, planned activities should be discussed at the same level of granularity. Failure to comply with these reporting requirements may result in delayed processing of the non-competing continuation and/or delays of the award closeout.

Investigators planning to submit an application in response to this NOSI are strongly encouraged to contact the Grants Management Specialist on their active award to determine eligibility and the Program Officer on their active award to discuss the proposed project in the context of the parent award.

Applications that do not meet the requirements specified in this NOSI will be withdrawn from consideration for this initiative.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to the contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity with the following additions/substitutions:

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Please contact the program officer on your active award.

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Please contact the grants specialist on your active award.