RESEARCH GRANT SUPPLEMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 8, February 25, 1994 P.T. 34 Keywords: HEALTH CARE Agency for Health Care Policy and Research PURPOSE The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) will make supplemental funds available to grantees to extend research opportunities to individuals with qualifying disabilities who are capable of entering a research career. It is hoped that the supplemental funding will increase the number of individuals with disabilities participating in health services research. Supplemental awards are available to support individuals with disabilities who are either graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, or faculty. Application, for or acceptance of, a research supplement does not alter the requirement that grant recipients must not exclude from participation in any program receiving Federal financial assistance an otherwise qualified, disabled individual solely by reason of the disability. In addition, grant recipients must make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified disabled individual unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the recipient's program. General Provisions The proposed research experience must be an integral part of the approved, ongoing research of the parent grant. Individuals with disabilities must be given the opportunity to interact with individuals of the parent grant, contribute intellectually to the research, and enhance their research skills and knowledge concerning health services research. Furthermore, the Principal Investigator must demonstrate a willingness and understanding that the purpose of the award is to enhance the research capability of the student or faculty member with a disability, and the research experience is intended to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities to develop into independent, competitive research investigators. Principal Investigators are encouraged to contact their project officer or the AHCPR grants management officer prior to submission in order to obtain specific information about application requirements. It is recognized that individual circumstances vary and, for unusual situations, the grants management officer should be consulted for a determination of eligibility. Reasonable Accommodations Funds may be requested, as part of the supplemental application, to make changes or adjustments in the research setting that will make it possible for an otherwise qualified employee with disabilities to perform the essential functions associated with his/her role in the project. The accommodations requested under this program must be directly related to the performance of the proposed role on the research project and must be appropriate to the disabilities of the individual. Some types of accommodations that might be provided under these awards include: specialized equipment; assistive devices; and personnel such as readers, interpreters, and assistants. In all cases, the total funds for accommodations requested from the supplement must be reasonable in relationship to the direct costs of the parent grant and the nature of the supplemental award. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS To be eligible for a supplemental award, the Principal Investigator must hold an active AHCPR research grant (R01, R18, R29, or U01) with a minimum of two years research support remaining at the time of application. Principal Investigators must be performing their research in domestic institutions. Usually, each parent grant may have only one supplement for a person with disabilities. Appointment of more than one individual to a single grant under this program will be considered depending on the nature of the parent grant, the circumstances of the request, and the program balance of AHCPR. A supplemental award under this program does not preclude a separate supplement to support an underrepresented minority. It is not necessary for the individual with disabilities to be appointed full time. There is a ceiling of supplemental funds available which is 20 percent of the awarded direct costs. That ceiling includes administrative supplements, minority supplements, and supplement under this program. For example, an award of $200,000 for the parent grant could receive up to a total of $40,000 for the sum of an administrative supplement, a minority supplement, and/or a supplement under this program. Eligible Candidates For the purpose of this announcement, the definition of disabled individuals in the Americans With Disabilities Act will be used. An individual with a disability is one who has (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment." Qualified individuals with disabilities are those who, with reasonable accommodation for their disability, are capable of entering a research career after appropriate experience and training. Disabilities that might confer eligibility for supplemental awards under this program include, but are not limited to, the following: total deafness in both ears, visual acuity less than 20/200 with corrective lenses, speech impairment, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental or emotional illness, learning disabilities, kidney dialysis, and severe distortion of limbs and/or spine. In all cases, individuals supported under this supplement program must, with reasonable assistance, be able to contribute to the research supported by the parent grant. The supplemental application may request support for a graduate student or a faculty member who is interested in the field of health services research. Awards will be limited to citizens, non-citizen nationals, and individuals who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of an Alien Registration Receipt Card) at the time of application. Individuals with disabilities may receive support under this program on only one grant at a time but may be supported by more than one grant during the development of their research careers. Support under this supplemental program is not transferable to another individual. This program is not intended to provide an alternative means of supporting disabled individuals who are already supported by research grants or other Public Health Service (PHS) mechanisms. If a Principal Investigator wishes to transfer an individual with disabilities to supplemental support from an existing PHS-supported position, the reason for the transfer must be clearly documented. Individuals may not be transferred to supplemental support merely to increase the availability of funds on the parent grant. Disabled individuals receiving National Research Service Award (NRSA) support may not be transferred to supplemental support prior to the completion of their appointed period of training. APPLICATION PROCEDURES A request for a supplemental award may be received at any time. Grantee institutions must make requests on behalf of the Principal Investigator of the parent grant and in cooperation with the disabled individual(s) who will participate in the grant. Grantee institutions should submit the request for supplemental funds using the face page, budget pages 4 and 5 and a narrative justification from grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91). The proposed budget should be related to the percent effort of the disabled individual. For graduate students or faculty the salary requested must be in accordance with the salary structure of the institution and consistent with the level of effort. Funds may also be requested to permit accommodations to the research environment. Applicants should include a brief three to four page description, prepared by the Principal Investigator, of each disabled individual's role in the ongoing research project. The description should summarize how the experience will be expected to enhance the research capabilities of the disabled individual and how it relates to the research objectives of the parent grant. There should be a signed statement from the individual with disabilities describing how the research experience will relate to his/her educational objectives and research goals. The individual's academic and scientific experience should be described and the individual's curriculum vitae and social security number included. The Principal Investigator must demonstrate that each individual with disabilities has made a commitment to the ongoing research project. Finally there should be a statement that establishes the eligibility of the individual with disabilities for support under this program. This should include information certifying: the individual's citizenship; the nature of the disability; any occupational limitations associated with the disability; and the types of accommodations, currently existing or yet needed, that will permit the individual to undertake the proposed research experience. The institution should indicate its contribution to aid accommodation of the candidate to the research environment. If the initial budget period requested is for less than 12 months, the budget should be prorated accordingly. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS AHCPR will review requests for supplements using the following criteria: (1) The qualifications of the individual with disabilities including career goals, prior research training, relevant experience, and potential for a research career after appropriate experience and training. (2) The degree to which the individual's role in the project would result in an educational experience of future benefit to the individual. (3) The degree to which the individual's role in the project will contribute to the scientific objectives of the project. (4) The degree to which the individual's proposed efforts are integrated with those of others on the research team. This includes the nature, quality, and frequency of interaction the individual is expected to have with the others on the team. (5) The degree to which any research design or logistical modifications of the project are sound and contribute to the research objectives of the parent grant. (6) The appropriateness of the proposed accommodations for the candidate and the appropriateness of the cost of the proposed accommodations relative to the cost of the parent project and the nature of the requested supplement with evidence that the proposed accommodations, including those provided by the grantee institution, will be sufficient to enable the candidate to adapt to the research environment. AWARD CRITERIA AHCPR may approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications any application for a supplement for an individual with disabilities. Based on the availability of funds, quality of applications, and furtherance of the stated objectives, AHCPR may award supplemental funds in a lesser amount than requested and for less than the full number of participants proposed. The decision to fund a supplement will be made four to six weeks from the time the request is submitted. Within the current budget period, funds will be provided as an administrative supplement to the parent grant. Continued funding for the supplement should be requested as part of the non-competing continuation application, with a separate budget page showing the supplemental funds requested. Approval will be contingent on (1) funding of the parent grant, (2) the progress in reaching the objectives of the supplement, and (3) the retention of the individual with disabilities in the project. The supplement may not extend beyond the current non-competitive segment of the parent grant. INQUIRIES Principal Investigators interested in participating in this program are encouraged to contact either their project officer or: Ralph L. Sloat Grants Management Office Agency for Health Care Policy and Research 2101 East Jefferson Street, Suite 601 Rockville, MC 20852-4908 Telephone: 301-594-1447 .
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