and Human Services (HHS)
EXPIRED
Department of Health and Human Services
Participating Organizations
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)
Components of Participating Organizations
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD) (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (http://www.nida.nih.gov/)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA) (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov)
Title: The Science and Ecology of Early Development (SEED) [R03]
Announcement
Type
This is a reissue of PA-06-345, which was released previously April 12, 2006.
Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:
NOTICE: Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Federal assistance must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED IN PAPER FORMAT.
This FOA must be read in conjunction with the application guidelines included with this announcement in Grants.gov/Apply for Grants (hereafter called Grants.gov/Apply).
A registration process is necessary before submission and applicants are highly encouraged to start the process at least four weeks prior to the grant submission date. See Section IV.
Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-08-068
Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.865,
93.279, 93.273
Key Dates
Release/Posted
Date: January 11, 2008
Opening Date: January 16, 2008 (Earliest
date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): Not Applicable.
NOTE:
On time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to
Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant
institution/organization).
Application Submission/Receipt
Date(s): Standard
dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm
AIDS Application
Submission/Receipt Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#AIDS.
Peer Review Date(s): Standard dates apply,
please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Council Review Date(s): Standard dates apply,
please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): Standard
dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Additional Information To Be Available Date (URL
Activation Date): Not Applicable
Expiration Date: January 8, 2011
Due
Dates for E.O. 12372
Not
Applicable
Additional Overview Content
Executive
Summary
Table of Contents
Part I Overview Information
Part II Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity
Description
1. Research Objectives
Section II. Award Information
1. Mechanism of Support
2. Funds Available
Section III. Eligibility
Information
1. Eligible Applicants
A. Eligible Institutions
B. Eligible Individuals
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
3. Other - Special Eligibility Criteria
Section IV. Application and
Submission Information
1. Request Application Information
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
3. Submission Dates and Times
A. Submission, Review, and Anticipated Start Dates
1. Letter of Intent
B. Submitting an Application Electronically to the NIH
C. Application Processing
4. Intergovernmental Review
5. Funding Restrictions
6. Other Submission Requirements
Section V. Application Review
Information
1. Criteria
2. Review and Selection Process
A. Additional Review Criteria
B. Additional Review
Considerations
C. Sharing Research Data
D. Sharing Research Resources
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Section VI. Award Administration
Information
1. Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
3. Reporting
Section VII. Agency Contact(s)
1. Scientific/Research Contact(s)
2. Peer Review Contact(s)
3. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)
Section VIII. Other Information
- Required Federal Citations
Part II - Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
1. Research Objectives
SCOPE: The
common characteristic of the small grant is provision of limited funding for a
short period of time. Examples of the types of projects that ICs support
with the R03 include the following:
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), jointly issued by the Child Development and Behavior Branch (CDBB) and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch (DBSB) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), invites research grant applications that seek to develop or contribute to a comprehensive program of research focused on the mechanisms through which social, economic, cultural, familial and community-level factors, and their interactions, impact the early cognitive, neurobiological, socio-emotional, and physical development of children. Understanding the influence of these mechanisms and the pathways by which they operate is especially important for understanding the impact of available services and the public policies which govern them on the development of children at whom (or at whose families) these policies are often specifically targeted, notably children living in poverty or near the federal poverty line. Arenas of particular relevance include childcare, early childhood education, welfare reform, tax, social services, and work-family policies, as all of these shape the life experiences of children in poverty. Thus, the goal is to generate solid scientific information that would bear directly on these arenas and thus inform policies and the design of service delivery programs that impact child development, whether or not child development is the explicit focus of those policies and services. This FOA extends the seven-year Science and Ecology of Early Development (SEED) initiative and is the outgrowth of an interagency collaborative effort from 2000 through 2004 among the following agencies: (1) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [NICHD, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NIDA, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)], and (2) the Department of Education (National Center for Education Statistics, National Center for Education Research, and the National Center for Special Education Research in the Institute of Education Sciences). These agencies have pursued other avenues of supporting research on this topic. NICHD and NIDA have continued to collaborate on this Funding Opportunity Announcement. Details of that earlier initiative can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-345.html and http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-149.html.
Although not participating in this FOA, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has mission relevant interests in early childhood development that may prevent or reduce the burden of mental disorders. The NIMH Division of Developmental Translational research (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/ddtr/index.shtml ) supports research that seeks to identify mechanisms and processes (genetic, biological, behavioral, and/or environmental) that confer risk for or protection from childhood psychopathology. The NIMH Division of Services and Interventions Research (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dsir/index.shtml) supports research focused on the impact of social, economic, cultural, and community-level factors on outcomes of specific preventive and treatment interventions targeting mental and behavioral disorders, andonavailability, access, quality, and outcomes of mental health services which may impact early childhood. The NIMH Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS within the Division of AIDS and Health Behavior Research (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dahbr/index.shtml ) has interests in research applications on the biobehavioral, biosocial, and environmental contexts and public policies which impact neurobehavioral development among infants and children who are infected, exposed or affected by HIV/AIDS in resource poor settings/countries.
Background
Children's cognitive, neurobiological, socio-emotional, and physical development is unquestionably influenced by social, economic, cultural, familial and community-level factors, or the ecological context in which they grow up. Specifically, in the bioecological model developed over the past 35 years by Bronfenbrenner and his colleagues, the mechanisms of development, called proximal processes, are known to be influenced by elements of the child's proximal and distal environments. Research examining the pathways and potential intervening mechanisms between individual child development and ecological context is critical to informing policy development, including policies regarding childcare, welfare reform, early childhood education, and social services which have a large impact on poor families and their children. To this end, there is a need to better understand the social, economic, cultural, familial and community-level factors, which alone and, more importantly, in combination, influence both the processes of development and child developmental outcomes.
A significant body of research on children's development, and broad milestones for physical, cognitive, and language development are relatively well established. While the large research literature on child development in individual domains has greatly enhanced our understanding of normative development, assessing the effects of interacting ecological contexts on those domains has been, and still is a daunting task. An expanding body of interdisciplinary research examining contextual factors in relation to children's development is developing, and SEED grantees have made important contributions in such areas as the dynamic nature of poverty across early childhood, the impact of cash-transfer programs on physical health in early childhood, and the contribution of neighborhoods to young childrens emotional health. But, important areas remain understudied. These areas include examinations of the effects of the interplay of biological and environmental factors on childrens developmental trajectories and studies identifying pathways and intervening mechanisms for protective factors among children growing up in impoverished environments. Encouraging multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research continues to be a primary theme of the SEED program.
The additional layer of risk posed by the context of poverty to childrens development may be illuminated through studies of variation among children in poverty as well as studies that include both poor and non-poor children. Research focusing only on poor children is often unable to separate the confounding effects of minority status, material hardship, neighborhood disadvantage, and other highly correlated characteristics from the influence of a lack of income and wealth. Intervention research focusing on poor children does not generally consider that levels of risk vary across these children and that the intensity of an intervention program may have a different impact on how effective the program is if the child is experiencing greater or lesser levels of risk in other domains. In other words, contextual factors may generate resiliency, and low-intensity interventions that fail with the most disadvantaged children may hold promise for work with children with some level of resources, or vice versa.
Research on these topics involves significant scientific challenges. Ecological factors thought to influence child development tend to be interrelated and also correlated strongly with individual-level characteristics of families and children. Correlations between parental circumstances, characteristics, and behaviors and child outcomes may reflect common biological endowments as well as social influences. Moving from correlation to cause and effect requires innovative theory and data, the development of creative study designs and methodologies, utilization of complex data analytic strategies, and the accumulation of knowledge across different approaches. Outcomes measurement is also complicated by the lack of scientific consensus on appropriate assessments for young children. However, advances in research methodology and data analyses, often in diverse disciplines, provide promise in disentangling the effects of interrelated, often hierarchically structured, contextual variables.
Relevant Contexts and Levels
The social context in which children grow up, including family structure and relationships and peer networks, influences children's development. For example, a large body of research documents poorer developmental outcomes in children growing up with single parents. Considering the social context in which children develop is particularly important because major socio-demographic changes in community and family structures and population composition have taken place in the last two decades. The increase in the rate of maternal labor force participation, the parallel increase in the enrollment of children in non-parental care, and the rapid decline in the proportion of married two-parent families have created different challenges and opportunities for families. Today's families are more likely than in previous decades to have complex and shifting family structures, highly diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, and often have uneven education and employment histories. Approximately one in five children living in the United States today is an immigrant or the child of an immigrant. These issues are even more complex for poor families who are more likely to have several of these factors co-occurring, as opposed to highly advantaged families which are disproportionately composed of two married, native-born, consistently employed adults. Some family situations are particularly complex, such as those whose members have different family relations or nativity backgrounds. In these situations, some members in a family may have access to resources that are not available to other members in the same family.
Communities also have undergone drastic changes. In this era of globalization and the emergence of the networked society, concentrated urban poverty and related dimensions of economic disadvantage, such as racial and ethnic exclusion, have affected child development in ways that are not fully documented. This is especially the case for children of recent immigrants, who must learn a new language and culture if they are to master basic school readiness skills. Families living in rural communities face a different set of complex economic challenges due to shifts in the economy, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing. Rural communities are particularly understudied relative to urban areas. Variation in ethnic and cultural attitudes, norms, and expectations (including those about family structure and roles) plays a role in children's lives that is not well understood. In addition, major shifts have occurred in the cultural context in which children grow up. The influence of the media in shaping cultural context, and its implications for child development, are poorly understood. Very little research has been conducted on the role of religion and family religious participation in child development. Increasing racial, ethnic, and nativity diversity and income inequality in the U.S. population add further complexity to the cultural environment that enfolds children growing up in the U.S. today.
Economic factors, such as family resources and income, parental education, the availability of public assistance, and employment, also shape the context in which children develop. Since 1960, young children with the most-educated mothers have been gaining steadily in time and money resources, while children of the least-educated mothers have been increasingly falling behind. In 1960 the most educated quartile of families with young children had about twice the family income of the lowest-educated quartile. Now, the best educated have nearly a four-fold advantage in income. Employment outside the home has increased more among highly educated mothers with children under 6 (from 18% to 65%) than among their poorly educated counterparts (from 12% to 30%). The gap in parental resources available to children also increased. The percent of mothers with young children who were not married or not living with their husbands rose from 4.5% to 7% among highly educated mothers during the period 1960-2000; it increased from 14% to 43% among poorly educated mothers. College educated fathers spend more hours per day with their children than fathers who have not completed college, a gap that has remained roughly constant since 1985.
These family factors are increasingly important to consider as changes in education reform, welfare reform, health care, child care and child welfare have taken place in the last two decades. While some public policies have a direct impact on the child's immediate environment (e.g., No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Head Start, and the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)), other policies are likely to affect children through their impact on more distal elements of the child's world (e.g., Family and Medical Leave Act, Temporary Assistance for Needy families (TANF), Three Strikes drug-related sentencing laws). Policies such as the public provision of child care, health insurance, and parental leave may be more or less relevant to a childs environment depending on the familys socioeconomic status.
Parental drug abuse is an example of the importance of considering the joint effects of social and economic context. Research suggests long-term associations between parent drug abuse and deleterious child development outcomes (e.g., insecure attachments, failure to master developmental milestones, psychological dysregulation, affiliation with deviant peers, drug use, suicide, and homelessness). Substance-abusing parents are likely to live in poverty and likely to have a chaotic lifestyle organized around drug-related activities. This lifestyle can put the parents and their families in dangerous situations and may lead to forced parent-child separations due to incarceration, drug-related illness, or death.
Children in Poverty
Poverty among children is associated with an array of health problems, including low birth weight, infant mortality, contagious diseases, and childhood injury and death. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are at risk for developmental delays in intellectual development and school achievement. Compared to their economically advantaged peers, children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds tend to have lower levels of school readiness skills, especially those from families who have lived in poverty for multiple generations, and those who are English Language Learners (ELL). Emerging SEED-funded research suggests measurable effects of poverty on neurocognitive functioning. Other investigators have demonstrated the impact of abuse and neglect on daily cortisol rhythms in early childhood.
Nevertheless, not all poor children experience developmental delays, and most are healthy, intellectually productive, and socially well adjusted. This variation in outcomes suggests the existence of social, economic, cultural, familial and community-level influences that serve as protective or risk factors for children in poverty. Thus, understanding the influence of these contextual factors, and their interactions, on child development is critical for determining effective means of improving impoverished childrens development outcomes.
Objectives and Scope
This initiative encourages studies that focus specifically on research on the social, economic, cultural, familial and community-level factors that affect developmental processes and outcomes for children living in poverty, and that draw on current theoretical and methodological advances in social, behavioral, and biobehavioral research. Specifically, this initiative encourages research that (1) is multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary; (2) uses existing sources of data and/or justifies new data collection efforts; (3) uses longitudinal, experimental, or comparative designs; and (4) has relevance for public policy. Populations of interest include diverse children of all ages, particularly those from understudied groups (e.g. Asian/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, immigrants) and those from understudied geographic areas (e.g., the rural U.S.). Outcomes of interest include neurocognitive development (e.g., changes related to environmental stimulation and trauma), the development of school readiness skills (and their relation to later school achievement), socio-emotional development (e.g., temperament, behavior, character development, interpersonal relations), physical development, (e.g., stress reactivity, daily hormonal rhythms), and health disparities (e.g., diabetes, obesity, asthma, toxin exposure) as they are impacted by contextual factors and in turn influence developmental trajectories.
Many of the longitudinal data sets commonly used by SEED investigators now have data spanning developmental periods from early childhood to adolescence. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to examine the longitudinal impacts of contexts and policies on child developmental trajectories. Proposed studies should focus on understanding how the ecological context in which children grow up influences either:
Proposed data to be used or collected should include information on early childhood for applications to be appropriate for to this program.
Research Priorities and Examples of Research Questions
The following research priorities and examples of research questions are offered to illuminate areas of particular interest to the NICHD, NIDA, and NIAAA. In general, these Institutes seek studies that are intended to identify and disentangle (and potentially inform and launch interventions based upon) the processes underlying the relationships between ecological contexts, poverty status, and child outcomes. Included in this interest are studies that examine how and under what conditions interventions are most effective, given the intensity of risk and level of vulnerability of populations under study. Interdisciplinary studies that seek to understand biosocial and biobehavioral aspects of early childhood development are also encouraged. Both basic and applied research studies may be appropriate for this program; both quantitative and qualitative methods are acceptable.
Examples of research questions that address the objectives of this FOA include, but are not limited to:
Environmental Contexts
How does time spent in different forms of child care affect childrens cognitive and social development? Do these effects differ by family composition, race/ethnicity, nativity, or linguistic status (e.g., English Language Learner or language minority populations)?
Public Policy
Biosocial and Biobehavioral Interactions
In summary, there is a need to maintain and expand the body of research that examines the ecological contexts in which children grow up and the factors that either positively or negatively influence child development outcomes. While these issues are important for all children, they bear directly on children in poverty, as development and implementation of evidence-based policies can often drastically change the environment in which poor children live.
See Section VIII, Other
Information - Required Federal Citations, for policies related to this
announcement.
Section II. Award Information
1. Mechanism(s) of Support
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will use the NIH Small Research Grant (R03) award mechanism. The applicant will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project.
This FOA uses Just-in-Time information concepts. It also uses the modular as well as the non-modular budget formats (see the Modular Applications and Awards section of the NIH Grants Policy Statement. All applications submitted in response to this FOA must use the modular budget format. Specifically, if you are submitting an application with direct costs in each year of $250,000 or less (excluding consortium Facilities and Administrative [F&A] costs), use the PHS398 Modular Budget component provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (see specifically Section 3.4, Modular Budget Component, of the Application Guide).
All foreign applicants must complete and submit budget requests using the Research & Related Budget component found in the application package for this FOA. See NOT-OD-06-096, August 23, 2006.
Competing renewal (formerly competing continuation) applications will not be accepted for the R03 grant mechanism. Small grant support may not be used for thesis or dissertation research. Applicants may submit a resubmission, but such applications must include an Introduction addressing issues raised in the previous critique (Summary Statement).
For specific information about the R03 programs, see: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r03.htm.
2. Funds Available
Although the
financial plans of the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) provide support for
this program, awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon
the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious
applications.
A project period of up to two years and a budget for direct costs of up to two $25,000 modules, or $50,000 per year, may be requested (i.e., a maximum of $100,000 over two years in four modules of $25,000 each). Commensurate Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs are allowed.
F&A costs requested by consortium participants
are not included in the direct cost limitation. See NOT-OD-05-004, November 2, 2004.
Section III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
1.A.
Eligible Institutions
You may submit an application(s) if your organization has any of the
following characteristics:
1.B. Eligible Individuals
Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to
carry out the proposed research as the Project Director/Principal Investigator
(PD/PI) is invited to work with his/her institution to develop an application
for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well
as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH
support.
More than one PD/PI, or multiple PDs/PIs, may be designated on the application for projects that require a team science approach that clearly does not fit the single-PD/PI model. Additional information on the implementation plans and policies and procedures to formally allow more than one PD/PI on individual research projects is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi. All PDs/PIs must be registered in the NIH eRA Commons prior to the submission of the application (see http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm for instructions).
The decision of whether to apply for a single PD/PI or multiple PD/PI grant is the responsibility of the investigators and applicant organizations and should be determined by the scientific goals of the project. Applications for multiple PD/PI grants will require additional information, as outlined in the instructions below. When considering multiple PDs/PIs, please be aware that the structure and governance of the PD/PI leadership team as well as the knowledge, skills and experience of the individual PD/PIs will be factored into the assessment of the overall scientific merit of the application. Multiple PDs/PIs on a project share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PD/PI is responsible and accountable to the grantee organization, or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of required reports. For further information on multiple PDs/PIs, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
This program does not require cost sharing as
defined in the current NIH Grants Policy Statement.
3.
Other-Special Eligibility Criteria
Applicants may submit more than one application,
provided each application is scientifically distinct.
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
To download an Application Package and SF424 (R&R)
Application Guide for completing the SF424 (R&R) forms for this FOA, link
to http://www.grants.gov/Apply/ and follow the
directions provided on that Web site.
A one-time registration is required for institutions/organizations at both:
PDs/PIs should work with their institutions/organizations to make sure they are registered in the NIH eRA Commons.
Several additional separate actions are required before an applicant institution/organization can submit an electronic application, as follows:
1) Organizational/Institutional Registration in Grants.gov/Get Started
2) Organizational/Institutional Registration in the eRA Commons
3) Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Registration in the NIH eRA Commons: Refer to the NIH eRA Commons System (COM) Users Guide.
Both the PD/PI(s) and AOR/SO need separate accounts in the NIH eRA Commons since both are authorized to view the application image.
Note that if a PD/PI is also an NIH peer-reviewer with an Individual DUNS and CCR registration, that particular DUNS number and CCR registration are for the individual reviewer only. These are different than any DUNS number and CCR registration used by an applicant organization. Individual DUNS and CCR registration should be used only for the purposes of personal reimbursement and should not be used on any grant applications submitted to the Federal Government.
Several of the steps of the registration process could take four weeks or more. Therefore, applicants should immediately check with their business official to determine whether their institution is already registered in both Grants.gov and the Commons. The NIH will accept electronic applications only from organizations that have completed all necessary registrations.
1. Request Application Information
Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application forms and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.
Note: Only the forms package directly attached to a specific FOA can be used. You will not be able to use any other SF424 (R&R) forms (e.g., sample forms, forms from another FOA), although some of the Attachment files may be useable for more than one FOA.
For further assistance contact GrantsInfo, Telephone 301-710-0267, Email: [email protected].
Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY
301-451-5936.
2.
Content and Form of Application Submission
Prepare all
applications using the SF424 (R&R) application forms and in accordance with
the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
The SF424 (R&R) Application Guide is critical to submitting a complete and accurate application to NIH. There are fields within the SF424 (R&R) application components that, although not marked as mandatory, are required by NIH (e.g., the Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component must contain the PD/PIs assigned eRA Commons User ID). Agency-specific instructions for such fields are clearly identified in the Application Guide. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
The SF424 (R&R) application is comprised of data arranged in separate components. Some components are required, others are optional. The forms package associated with this FOA inGrants.gov/APPLY will include all applicable components, required and optional. A completed application in response to this FOA will include the following components:
Required Components:
SF424 (R&R) (Cover component)
Research & Related Project/Performance Site
Locations
Research & Related Other
Project Information
Research & Related Senior/Key Person
PHS398 Modular Budget
PHS398 Cover Page Supplement
PHS398 Research Plan
PHS398 Checklist
PHS398 Modular Budget or Research & Related Budget, as appropriate (See
Section IV.6., Special Instructions, regarding appropriate required budget
component.)
Research & Related Budget (required for foreign
applications)
Optional Components:
PHS398 Cover Letter File
Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s)
Form
Foreign Organizations (Non-domestic (non-U.S.)
Entity)
NIH policies concerning grants to foreign (non-U.S.)
organizations can be found in the NIH Grants Policy Statement at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part12.htm#_Toc54600260.
Applications from foreign organizations must:
Proposed research should provide special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that are not readily available in the United States or that augment existing U.S. resources.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Applications with Multiple PDs/PIs
When multiple PDs/PIs are proposed, NIH requires one PD/PI to be designated as the "Contact PI, who will be responsible for all communication between the PDs/PIs and the NIH, for assembling the application materials outlined below, and for coordinating progress reports for the project. The contact PD/PI must meet all eligibility requirements for PD/PI status in the same way as other PDs/PIs, but has no other special roles or responsibilities within the project team beyond those mentioned above.
Information for the Contact PD/PI should be entered in Item 13 of the SF424 (R&R) Cover component.All other PDs/PIs should be listed in the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component and assigned the project role of PD/PI.Please remember that all PDs/PIs must be registered in the eRA Commons prior to application submission.The Commons ID of each PD/PI must be included in the Credential field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component.Failure to include this data field will cause the application to be rejected.
All projects proposing Multiple PDs/PIs will be required to include a new section describing the leadership of the project.
Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan: For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, a new section of the research plan, entitled Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan, must be included. A rationale for choosing a multiple PD/PI approach should be described. The governance and organizational structure of the leadership team and the research project should be described, including communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts.The roles and administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or program should be delineated for the PDs/PIs and other collaborators.
If budget allocation is planned, the distribution of resources to specific components of the project or the individual PDs/PIs should be delineated in the Leadership Plan. In the event of an award, the requested allocations may be reflected in a footnote on the Notice of Award.
Applications Involving a Single Institution
When all PDs/PIs are within a single institution, follow the instructions contained in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Applications Involving Multiple Institutions
When multiple institutions are involved, one institution must be designated as the prime institution and funding for the other institution(s) must be requested via a subcontract to be administered by the prime institution. When submitting a detailed budget, the prime institution should submit its budget using the Research & Related Budget component.All other institutions should have their individual budgets attached separately to the Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form.See Section 4.8 of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the subaward budget form.
When submitting a modular budget, the prime institution completes the PHS398 Modular Budget component only.Information concerning the consortium/subcontract budget is provided in the budget justification. Separate budgets for each consortium/subcontract grantee are not required when using the Modular budget format. See Section 3.4 of the Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the PHS398 Modular Budget component.
3. Submission Dates and Times
See Section IV.3.A. for details.
3.A. Submission, Review, and
Anticipated Start Dates
Opening
Date: January 16, 2008 (Earliest date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Application Submission/Receipt
Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm
AIDS Application Submission/Receipt Date(s): Standard
dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#AIDS
Peer Review Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Council Review Date(s): Standard dates apply, please
see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
3.A.1. Letter of Intent
A letter of intent is not required for the funding opportunity.
3.B.
Submitting an Application Electronically to the NIH
To submit an application in response to
this FOA, applicants should access this FOA via http://www.grants.gov/Apply and follow
steps 1-4. Note: Applications must only be submitted electronically.PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL
NOT BE ACCEPTED.
3.C. Application Processing
Applications may be submitted on or after the opening date and must be successfully
received by Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time(of the applicant
institution/organization) on the application submission/receipt date(s). (See Section IV.3.A. for all dates.) If an application is not submitted by the receipt
date(s) and time, the application may be delayed in the review process or not
reviewed.
Once an application package has been successfully submitted through Grants.gov, any errors have been addressed, and the assembled application has been created in the eRA Commons, the PD/PI and the Authorized Organization Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) have two business days to view the application image.
Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for
completeness by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH. Incomplete applications
will not be reviewed.
There will be an acknowledgement of receipt of applications from
Grants.gov and the Commons. Information related to the
assignment of an application to a Scientific Review Group is also in the Commons.
Note: Since email can be unreliable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to check periodically on their application status in the Commons.
The NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial merit review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of an application already reviewed with substantial changes, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the previous critique. Note that such an application is considered a "resubmission" for the SF424 (R&R).
4. Intergovernmental Review
This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental
review.
5. Funding Restrictions
All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles,
and other considerations described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
Pre-award costs are allowable. A grantee may, at its
own risk and without NIH prior approval, incur obligations and expenditures to
cover costs up to 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget
period of a new award if such costs: are necessary to conduct the project and
would be allowable under the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior approval. If
specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the grantee must
obtain NIH approval before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval is required
for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the
initial budget period of a new award.
The incurrence of pre-award costs in anticipation of a
competing or non-competing award imposes no obligation on NIH either to make
the award or to increase the amount of the approved budget if an award is made
for less than the amount anticipated and is inadequate to cover the pre-award
costs incurred. NIH expects the grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs
result in borrowing against future support and that such borrowing must not
impair the grantee's ability to accomplish the project objectives in the
approved time frame or in any way adversely affect the conduct of the project.
See the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
6.
Other Submission Requirements
PD/PI Credential (e.g., Agency Login)
The NIH requires the PD/PI to fill in his/her Commons User ID in the PROFILE Project Director/Principal Investigator section, Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component. The applicant organization must include its DUNS number in its Organization Profile in the eRA Commons. This DUNS number must match the DUNS number provided at CCR registration with Grants.gov. For additional information, see Registration FAQs Important Tips -- Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
Organizational DUNS
The applicant organization must include its DUNS number in its Organization Profile in the eRA Commons. This DUNS number must match the DUNS number provided at CCR registration with Grants.gov. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
Renewal (formerly competing continuation or Type 2) applications are not permitted.
All application instructions outlined in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide are to be followed, with the following requirements for R03 applications:
PHS398 Research Plan Component Sections
Note: While each section of the Research Plan needs to be uploaded separately as a PDF attachment, applicants are encouraged to construct the Research Plan component as a single document, separating sections into distinct PDF attachments just before uploading the files. This approach will enable applicants to better monitor formatting requirements such as page limits. All attachments must be provided to NIH in PDF format, filenames must be included with no spaces or special characters, and a .pdf extension must be used.
Renewal (formerly competing continuation or Type 2) applications are not permitted.
All application instructions outlined in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide are to be followed, with the following requirements for R03 applications:
Appendix Materials
NIH has published new limitations on grant application appendix materials to encourage applications to be as concise as possible while containing the information needed for expert scientific review. See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-018.html .
Applicants must follow the specific instructions on Appendix materials as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm).
Foreign Applications (Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entity)
Special Requirements.
It is the intention of the SEED program to support projects that further the scientific understanding of child development from an ecological perspective, and that inform public policy. Therefore, PDs/PIs from projects funded under the SEED initiative will be expected to engage in an interactive, collaborative process; each participating PD/PI will be expected to participate in workshops and conferences designed to further the research/public policy dialogue. The co-sponsors of the SEED program encourage the participation in these activities of junior scholars who might develop links with researchers to explore training opportunities.
Annual Meeting for Investigators
PDs/PIs will also be expected to attend an annual SEED Investigators Meeting to share findings, research approaches, and core instruments or data elements. Applicants should include in the applications budget request, sufficient funds to support travel for the PD/PI to one two-day meeting in Washington, DC or a central location, in each of the requested years of support. NIH SEED investigators will interact with staff from SEED agencies and their contractors and grantees at these events.
Plan for Sharing Research Data
The precise content of the data-sharing plan will vary,
depending on the data being collected and how the investigator is planning to
share the data. Applicants who are planning to share data may wish to describe
briefly the expected schedule for data sharing, the format of the final
dataset, the documentation to be provided, whether or not any analytic tools
also will be provided, whether or not a data-sharing agreement will be required
and, if so, a brief description of such an agreement (including the criteria
for deciding who can receive the data and whether or not any conditions will be
placed on their use), and the mode of data sharing (e.g., under their own
auspices by mailing a disk or posting data on their institutional or personal
Web site, through a data archive or enclave). Investigators choosing to share
under their own auspices may wish to enter into a data-sharing agreement.
References to data sharing may also be appropriate in other sections of the
application.
Applicants
requesting more than $500,000 in direct costs in any year of the proposed
research must include a plan for sharing research data in their application.
The funding organization will be responsible for monitoring the data sharing
policy http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing).
The
reasonableness of the data sharing plan or the rationale for not sharing
research data may be assessed by the reviewers. However, reviewers will not
factor the proposed data sharing plan into the determination of scientific
merit or the impact/priority score.
Sharing Research
Resources
NIH policy expects that
grant recipients make unique research resources readily available for research
purposes to qualified individuals within the scientific community after
publication (See the NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part7.htm#_Toc54600131).
Investigators responding to this funding opportunity should include a sharing
research resources plan addressing how unique research resources will be shared
or explain why sharing is not possible.
The adequacy of the resources sharing plan and any related data sharing plans will be considered by Program staff of the funding organization when making recommendations about funding applications. The effectiveness of the resource sharing will be evaluated as part of the administrative review of each Non-Competing Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590). See Section VI.3., Reporting.
Section V. Application Review Information
1.
Criteria (Update: Enhanced review criteria have been issued for the evaluation of research applications received for potential FY2010 funding and thereafter - see NOT-OD-09-025).
Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the
review process.
2.
Review and Selection Process
Applications submitted for this funding opportunity will be assigned to
the ICs on the basis of established Public Health Service (PHS) referral
guidelines.
Appropriate scientific review groups convened in
accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures (http://cms.csr.nih.gov/ResourcesforApplicants/)
will evaluate applications for scientific and technical merit.
As part of the initial merit review, all applications will:
Applications submitted in response to this funding opportunity will compete for available funds with all other recommendedapplications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
The NIH R03 small grant is a mechanism for supporting discrete, well-defined projects that realistically can be completed in two years and that require limited levels of funding. Because the Research Strategy is restricted to 6 pages, a small grant application will not have the same level of detail or extensive discussion found in an R01 application. Accordingly, reviewers should evaluate the conceptual framework and general approach to the problem, placing less emphasis on methodological details and certain indicators traditionally used in evaluating the scientific merit of R01 applications, including supportive preliminary data. Appropriate justification for the proposed work can be provided through literature citations, data from other sources, or from investigator-generated data. Preliminary data are not required, particularly in applications proposing pilot or feasibility studies.
The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of biological systems, to improve the control of disease, and to enhance health. In their written comments, reviewers will be asked to comment on each of the following criteria in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. The scientific review group will address and consider each of these criteria in assigning the application's overall score, weighting them as appropriate for each application.
Note that an application does not need to be strong in
all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact and thus
deserve a high impact/priority score. For example, an investigator may propose to
carry out important work that by its nature is not innovative but is essential
to move a field forward.
Overall Impact. Reviewers will provide an overall impact/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following five core review criteria, and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).
Core Review Criteria. Reviewers will consider each of the five review criteria below in the determination of scientific and technical merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.
Significance: Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
Investigator(s): Are the investigators appropriately trained
and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the
experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers? Does the
investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project
(if applicable)? For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, is the
leadership approach, including the designated roles and responsibilities,
governance, and organizational structure, consistent with and justified by the
aims of the project and the expertise of each of the PDs/PIs?
Innovation: Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?
Approach: Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed?
If the project involves clinical research, are the plans for 1) protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of minorities and members of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed? For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, is the
leadership approach, including the designated roles and responsibilities,
governance, and organizational structure, consistent with and justified by the
aims of the project and the expertise of each of the PDs/PIs?
Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?
2.A. Additional Review Criteria
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider the following additional items in the determination of scientific and technical merit, but will not give separate scores for these items.
Protections for Human Subjects. For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.
For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children. When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children.
Vertebrate Animals. The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia.
Resubmission Applications. When reviewing a Resubmission application (formerly called an amended application), the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.
Renewal Applications. When reviewing a Renewal application (formerly called a competing continuation application), the committee will consider the progress made in the last funding period.
Revision Applications. When reviewing a Revision application (formerly called a competing supplement application), the committee will consider the appropriateness of the proposed expansion of the scope of the project. If the Revision application relates to a specific line of investigation presented in the original application that was not recommended for approval by the committee, then the committee will consider whether the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group are adequate and whether substantial changes are clearly evident.
Biohazards. Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.
2.B. Additional Review Considerations
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will address each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items and should not consider them in providing an overall impact/priority score.
Budget and Period Support. Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.
Select Agents Research. Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).
Applications from Foreign Organizations. Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.
Resource Sharing Plans.
Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the
rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1)
Data Sharing Plan (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm);
2) Sharing Model Organisms (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-04-042.html);
and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-088.html).
2.C. Sharing Research Data
Data Sharing Plan: The reasonableness of the data
sharing plan or the rationale for not sharing research data will be assessed by
the reviewers. However, reviewers will not factor the proposed data sharing
plan into the determination of scientific merit or the impact/priority score. The
presence of a data sharing plan will be part of the terms and conditions of the
award. The funding organization will be responsible for monitoring the data
sharing policy.
2.D.
Sharing Research Resources
NIH policy expects that grant recipients make unique research resources
readily available for research purposes to qualified individuals within the
scientific community after publication (See the NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part7.htm#_Toc54600131).
Investigators responding to this funding opportunity should include a sharing
research resources plan addressing how unique research resources will be shared
or explain why sharing is not possible.
Program staff will be responsible for the
administrative review of the plan for sharing research resources.
The adequacy of the resources sharing plan will be
considered by Program staff of the funding organization when making
recommendations about funding applications. Program staff may negotiate
modifications of the data and resource sharing plans with the awardee before
recommending funding of an application. The final version of the data and
resource sharing plans negotiated by both will become a condition of the award
of the grant. The effectiveness of the resource sharing will be evaluated as
part of the administrative review of each Non-Competing Grant
Progress Report (PHS 2590). See Section VI.3.,
Reporting.
Model Organism Sharing Plan: Reviewers are asked to assess the sharing plan in an administrative note. The sharing plan itself should be discussed after the application is scored. Whether a sharing plan is reasonable can be determined by the reviewers on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the organism, the timeline, the applicant's decision to distribute the resource or deposit it in a repository, and other relevant considerations. For the R03 mechanism, the presence or adequacy of a plan should not enter into the scoring of the application.
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Not Applicable
Section VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices
After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be
able to access his/her Summary Statement (written critique) via the NIH eRA
Commons.
If the application is under consideration for
funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the
applicant. For details, applicants may refer to the NIH
Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards,
Subpart A: General.
A formal notification in the form of a Notice
ofAward (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization. The NoA
signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all
administrative and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be
generated via email notification from the awarding component to the grantee
business official.
Selection of an application for award is not an
authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the
NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the
extent considered allowable pre-award costs. See Section IV.5.,
Funding Restrictions.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants
Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these
terms of award, see the NIH
Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards,
Subpart A: General and Part
II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions
for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities.
3. Reporting
When multiple years are involved, awardees will
be required to submit the Non-Competing Grant
Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in
the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
We encourage your inquiries concerning this funding
opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential
applicants. Inquiries may fall into three areas: scientific/research, peer
review, and financial or grants management issues:
1.
Scientific/Research Contacts:
Rosalind King, Ph.D.
Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, 8B07, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Telephone: (301) 435-6986
FAX: (301) 496-0962
Email: [email protected]
Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., CAS
Social and Affective Development/Child Maltreatment and
Violence
Child Development and Behavior
Branch
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, 4B05, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Telephone: (301) 496-1514
FAX: (301) 480-0230
Email: [email protected]
LeShawndra N. Price, Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator
Epidemiology Research Branch
Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse
6001 Executive Blvd., Rm. 5142, MSC 9589
Bethesda, MD 20892-9589
(Rockville, MD 20852 for Fed-Ex, UPS)
Phone: 301-402-1850
Fax: 301-443-2636
Dr. Vivian Faden
Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
5635 Fishers Lane, Room 2085, MC 9304
Phone: 301-594-6232
Fax: 301-443-8614
Email: [email protected]
2. Peer Review Contacts:
Not Applicable
3.
Financial or Grants Management Contacts:
Cecilia Bruce
Grants Management Branch
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, 8A17L, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Telephone: (301) 496-1304
FAX: (301) 402-0915
Email: [email protected]
Edith Davis
Grants Management Branch
National Institute on Drug Abuse
6101 Executive Boulevard, Room 270, MSC 8403
Bethesda, MD 20892-8403
Telephone: (301) 435-1377
FAX: (301) 594-6849
Email: [email protected]
Ms. Judy Fox
Chief, Grants Management Branch
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism
5635 Fishers Lane, Room 3023
Bethesda, MD 20892-9304
Telephone: (301) 443-4704
Fax: (301) 443-3891
Email: [email protected]
Section VIII. Other Information
Required Federal Citations
Vertebrate Animals:
Recipients of PHS support for activities involving live, vertebrate animals
must comply with PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/PHSPolicyLabAnimals.pdf)
as mandated by the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/hrea1985.htm),
and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm)
as applicable.
Human Subjects Protection:
Federal regulations (45CFR46) require that applications and proposals involving
human subjects must be evaluated with reference to the risks to the subjects,
the adequacy of protection against these risks, the potential benefits of the
research to the subjects and others, and the importance of the knowledge gained
or to be gained (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm).
Data and Safety Monitoring Plan:
Data and safety monitoring is required for all types of clinical trials,
including physiologic toxicity and dose-finding studies (Phase I); efficacy
studies (Phase II); efficacy, effectiveness and comparative trials (Phase III).
Monitoring should be commensurate with risk. The establishment of data and
safety monitoring boards (DSMBs) is required for multi-site clinical trials
involving interventions that entail potential risks to the participants (NIH
Policy for Data and Safety Monitoring, NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-084.html).
Sharing
Research Data:
Investigators submitting an NIH application seeking $500,000 or more in
direct costs in any single year are expected to include a plan for data sharing
or state why this is not possible ( http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing).
Investigators should seek guidance from their
institutions, on issues related to institutional policies and local IRB rules,
as well as local, State and Federal laws and regulations, including the Privacy
Rule. Reviewers will consider the data sharing plan but will not factor the
plan into the determination of the scientific merit or the impact/priority score.
Access to Research Data through the Freedom of Information Act:
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 has been revised to
provide access to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
under some circumstances. Data that are (1) first produced in a project that is
supported in whole or in part with Federal funds and (2) cited publicly and
officially by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and
effect of law (i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. It is important
for applicants to understand the basic scope of this amendment. NIH has
provided guidance at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm.
Applicants may wish to place data collected under this funding opportunity in a
public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the
distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should
include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include
information about this in the budget justification section of the application.
In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent
statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider
use of data collected under this award.
Sharing of Model Organisms:
NIH is committed to support efforts that encourage sharing of important
research resources including the sharing of model organisms for biomedical
research (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/model_organism/index.htm).
At the same time the NIH recognizes the rights of grantees and contractors to
elect and retain title to subject inventions developed with Federal funding
pursuant to the Bayh Dole Act (see the NIH
Grants Policy Statement). Beginning October 1, 2004, all investigators submitting
an NIH application or contract proposal are expected to include in the
application/proposal a description of a specific plan for sharing and
distributing unique model organism research resources generated using NIH
funding or state why such sharing is restricted or not possible. This will
permit other researchers to benefit from the resources developed with public
funding. The inclusion of a model organism sharing plan is not subject to a
cost threshold in any year and is expected to be included in all applications
where the development of model organisms is anticipated.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children:
It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and their
sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported clinical research
projects unless a clear and compelling justification is provided indicating
that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or
the purpose of the research. This policy results from the NIH Revitalization
Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43). All investigators proposing
clinical research should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women
and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-001.html);
a complete copy of the updated Guidelines is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm.
The amended policy incorporates: the use of an NIH definition of clinical
research; updated racial and ethnic categories in compliance with the new OMB
standards; clarification of language governing NIH-defined Phase III clinical
trials consistent with the SF424 (R&R) application; and updated roles and
responsibilities of NIH staff and the extramural community. The policy
continues to require for all NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials that: a) all
applications or proposals and/or protocols must provide a description of plans
to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by sex/gender
and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable; and b)
investigators must report annual accrual and progress in conducting analyses,
as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences.
Inclusion of Children as Participants in Clinical Research:
The NIH maintains a policy that children (i.e., individuals under the age of
21) must be included in all clinical research, conducted or supported by the
NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.
All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the
"NIH Policy and Guidelines" on the inclusion of children as
participants in research involving human subjects (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/children/children.htm).
Required Education on the Protection of Human Subject Participants:
NIH policy requires education on the protection of human subject participants
for all investigators submitting NIH applications for research involving human
subjects and individuals designated as key personnel. The policy is available
at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-039.html.
Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC):
Criteria for Federal funding of research on hESCs can be found at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp and at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-116.html.
Only research using hESC lines that are registered in the NIH Human Embryonic
Stem Cell Registry will be eligible for Federal funding (http://escr.nih.gov). It is the responsibility
of the applicant to provide in the project description and elsewhere in the
application as appropriate, the official NIH identifier(s) for the hESC line(s)
to be used in the proposed research.
NIH Public Access Policy:
NIH-funded investigators are requested to submit to the NIH manuscript
submission (NIHMS) system (http://www.nihms.nih.gov)
at PubMed Central (PMC) an electronic version of the author's final manuscript
upon acceptance for publication, resulting from research supported in whole or
in part with direct costs from NIH. The author's final manuscript is defined as
the final version accepted for journal publication, and includes all modifications
from the publishing peer review process.
NIH is requesting that authors submit manuscripts resulting from 1) currently
funded NIH research projects or 2) previously supported NIH research projects
if they are accepted for publication on or after May 2, 2005. The NIH Public Access Policy applies to all research grant and career development award mechanisms,
cooperative agreements, contracts, Institutional and Individual Ruth L.
Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, as well as NIH intramural research
studies. The Policy applies to peer-reviewed, original research publications
that have been supported in whole or in part with direct costs from NIH, but it
does not apply to book chapters, editorials, reviews, or conference
proceedings. Publications resulting from non-NIH-supported research projects
should not be submitted.
For more information about the Policy or the
submission process, please visit the NIH Public Access Policy Web site at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/ and view the Policy or other Resources and Tools, including the Authors' Manual.
Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health
Information:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued final modification to
the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health
Information", the "Privacy Rule", on August 14, 2002. The
Privacy Rule is a Federal regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 that governs the protection of individually
identifiable health information, and is administered and enforced by the HHS
Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Decisions about applicability and implementation of the Privacy Rule reside
with the researcher and his/her institution. The OCR Website (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/) provides
information on the Privacy Rule, including a complete Regulation Text and a set
of decision tools on "Am I a covered entity?" Information on the
impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on NIH processes involving the review,
funding, and progress monitoring of grants, cooperative agreements, and
research contracts can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-025.html
URLs in NIH Grant Applications or Appendices:
All applications and
proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page
limitations. For publications listed in the appendix and/or Progress report,
internet addresses (URLs) must be used for publicly accessible
on-line journal articles. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, Internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide
any other information necessary for the review because reviewers are
under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Furthermore, we caution
reviewers that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an
Internet site.
Healthy People 2010:
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion
and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS-led
national activity for setting priority areas. This FOA is related to one or
more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of
"Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.
Authority and Regulations:
This
program is described in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance and is not subject to the intergovernmental
review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.
Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public
Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal
Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. All awards are subject
to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations
described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
The
PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace
and discourage the use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227,
the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in
some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education,
library, day care, health care, or early childhood development services are
provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and
advance the physical and mental health of the American people.
Loan Repayment Programs:
NIH encourages applications for educational loan repayment from qualified
health professionals who have made a commitment to pursue a research career
involving clinical, pediatric, contraception, infertility, and health
disparities related areas. The LRP is an important component of NIH's efforts
to recruit and retain the next generation of researchers by providing the means
for developing a research career unfettered by the burden of student loan debt.
Note that an NIH grant is not required for eligibility and concurrent career
award and LRP applications are encouraged. The periods of career award and LRP
award may overlap providing the LRP recipient with the required commitment of
time and effort, as LRP awardees must commit at least 50% of their time (at
least 20 hours per week based on a 40 hour week) for two years to the research.
For further information, please see: http://www.lrp.nih.gov.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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