Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information
Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Funding Opportunity Title

Economics of Retirement (R21)

Activity Code

R21 Exploratory/Developmental Grant

Announcement Type

New

Related Notices
  • May 30, 2013 (NOT-OD-13-074) - NIH to Require Use of Updated Electronic Application Forms for Due Dates on or after September 25, 2013. Forms-C applications are required for due dates on or after September 25, 2013.
  • April 8, 2011 - Letter of Intent Not Required for NIAs Economics of Retirement FOAs; PA-11-138, PA-11-139, and PA-11-140. See NOT-AG-11-004.
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number

PA-11-140

Companion FOA

PA-11-138, R01 Research Project Grant; PA-11-139, R03 Small Grant Program.

Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)

93.866

FOA Purpose

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages research on the economic and health-related factors that influence older persons choices on labor force participation as they near typical retirement age and throughout the later stages of life.

Key Dates
Posted Date

March 10, 2011

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

May 16, 2011

Letter of Intent Due Date

Not applicable. (Previously May 5, 2011, changed per NOT-AG-11-004.)

Application Due Date(s)

Standard dates apply by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Standard dates apply by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Scientific Merit Review

Standard dates apply

Advisory Council Review

Standard dates apply

Earliest Start Date(s)

Standard dates apply

Expiration Date

May 8, 2014

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

American workers are living longer and retiring at younger ages and, as a result, retirement has emerged as an extended phase of the life course for most workers. As much as one quarter of our lives is now spent in retirement almost half as much time as a typical worker spends in the labor force. Although the fall in the retirement age has slowed recently (and perhaps started to reverse), life expectancy for older workers continues to rise, and retirement periods could extend still further. At the same time, the retirement of the baby boom generation of Americans which got underway in 2008 when the first cohort reached age 62 will dramatically increase the number of persons in the United States who are in the retirement phase of life.

The combination of longer retirement periods and many more retirees will place enormous financial pressure on public and private retirement and health insurance programs, and the implications for labor markets and fiscal policy are profound. Accordingly, enhancing our understanding of older persons decisions on work and retirement is a high-priority for the social sciences. The recent economic crisis adds to the urgency of understanding retirement decisions and poses difficult new questions in an already-complicated subject. For example, how will depleted asset values affect retirement decisions and consumption in retirement? How will the steep rise in involuntary unemployment affect older individuals economic wellbeing and health?

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages research on the economic and health-related factors that influence older persons choices on labor force participation as they near typical retirement age and throughout the later stages of life. The interaction of health, work, family status, and economic wellbeing is enormously complex, and the direction of causal effects among those factors is often unclear. Because of those complexities, the FOA especially encourages innovative approaches to (1) modeling the dynamic processes underlying labor force decisions over the life-cycle, and (2) enabling valid causal inference regarding the effects of economic and health factors on work decisions as well as the effects of work on health status. The FOA calls for analysis of secondary datasets, development of new datasets, observational and experimental analysis, cross-national comparisons; and quasi-experiments enabled by changes in public policy. Research that identifies disparities between population segments or emphasizes at-risk groups is encouraged.

Areas of Potential Research Interest

The following topics are intended as examples of research areas pertinent to this FOA. Applications are not limited to these areas. NIA encourages applicants to discuss proposed topics with program staff prior to submission.

Determinants of Retirement, Consumption and Quality of Life During Retirement

Many factors contribute to the retirement decision and to individuals quality of life during retirement. Among them are economic considerations such as personal savings and other assets including homes, and public and private retirement income sources and health insurance coverage. Other, non-pecuniary factors include physical and psychological health, cognition, functional ability, family circumstances, availability of pleasurable activities, geographic location, and the social environment. The roles played by those factors could depend on decisions or outcomes from earlier life stages, including educational or occupational experiences. The FOA encourages research on the relationships and relative importance of those factors on labor force decisions and quality of life during retirement.

Alternatives to Full-Time Paid Employment

A traditional view of retirement holds that individuals depart from the labor force essentially overnight working full-time one day, then ceasing paid work the next. But that pattern is not universal, and might be increasingly obsolete. This FOA encourages research on the diversity of work trajectories through the life-cycle, including alternatives to traditional retirement such as phased retirement, bridge jobs, part-time work at older ages, changes in responsibilities or job settings, employer accommodations and re-entry into the labor force following retirement.

The Interaction of Retirement, Health, Cognition, and Functioning

Poor health and cognition are associated with reduced earnings and a reduced likelihood of working. However, there is little consensus about the many possible causal pathways linking work, health, cognition, and functioning. For example, an individual might leave the labor force in response to an adverse health event that made work more difficult; at the same time, leaving the labor force might lead to a decline in an individual’s level of active engagement, psychological and cognitive health. This FOA encourages development of innovative methods of identifying complex causal mechanisms in health and retirement.

Time Use and Life Satisfaction in Retirement

In retirement, individuals who have spent their adult lives working must adapt to new environments and find new activities and social groups. Although retirement can allow more time for family or leisure activities; for many retirees, separation from the engagement of work and its social aspects can lead to depression, stress, and other major health problems. Leaving the social environment of a job can be particularly difficult for retirees who do not have family or an established social network outside of work. This FOA encourages research on the ways in which people spend their time during retirement and how that affects their health and wellbeing. Also of interest are the factors that influence how well retirees adapt to their changing social circumstances.

Macroeconomic Effects of Changes in Retirement Behavior

Longer retirement periods and a rising ratio of retirees to active workers will have a major impact on labor markets and the overall economy. Part of that impact relates to the growing fiscal challenges that the federal government will face in financing health care and retirement benefits for the growing numbers of elderly persons; the various alternative approaches to dealing with the federal government’s long-term fiscal gap which are under discussion including reductions in the generosity of Medicare or Social Security benefits, cutting or eliminating other federal spending, or raising additional revenues would have major effects on labor markets and the macroeconomy. Another possible part of the impact relates to asset decumulation and re-allocation among members of the large baby boom generation, which might affect the asset returns and savings rate among the working population as it plans for its retirement. This Program encourages work on the macroeconomic effects of longer retirement periods and rising numbers of retirees.

Labor Force Behavior of Women at Older Ages

The secular increase in women's labor force participation means that women now reaching older ages have typically had very different work histories from earlier cohorts. A higher proportion of women now qualify for Social Security and other retirement benefits through their own earning histories rather than as spouses. Divorce, death of a spouse, or caregiving responsibilities likely affect older women's labor force decisions and retirement preparedness. Research addressing the challenges faced by older women or compares men's and women's behavior is encouraged.

Retirement Expectations, Information, and Decision-making

Individuals preparations for retirement are influenced by their expectations regarding a number of factors: when they will retire; what they will earn during their working lives; what benefits they will receive from public and private sources during retirement; what their future financial needs will be; their future health, including how long they will live. Their preparation may also be influenced by social networks, news media, and other environmental factors. The degree to which abrupt changes in consumption around the time of retirement are planned or unplanned is still not adequately understood. The FOA encourages research that would enhance our understanding of people’s retirement expectations and planning throughout their working lives, how such expectations are developed, and the extent to which expectations differ from actual outcomes.

Cross-national Comparisons of Retirement Behavior

The trends toward longer retirement periods and rising numbers of retirees are not unique to the United States. All countries with advanced economies are experiencing population aging, and many have begun to implement policy changes which are designed to address the challenges that it poses. Variations in those policy responses offer opportunities for quasi-experimental analyses that might allow us to identify how retirement behavior responds to policy changes. Cross-national trends in reliance on intrafamily, financial sector, and public sector transfers to smooth life-cycle consumption could elucidate institutional and policy factors affecting labor-force behavior. Research projects that address the various objectives of this FOA while incorporating cross-national comparisons are especially encouraged. Date sources such as HRS, ELSA, SHARE, TILDA, and CHARLS could be used for cross-country comparisons using comparable data.

Family and Household Decision-Making

Early models of retirement behavior focused on the decisions of the individual worker. More recently, analysts have modeled the joint retirement decisions of dual-earner couples. Despite that and other advances, however, there are still many fundamental economic questions that existing models have not addressed. This FOA encourages the development of models that incorporate decisions to provide care for elderly parents, children, or grandchildren. Studies that consider the variety of household compositions and the interaction of coincident decisions, seek to identify causal linkages across a variety of decisions, or examine the degree to which the needs of the extended family influence retirement decisions and wellbeing are encouraged.

The Effects of Financial Disruption on Retirement Preparedness and Planning

There is significant evidence that early-life shocks can have long-lasting economic and psychological effects. Exposure to traumatic shocks has been shown to influence attitudes toward risk-taking, perception, and well-being. The variety of shocks for which this appears to be the case whether individual-specific (e.g., health, layoff, divorce, death, birth of a child) or more broadly-based (e.g., macroeconomic trends, natural disasters) suggests that adverse events can have profound effects on formation of expectations and decision-making throughout the life-course, as well as on retirement planning and preparedness. The recent financial crisis has called attention to possible long-term effects of economic disruption on health, well-being, and retirement decision-making as a result of the rapid decline in housing and financial wealth that many experienced. Research projects that consider the extent to which life-course events are financially disruptive and the implications of such wealth shocks on retirement preparedness, planning, and decisions, are encouraged.

Impact of Public Programs on Retirement

The decision to work at older ages is affected by a number of public programs including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as well as other factors such as unemployment insurance and tax policy, including saving incentives. New or revised policies can have both direct effects on work as well as indirect effects through interaction with other policies or programs. For example, a new public long-term care insurance program could potentially affect the retirement decisions of older workers if eligibility is based on work status, and such an effect could be complex. Research that examines the impact of public programs on retirement as well as the interaction of public programs on work at older ages is encouraged.

Section II. Award Information
Funding Instrument

Grant

Application Types Allowed

New
Resubmission
Revision

The OER Glossary and the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations, and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget

Direct costs are limited to $275,000 over an R21 two-year period, with no more than $200,000 in direct costs allowed in any single year.

Award Project Period

The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed 2 years.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants
Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions:

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

For profit Organizations

Governments

Other

Foreign (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

All Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least four (4) weeks prior to the application due date.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with his/her organization 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.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial peer review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. Resubmission applications may be submitted, according to the NIH Policy on Resubmission Applications from the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Required and Optional Components

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, mandatory and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for application submission. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional components.

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan Component

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Resource Sharing Plan

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Appendix

Do not use the appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Foreign Organizations

Foreign (non-US) organizations must follow policies described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, and procedures for foreign organizations described throughout the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

3. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications via Grants.gov, the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies. Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

4. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

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 only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

6. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically.

Important reminders:
All PD/PIs must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF 424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH. Applications that are incomplete will not be reviewed.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

The R21 exploratory/developmental grant supports investigation of novel scientific ideas or new model systems, tools, or technologies that have the potential for significant impact on biomedical or biobehavioral research. An R21 grant application need not have extensive background material or preliminary information. Accordingly, reviewers will focus their evaluation on the conceptual framework, the level of innovation, and the potential to significantly advance our knowledge or understanding. Appropriate justification for the proposed work can be provided through literature citations, data from other sources, or, when available, from investigator-generated data. Preliminary data are not required for R21 applications; however, they may be included if available.

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 review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific 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 PD/PIs, collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?

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?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact/priority score, 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. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

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. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

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. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

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.

Resubmissions

For Resubmissions, 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.

Renewals

Not Applicable.

Revisions

Not Applicable.

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider 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.

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.

Select Agent 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).

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; 2) Sharing Model Organisms; and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS).

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) , in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Review assignments will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by an appropriate advisory council or board. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. 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.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to the DUNS, CCR Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

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. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

Not Applicable.

3. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are required when an award is relinquished when a recipient changes institutions or when an award is terminated.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Application Submission Contacts

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading or navigating forms)
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov

eRA Commons Help Desk(Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: commons@od.nih.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

John W. R. Phillips, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3138
Email: John.Phillips@nih.gov

Peer Review Contact(s)

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

John Bladen
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: (301) 402-7730
Email: bladenj@nia.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

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.


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