SUPPORT OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

NIH GUIDE, Volume 22, Number 20, June 4, 1993



PA NUMBER:  PA-93-089



P.T. 42



Keywords:

  Vision 

  Grants Administration/Policy+ 



National Eye Institute



PURPOSE



The National Eye Institute (NEI) is announcing its intention to support

future investigator-initiated scientific meetings by the conference

cooperative agreement mechanism (U13), in most instances, rather than

the traditional conference grant mechanism (R13).  This is not an

announcement of a new program or initiative.



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



The NEI will consider applications submitted by U.S. institutions,

including scientific or professional societies, eligible to receive

grants from Public Health Service agencies.  In the case of an

international conference, the U.S. representative organization of an

established international scientific or professional society is the

eligible applicant.  The NEI will not accept applications from foreign

institutions.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



The rules and regulations that apply to conference cooperative

agreements (U13) are the same as those that apply to conference grants

(R13).  The difference is that, after award, NEI extramural program

staff will be substantially involved in the planning and conduct of the

scientific meeting, assisting the Principal Investigator according to

specific Terms and Conditions.  These Terms and Conditions are given

below and will be included in each Notice of Grant Award.  In

exceptional circumstances, it may not be practical or necessary for NEI

staff to participate substantially in the planning or conduct of the

meeting, and NEI will use the traditional conference grant (R13) to

support such activities.



SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS



Terms and Conditions of Cooperative Agreement Award



o  The Principal Investigator will have the primary authority and

responsibility to define objectives and approaches; plan, publicize,

and conduct the scientific meeting; and publish the results of the

meeting.



o  The Principal Investigator will retain custody of and have primary

rights to information developed under the cooperative agreement,

subject to Government rights of access, consistent with current DHHS,

PHS, and NIH policies.



o  The appropriate NEI extramural program Branch Chief will assist, but

not direct, the Principal Investigator in the planning and conduct of

the scientific meeting to ensure that the meeting is relevant and

responsive to NEI scientific program goals and key research questions

identified in  "Vision Research - A National Plan:  1994-1998," a

report of the National Advisory Eye Council.  This will include

assisting the Principal Investigator in finalizing the meeting format

and agenda, selecting topics for discussion, publicizing the meeting,

selecting speakers and other meeting participants, and publishing the

meeting proceedings.



o  Publication and copyright agreements, and the requirements for

financial status reports, retention of records, and terminal progress

reports will be as stated in the NIH publication, "Support of

Scientific Meetings" (August, 1992).



o  An independent, third-party individual, acceptable to both the

Principal Investigator and NEI will be asked to serve as an arbitrator

of any serious differences of opinion on scientific and programmatic

issues that may arise during the planning and conduct of the scientific

meeting.  This special arbitration process will in no way affect the

rights of the recipient to appeal an adverse action in accordance with

PHS regulations of 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D and DHHS regulations of 45

CFR Part 16.



o  These special Terms and Conditions of Cooperative Agreement Award

are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable OMB

administrative guidelines, DHHS grant administrative regulations at 45

CFR Parts 74 and 92, and other DHHS, PHS, and NIH grant administration

policies.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NEI staff prior

to the preparation and submission of an application concerning possible

NEI interest in supporting a particular scientific meeting.



Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398

(rev. 9/91) and will be accepted at the standard application deadlines

as indicated in the application kit.  Application kits are available at

most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained

from the Office of Grant Inquiries, Division of Research Grants,

National Institutes of Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda,

MD, 20892, telephone 301/710-0267.



The NIH publication, "Support of Scientific Meetings" (August, 1992),

should be obtained, because it provides important information and

supplemental instructions for completing the application.  In addition,

this publication states NIH policy regarding the application, receipt,

assignment, review, award, administration, and reporting requirements

when funds are requested and awarded for the support of scientific

meetings.



For item 2b on the Face Page, enter the code "U13," if conference

cooperative agreement funds will be requested.



In the Research Plan section of the application, describe the relevance

of the proposed scientific meeting to the NEI program goals and key

research questions identified in  "Vision Research - A National Plan:

1994-1998."



The applicant, in addition, should provide a statement acknowledging

and agreeing to NEI staff post-award involvement in planning and

conducting the scientific meeting, and should describe plans to

accommodate this involvement.



The complete and signed original application and five exact copies, in

one package with any appendices, must be mailed or delivered to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



REVIEW PROCEDURES



Applications will be assigned by the Division of Research Grants on the

basis of established Public Health Service referral guidelines.

Applications will be reviewed for scientific merit by an initial review

group in accordance with standard NIH peer review procedures.  The

following criteria will be considered when assessing the scientific

merit of applications:



o  the importance of the proposed scientific meeting to investigators

in the area and to the general biomedical community;

o  timeliness and need for the proposed scientific meeting;

o  adequacy of the scope and content of the proposed scientific

meeting;

o  qualifications of the conference organizers and the proposed

participants

o  adequacy of the applicant's efforts and plans to seek out and

encourage the participation of women and underrepresented minorities;

o  appropriateness of the proposed format for achieving the stated

goals;

o  adequacy of plans to disseminate the information generated by the

scientific meeting; and

o  appropriateness of the budget.



Second level program and policy review for applications assigned to NEI

will be conducted by the National Advisory Eye Council.



AWARD CRITERIA



The following will be considered in making funding decisions for

applications assigned to the NEI:



o  scientific merit of the proposed scientific meeting as determined by

peer review,

o  relevance to NEI program goals and key research questions identified

in  "Vision Research - A National Plan:  1994-1998," and

o  availability of funds.



INQUIRIES



Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to telephone Dr. Ralph J.

Helmsen, NEI Research Resources Officer, at (301) 496-5301 for general

information regarding this notice and for referral to the appropriate

extramural program Branch Chief or Grants Management Specialist.



The NEI publication, "Vision Research - A National Plan:  1994-1998,"

is available from:



Office of Science Policy and Legislation

National Eye Institute

Building 31, Room 6A25

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-4308



The NIH publication, "Support of Scientific Meetings" (August, 1992),

is available from the Office of Grants Inquiries.



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalogue of Federal Domestic

Assistance No. 93.867, Vision Research.  Awards are made under

authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A

(Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and

285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations

42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  Applications are not subject to the

intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 as

implemented through Department of Health and Human Services regulations

at 45 CFR part 100 or Health Systems Agency review.



.

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