ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENTS FOR NIAID BIODEFENSE GRANTS

RELEASE DATE:  October 15, 2002

NOTICE:  NOT-AI-03-001

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
 (http://www.niaid.nih.gov)

PURPOSE

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is announcing 
the availability of administrative supplements for NIAID-funded Biodefense 
research project (R01, R37, and U01) and multi-project (P01 and U19) grants for 
(1) alterations and renovations (A&R) and (2) equipment and supply purchases. 
Only grantees who meet the eligibility criteria stated below will be considered 
for these supplements.

ELIGIBILITY

Only domestic (U.S.) institutions are eligible for these biodefense 
administrative supplements.

Each applicant from a domestic institution must meet the following three 
criteria: (1) the project period of the grant to be supplemented must have at 
least three years remaining on the date of receipt of the administrative 
supplement application; (2) the parent grant to be supplemented must address one 
or more Biodefense topics of interest to NIAID (see 
http://www2.niaid.nih.gov/Biodefense/rfalplat.htm  and 
http://www2.niaid.nih.gov/Biodefense/Research/high_priority.htm); and (3) the A&R, 
equipment, and supply funds must support the scope of the funded parent research 
project(s) and, as appropriate, other current and future Biodefense efforts.

Only one administrative supplement application per parent grant is allowed. 

Amended (revised) applications will not be accepted.

Applications for administrative supplements that do not meet the above criteria 
will not be accepted.

BUDGET INFORMATION
 
Single project (R01, R37 and U01) awardees may request direct costs up to 
$200,000 for A&R and $100,000 for equipment and supplies.

Multi-project (P01 and U19) awardees may request direct costs up to $300,000 for 
A&R and $200,000 for equipment and supplies.

The total direct costs and associated F&A costs should be requested for award in 
the current budget period of the parent grant. 

ALTERATION AND RENOVATION

Alteration and renovation (A&R), also termed "rearrangement and alteration," is 
defined as work required to change the interior arrangements or other physical 
characteristics of an existing facility or of installed equipment so that it may 
be more effectively utilized for its currently designated purpose or adapted to 
an alternative use to meet a programmatic requirement. 

Routine maintenance and repair of the organization's physical plant or its 
equipment, which is allowable and is ordinarily treated as an F&A cost, is not 
considered A&R. Certain allowable costs of installing equipment, such as the 
temporary removal and replacement of wall sections and door frames in order to 
place equipment in its permanent location, or the costs of connecting utility 
lines, replacing finishes and furnishings, and installing any accessory devices 
required for the equipment's proper and safe utilization, may be considered 
either equipment costs or A&R costs, depending on the grantee's accounting 
system.

A&R costs are not allowable under grants to individuals, foreign grants, and 
grants in support of scientific meetings (conference grants). The A&R must be 
consistent with the following criteria and documentation requirements:

o The building has a useful life consistent with program purposes and is 
architecturally and structurally suitable for conversion to the type of space 
required; 
o  The A&R is essential to the purpose of the grant-supported project and other 
current and future biodefense projects; 
o  The space involved will be occupied by the project; 
o  The space is suitable for human occupancy before A&R work is started except 
where the purpose of the A&R is to make the space suitable for some purpose 
other than human occupancy, such as storage; and 
o  If the space is rented, evidence is provided that the terms of the lease are 
compatible with the A&R proposed and cover the duration of the project period. 

Work necessary to obtain an initial occupancy permit for the intended use is not 
an allowable A&R cost.

APPLICATION PREPARATION

Requests for biodefense administrative supplements must be submitted using 
selected pages from the PHS 398 application.  Application content is limited to 
the following items.

o  Face Page. In Item 1, TITLE OF PROJECT, enter "Biodefense Supplement for 
(enter grant number)" and complete all other items according to PHS 398 
instructions.

o  Form Page 4.  DETAILED BUDGET FOR INITIAL BUDGET PERIOD - complete per PHS 
398 instructions.  Because all administrative supplement funds must be requested 
for award in a single budget period, there will be no future budget periods for 
the supplemental funds. 

o  Form Page 5. Itemize, by category and justify on Form Page 5, the costs of 
essential alterations and renovations including repairs, painting, removal or 
installation of partitions, shielding, air conditioning, etc. Where applicable, 
provide the square footage and costs. Costs for alterations and renovations are 
not allowed on grants made to foreign organizations.

o  RESEARCH PLAN. Identify the NIAID-funded research project(s) that will 
benefit from the availability of the improved facilities, equipment and 
supplies. Describe how the administrative supplement funds will be used to 
enhance ongoing research project(s) within the scope of the originally proposed 
specific aims of the parent project(s). Describe plans for other research uses 
of these resources so that the full benefit of the supplemental request can be 
assessed. 

The research plan may not exceed: a) five pages for single project (R01, R37, 
U01) grants; or b) seven pages for multi-project (P01, U19) grants. 

o  CHECKLIST. Complete per PHS 398 instructions.

o  APPENDIX. Include as one appendix the grant number, face page and page 2 (the 
project description) for the parent grant and for other grants included in the 
research plan.
 
No other information is to be submitted; applications that do not meet these 
format requirements will not be accepted. 

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

The original and five copies of the request for administrative supplement should 
be sent to:

Rona Hirschberg, Ph.D.
Office of Biodefense Research Activities
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Room 3129, MSC 7630
6700-B Rockledge Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-7630 (use 20817 for courier services)

Applications for biodefense administrative supplements may be submitted at any 
time between the date of this notice and March 12, 2003. Applications received 
after March 12, 2003 will not be accepted.

REVIEW PROCEDURE

A committee composed of NIAID extramural staff will evaluate the requests for 
biodefense administrative supplements.  The committee will meet monthly to 
review applications. 

AWARDS

Awards will be determined on the basis of scientific merit, program relevance, 
and the availability of funds.

Awards to applications in response to this notice will be made as soon as 
possible following NIAID review.  Funded applicants will be expected to provide 
a progress report including the use of the administrative supplement funds as 
part of the regular progress report of the parent grant. All biodefense 
administrative supplements will be awarded on or before August 1, 2003.

INQUIRIES

Inquiries concerning this notice are strongly encouraged.  The opportunity to 
clarify any issue or questions from potential applicants are welcome.

Direct all inquiries to:

Rona Hirschberg, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Room 3129, MSC 7630
6700-B Rockledge Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-7630 (use 20817 for courier services)
E-Mail: [email protected] 
phone 301-402-4197

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