Release Date: October 8, 2010
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
The purpose of this Notice is to provide clarification regarding the Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund (IOF) Management Plan and budget for applications in response to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) FOA, RFA-AI-10-008 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-10-008.html entitled Immune Defense Mechanisms at the Mucosa Cooperative Study Group .
Background
An Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund (IOF) will become available after the U01 applications are awarded and the Cooperative Study Group Steering Committee is formed. The IOF will support a range of pilot/feasibility projects. The Cooperative Study Group Steering Committee will develop the plan to solicit receive, and review projects to be supported by the IOF.
One institution among the U01 grantees will be selected to administer the IOF including the award of subcontracts for pilot projects approved by the Steering Committee, and preparation of annual financial reports on the status of the IOF. The intent of the IOF Management Plan is to describe the institutional structure to support the award and tracking of pilot projects. The IOF Management Plan will be assessed by reviewers only to determine if the plan describes an adequate administrative structure, adequate procedure to support the Steering Committee plans for pilot project awards, satisfactory reporting procedures, and sufficient institutional commitment for administration of the IOF. Results of the review of this plan will not be factored into the priority score or affect the possibility of the U01 award.
Below, Section II.IV.6. Other Submission Requirements of the FOA is replaced with a revised section to clarify submission of the IOF Management plan.
OLD LANGUAGE:
Part II - Full Text of Announcement
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
6. Other Submission Requirements
Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund Management Plan
Each application must include a plan for the administration of the Cooperative Study Group’s Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund (IOF). It is anticipated that the IOF management award will be made to one awardee, with subsequent funding decisions determined by the Steering Committee. See Section VI.2.A.3 for more information on IOF management. This Plan must address, at a minimum:
- Staffing and chain of responsibility to be devoted to Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund administration
- A description of how invoices and subcontracts for Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund subcontracts are to be handled
- The time interval at which invoices are to be paid and proposed time interval for establishment and renewal of subcontracts
- Plans for handling overdue and missing invoices or subcontract administration delays
Additional Budget and Justification Requests
In the budget section of the application and in addition to the costs associated with the proposed research, applicants must include a budget and budget justifications to support:
- The IOF Management Plan
- Cost of travel and lodging for investigators to attend the required Cooperative Study Group meetings in the Washington, DC area.
- For the purposes of preparing the IOF plan, assume that $1,000,000 will be available for the IOF to support additional projects.
NEW LANGUAGE:
Part II - Full Text of Announcement
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
6. Other Submission Requirements
Additional Budget and Justification Requests
In the budget section of the application and in addition to the costs associated with the proposed research, applicants must include a budget and budget justifications to support:
- Cost of travel and lodging for the PI to attend the required Cooperative Study Group meetings in the Washington, DC area (see II.IV.2. A.1)
- A separate budget and budget justification for the IOF Management Plan (see below).
Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund Management Plan and Budget
Each application must include a plan and budget for the administration of the Cooperative Study Group’s Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund (IOF). It is anticipated that the IOF management funds will be placed with one institution, with subsequent dissemination of IOF funds for pilot projects to be determined by the Steering Committee. The institution chosen by NIAID after award of the U01 grants to manage the IOF must agree to take responsibility for managing the funds, including the disbursement, administration, and reporting on the use of the IOF as approved by the Steering Committee. See Section VI.2.A.3 for more information on IOF management.
In preparing the IOF Management Plan and budget, assume that $1,000,000 per year will be available to support ten pilot projects per year as determined by the Steering Committee. The IOF Management Plan should justify the budget associated with a structure that includes sufficient effort of an administrator to support the Steering Committee in soliciting, evaluating, prioritizing, selecting, and monitoring the progress of pilot projects supported by the IOF; overseeing distribution and tracking of IOF funds under the direction of the Steering Committee; implementing plans for interacting with investigators, both within and outside the network, who will receive IOF funds; and following procedures, format, and timing for reporting on the status of IOF use. The IOF Management Plan should be placed in the IOF Management Plan budget justification section. The IOF Management Plan budget and budget justification should not exceed two pages.
A limit for the additional direct costs associated with the IOF Management Plan is not specified, but should be reasonable for the effort required to oversee the subcontracting of IOF funds for the pilot projects. The budget for the IOF plan should not be included on the face page of the application. Applicants should not include the $1,000,000 per year in the IOF budget.
Two distinct budget and budget justification sections should be prepared, one for the research proposal and one for the Infrastructure and Opportunities Fund Management Plan. The budget and budget justification for the IOF Management Plan should follow immediately after the budget and budget justification for the research proposal.
All other aspects of this FOA remain unchanged.
Please direct all inquiries to:
Annette L. Rothermel, Ph. D.
Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Room 6617, MSC-6601
6610 Rockledge Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-6601
Telephone: (301) 496-7104
FAX: (301) 480-1450
Email: [email protected]
and Human Services (HHS)
