NOT-CA-09-023: Administrative Supplements to Study Economic Impact of Interventions Targeting Cancer Survivors and/or their Families

Administrative Supplements to Study Economic Impact of Interventions Targeting Cancer Survivors and/or their Families

Notice Number: NOT-CA-09-023

Key Dates
Release Date: April 30, 2009

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI), (http://www.cancer.gov/)

Purpose

The Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces the availability of administrative supplemental funds for support of NCI-funded behavioral and psychosocial intervention research being conducted among cancer survivors and their families. The intent of these administrative supplements is to promote research on the economic impacts of such interventions. Current NCI awardees of R01, P01, P50, U01, and U19 grants pertinent to behavioral and/or psychosocial intervention research may apply for administrative supplement funds provided that the following conditions are met:

The original cancer control grant or cooperative agreement award involves a psychosocial and/or behavioral intervention that is delivered to cancer survivors and/or their family members during or after cancer treatment and designed to improve post-treatment health or well-being;
Costs for the proposed economic or health services outcome component cannot have been included in the original award;
The original award must have a minimum of 1 year remaining on the grant to be eligible for funding under this supplement (expiration date of October 1, 2010, or later);
The original award must be held by a Domestic (United States) institution (in other words, grant holders at Foreign institutions and organizations are not eligible to request supplemental funds under this opportunity); and
The Principal Investigator (PI) for the supplement must be the PI of the original award.
The proposed supplements MUST be within the general scope of the parent grants/cooperative agreements approved in the peer-review process.

IMPORTANT: The research proposed by the NIH awardee in the supplement application must be within the original scope of the parent project supported by NIH grant/cooperative agreement. The funding mechanism being used to support this program, i.e., administrative supplements, can be used to cover cost increases that are associated with achieving certain new research objectives as long as they are within the original scope of the project. Any cost increases need to result from making modifications to the project in order to take advantage of opportunities that would increase the value of the project consistent with its originally approved objectives and purposes.

Note: NIH/NCI contract holders are not eligible to request supplemental funding for their contracts in connection with this opportunity.

The purpose of these administrative supplements is to fund the addition of or inclusion in the original study design of information on the economic and/or health services impact(s) of the intervention being delivered. Interventions could target survivors, their family/caregivers, or both. Both prospective and retrospective research designs may be used in the supplement study. Specific outcomes of interest could include, but are not limited to:

Cost of administering the intervention (e.g., personnel effort, materials);
Cost-effectiveness analysis of interventions (e.g., studies that describethecost-effectiveness of an intervention using data on both costs andintervention outcomes that are "internal" to the original study);
Impact of the intervention on participants’ health care utilization;
Impact of the intervention on medical treatment adherence;
Out-of-pocket expenses associated with participation in the intervention;
Impact of intervention participation on survivors’ employment status and/or that of their primary caregivers; and
Changes in medication use associated with intervention status.

Projects proposed for supplemental funding should examine how information regarding the healthcare utilization and/or cost impact analysis would be used to inform survivors and/or their families about the economic impact of the intervention designed and implications for its use. Applicants should indicate how the availability and use of this information is expected to impact planning and/or policy decision-making at the level of health care providers and/or at other organizational levels (e.g., practice groups, clinics, and treatment centers).

Investigators applying for these supplements are strongly encouraged to establish appropriate collaborations with experts in economic analysis or health services research and/or researchers/practitioners who can provide unique expertise related to the impact of cost considerations in the implementation of standards for quality cancer care. It is also recommended that applicants requesting supplemental funding have a plan for how they would share information about their findings with the larger behavioral, psychosocial, and clinical communities in the context of cancer survivorship. The inclusion of a timeline that indicates how the tasks will be accomplished during the supplement year is further recommended.

The NCI intends to commit approximately $1,000,000 in FY 2009 to fund five to seven administrative supplements in response to this initiative. An applicant must request a project period of 1 year only. The budget for total costs is limited to $200,000 per request. Although the financial plans of the NCI provide support for this program, administrative supplement awards pursuant to this initiative are contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious requests.

Submission of Requests

This Notice is a one-time announcement, and formal requests must be received at the NCI (see address below) on or before June 15, 2009. Supplemental funding requests must be signed by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR). Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their administrative supplement requests electronically as an e-mail attachment in PDF format; however, the scanned request must include the signature of the AOR.

DO NOT attempt to submit these administrative supplement requests to the NIH via Grants.gov. Also, note that the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) IS NOT involved in receiving, processing, and/or reviewing these requests.

Electronic Submission:

If sending a request as a PDF file (a scan of the signed original), the e-mail address is:
[email protected]
Diana D. Jeffery, Ph.D., Program Director
Office of Cancer Survivorship
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute

Paper Submission:

Submit a signed original of the request and two signed, single-sided photocopies to:

Diana D. Jeffery, Ph.D., Program Director
Office of Cancer Survivorship
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 404, MSC 8336
Bethesda, MD 20892-8336 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPS delivery)
Telephone: 301-496-4687
Fax: 301-496-5070

Detailed submission instructions are provided in the Submission Guidelines (http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/eco_impact_instructions.html). Briefly, the request should contain sufficient detail (similar to a standard research application, but not to exceed 7 pages) to allow the NCI staff members to assess the scientific merit of the proposed survivorship-related studies in intervention research and the appropriateness of the request for supplemental funding. Budget requests must not exceed $200,000 in total costs for a funding period not exceeding 12 months. Requests will be evaluated by NCI program staff (and appropriate consultants) who have expertise in the cancer survivorship-related intervention research. Awards will be determined on the basis of scientific merit, program relevance, research potential, and availability of funds. The earliest anticipated award date for this program will be September 1, 2009.

Inquiries

Before submitting a request, each eligible grantee is encouraged to discuss their plans for supplemental research with the NCI Program Director (i.e., Program Official) who is responsible for the particular original R01, P01, P50, U01, or U19 award.

General inquiries concerning the programmatic priorities should be directed to:

Diana D. Jeffery, Ph.D.
Program Director, Office of Cancer Survivorship
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 404, MSC 8336
Bethesda, MD 20892-8336 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPSdelivery)
Telephone: 301-435-4540
Fax: 301-594-5070
E-mail: [email protected]

Martin L. Brown, Ph.D.
Chief, Health Services and Economics Branch
Applied Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
6130 Executive Boulevard, EPN Room 4000, MSC 7344
Bethesda, MD 20892-8336 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPS delivery)
Telephone: 301-496-5716
Fax: 301-435-3710
E-mail: [email protected]

Inquiries regarding administrative and fiscal matters should be directed to:

Crystal Wolfrey
Office of Grants Administration
National Cancer Institute
6120 Executive Boulevard, EPS Room 243, MSC 7150
Bethesda, MD 20892-7150 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPS delivery)
Telephone: 301-496-8634
E-mail: [email protected]