Notice Number: NOT-ES-19-007

Key Dates
Release Date : February 13, 2019

PA-18-591
RFA ES-18-003

Issued by
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ( NIEHS )

Purpose

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences announces the availability of funds for Administrative Supplements to active P30 Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHSCC) to enhance interactions across Centers to address emerging issues and to advance research, translational research, and community engagement. These funds are intended to support multi-center collaborative projects that fit within one of the following five categories: 1) Research: emerging issues and can include community-engaged research projects; 2) Technology: testing or developing new tools and technologies to meet identified needs; 3) Communication and Education: strengthening bi-directional efforts among EHSCCs and the audience(s) they serve; 4) Capacity Building: sharing best practices and advancing research, translational research and community engagement by addressing knowledge gaps through the development of a product such as a publication, white paper, set of recommendations, or a set of educational materials; and 5) Externships for junior faculty: providing translational/transdisciplinary opportunities and experiences within other EHSCC programs such as learning a new research technique or developing skills in community engagement.

Budget

Application budgets are limited to: 1) $100,000 direct costs per collaborative project; 2) $110,000 direct costs if the collaborative project includes an externship for a junior investigator; or 3) $10,000 direct costs if the application is only proposing an externship for a junior faculty. The budgets must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The project and budget periods must be within the currently approved project period for the existing parent award.

For multi-site collaborations each Center must submit its own application. Each Center must submit the same abstract and aims, as well as describe the research activities specific to their efforts on the collaborative project and the corresponding budget with justification. In addition, the cover letter should include the names of the other collaborating EHS CCs, and identify the lead EHS CC responsible for ensuring the aims are met.

Allowable costs for externship supplements include:

• Support for up to three (3) months consisting of supplies, travel, and housing costs for the duration of the externship (amount not to exceed $10,000 direct costs). NOTE: Laptops and computers cannot be purchased with supplement money.
• Travel funds to attend the EHSCC Annual Meeting where the recipient is invited to present their research (either lecture or poster). These costs should be included in the application budget.

Eligibility

Applicants must have an active NIEHS-funded P30 Environmental Health Sciences Core Center grant.

An EHSCC may submit up to three applications where they are identified as the lead Center.

• One application may be submitted as lead EHSCC in the "Scientific" area;
• One application may be submitted as lead EHSCC in the Community Engagement Core "CEC" area; and
• One application may be submitted as lead EHSCC in the Externship area

There is no limit to the number of applications an EHSCC may submit in which it is not the lead.

Applicants are encouraged to contact Scientific/Research Staff to discuss their projects prior to submission, especially if their current EHSCC award is in a No Cost Extension.

Application Instructions

Applications must be submitted to PA-18-591 "Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)" by March 29, 2019.Administrative supplement requests for multi-project activity codes must be submitted using the paper submission process. Applications must be emailed to [email protected] with a cc to the assigned Grants Management Specialist and Program Staff of the parent grant.

Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research grant application forms and instructions for preparing a research grant application, with the additional guidance provided below. In addition, all page limitations applicable to the parent award as described in the Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed, unless indicated differently below.

For Collaborative Research Project Supplements

• Checklist:
  Select "Revision" in the "Type of Application" field.
• Face Page (Form Page 1):
  On the face page of the application form, note that your application is in response to PA-18-591 and enter the title and number.
• Research Strategy (6 pages):
  At a minimum, the Research Strategy section should be completed and must include:
1. A summary or abstract for each funded parent award or project. (1 page)
2. A single research proposal (4 pages) that includes:
• Specific aims or a statement of the equipment needed and its use
• Brief background
• Research strategy
• Description of the benefit to the individual project, program area, and/or the EHSCC as a whole.
3. A Project Management plan (1 page) defining:
• Roles/areas of responsibility of the participants
• Process for decision making, if necessary
• Data sharing and communication plans among investigators
• Project/Performance Sites section (Form Page 2):
  Include the primary site where the proposed supplement activities will be performed. If a portion of the proposed supplement activities will be performed at any other site(s), identify the locations in the fields provided.
• Senior/Key Personnel section (Form Page 2):
  List the PD/PI as the first person (regardless of their role on the supplement activities). List any other Senior/Key Personnel who are being added through this supplement, or for whom additional funds are being requested through this supplement; include a biographical sketch for each.
• Budget for Entire Proposed Project Period (Form Page 5):
  A proposed budget should be submitted using the PHS 398 budget forms and should only include funds requested for the proposed supplement activities.
• Detailed budget page and budget justification (Form page 4)
• Other Approvals. If applicable, attach documentation in the Appendix section indicating that the proposed research experience was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or human subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the grantee institution. Adherence to the NIH policy for including women and minorities in clinical studies must also be ensured, if additional human subjects' involvement is planned for the supplement component.

For Externship Supplements

All Externship supplement applications must contain the following. Applicants combining an Externship with a Research or CEC proposal, must integrate the following information into the Research/CEC proposal and may add Project Description page limits to the Research Strategy page limit.

• PHS 398 Face page (a separate face page is not needed if you are combining an Externship with a Research or CEC proposal).
• A detailed budget (using form page 4 from PHS 398) and budget justification. The justification should contain details of supplies, travel, housing costs, travel to the annual meeting, etc.
• A one-page biographical sketch for the junior faculty.
• Project description that includes:
  • A summary of the applicant's current research, the proposed externship project, the project’s objectives, how the proposed project will enhance the applicant's current research, and a clear description of how the translational/transdisciplinary opportunity is within the scope of the parent grant (limited to half a page).
  • A plan and timeline for the externship (limited to 2 pages).
  • The description of how this supplement will enhance their skills and knowledge and their professional goals (limited to 1 page).
• Letters of Support:
  Signed statements from the Principal Investigators from the parent institution and from the hosting institution where the project is to be conducted, establishing the eligibility of the candidate for support by this supplement. These statements should indicate:
  • Likelihood of a productive externship.
  • The applicant's ability to perform the proposed externship - in particular, how the externship relates to and will further the junior faculty’s professional goals.

Review Criteria

Administrative Supplements do not receive peer review. Instead, the administrative criteria described below will be considered in the administrative evaluation process.

NIEHS program staff will evaluate the supplement proposals to determine overall merit. In addition to the standard Administrative Supplement criteria, the following criteria will be used for this opportunity:

Overall Impact

For all applications received, NIEHS staff will consider the ability of the proposed supplement activities to increase or preserve the parent award's overall impact within the original scope of award:

• Will the administrative supplement increase or preserve the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved?
• Are the aims appropriate for the goals of the supplement program?
• Will the administrative supplement promote collaboration among EHSCC members to address an emerging issue?
• Will the administrative supplement accelerate or advance on-going efforts in research, community engagement, or research translation?
• Will the administrative supplement build connections with new areas of research or scientific disciplines?

Externship Criteria

In addition to the Overall Impact, Externships will be reviewed on the following criteria:

• Evidence that the proposed translational/transdisciplinary opportunity will enhance the junior researcher's current research/activities and will benefit his/her professional development.
• Evidence that the proposed experience will enhance the knowledge and skills of the junior researcher.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Claudia Thompson, Ph.D.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Telephone: 984-287-3330
Email: [email protected]