Notice Number: NOT-EY-09-002

Key Dates
Release Date: February 10, 2009
Receipt Date: July 1, 2009

Issued by
National Eye Institute (NEI), (http://www.nei.nih.gov)

Purpose

The National Eye Institute (NEI) announces an administrative supplement program for Fiscal Year 2009 aimed at improving the infrastructure supporting ongoing NEI-funded research projects. The purpose of this program is to improve the research infrastructure by providing for the development and introduction of innovative technologies, for the improvement or replacement of existing equipment, or for the expansion of research capacity. Requests should be limited to the purchase of equipment, supplies, and/or salary support for technical personnel essential to the development of new facilities that are relevant to NEI-supported projects. Examples of requests that will be considered under this supplement program include, but are not limited to: upgrading or replacement of existing laboratory equipment, new equipment that will allow for the expansion of research capacity, or for the introduction of state-of-the-art technology. It is expected that the applicant institutions will participate in this infrastructure development and provide future-year support as needed.

Eligibility

The current announcement is for supplements to ongoing NEI-supported (R01 only) research projects. To be eligible, the parent grant must be active with at least two years remaining at the time of submission. The proposed supplement MUST be within the scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved within the parent grant.

Submitting an Administrative Supplement Request

Requests for an administrative supplement must be submitted in writing directly to NEI, not to the Division of Receipt and Referral, Center for Scientific Review. The request must be signed by the authorized Business Official and describe the need for the additional funding and the categorical costs.

Requests under this notice should use the PHS 398 forms (rev. 11/2007; available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html) and include the following elements in the request packet. Font size restrictions apply as designated within the PHS398 (rev. 4/2006) instructions.)

1) Cover Letter - Citing this Notice (NOT-EY-09-002), a request for an Administrative Supplement, and including the following information:

• Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) name
• Parent grant number and title
• Amount of the requested supplement
• Name and title of the institutional official, and
• Phone, email, and address information for both the PD/PI and institutional official.

The cover letter must be signed by the authorized organizational representative/institutional official.

2) PHS 398 Form Page 1 (Face page) MS Word PDF

• The title of the project (Box 1) should be the title of the parent award.
• This Notice (number and title)) should be cited in Box 2, and the yes box should be checked.
• The Principal Investigator (PI) must be the same as the PI on the parent award. For Multiple PI parent awards, the Contact PI must be the PI listed on the supplement request, and the supplement cannot change the Multiple PI team.
• The remaining items on the face page should be filled out in accordance with the PHS 398 application instructions.

3) PHS 398 Form page 2 MS Word PDF

Note: The project summary is that of the administrative supplement, not the parent grant.

4) A brief proposal describing the project, including:
a) Scope of the overall project and the anticipated contribution of the requested supplement (not to exceed five pages). Provide a brief description of the scope of the overall project on which the supplemental request is based. This section should include a description of how the supplement will be used to stimulate progress on the specific aims of the parent grant.

b) Budget for the supplement with a justification that details the items requested, including Facilities and Administrative costs. See Budget and Funding Information below.

c) Biographical Sketch for all new senior/key personnel (those who are additions on the supplemental project) MS Word PDF

d) Human Subjects/ Vertebrate Animal documentation (if applicable). Any differences in the involvement or use of human subjects or specimens, or use of vertebrate animals, between the administrative supplement activity and the parent grant should be noted. When appropriate, details should be provided on the protection of human subjects and inclusion of women, children, and minorities. Include a current Human Subjects/IRB or Vertebrate Animals/IACUC approval letter, if available. Otherwise, this will be required at the time of funding. All appropriate IRB and IACUC approvals must be in place prior to a supplement award being made.

Additional guidance on Human Subjects Research and Vertebrate Animals is provided under Part II of the PHS 398 instructions (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html).

e) PHS 398 Checklist Form MS Word PDF

Selection Factors

Administrative supplement requests will be reviewed administratively by NEI Program and Grants Management Staff. Selection factors will include the following:

• Program relevance
• Relevance of the proposed activities to the parent grant
• Adequate progress of the parent grant appropriate to the current stage of the project
• Appropriate and well-described plan to accomplish the goals within the timeframe proposed
• Expertise of the research team take advantage of the new infrastructure
• The availability of funds

Budget and Funding Information

Applicants may request a one-time supplement for the current budget year that may not exceed $500,000 direct costs. It is anticipated that supplemental funding will begin in the middle of calendar year 2009.

How to Apply

This is a one-time announcement. Applications must be received on or before July 1, 2009. Do not send applications to the NIH Center for Scientific Review. The request packet should be submitted as a single PDF file attachment in an email to the Program Contact listed below under Inquiries , and must include a clear signature of the authorized business official.

Inquiries

Inquiries and discussion of plans for responding to this Notice are strongly encouraged.

Program Contact:

Michael A. Steinmetz, Ph.D.
Program Director
Division of Extramural Research
National Eye Institute
Suite 1300 / MSC 9300
5635 Fishers Lane
Bethesda, MD 20892-9300
For courier delivery use: Rockville, MD 20852
Voice: 301-451-2020
Fax: 301-402-0528
Email: Michael.Steinmetz@nih.gov

Grants Management Contact:

William W. Darby
Chief
Grants Management Branch
National Eye Institute
Suite 1300 / MSC 9300
5635 Fishers Lane
Bethesda, MD 20892-9300
For courier delivery use: Rockville, MD 20852
Voice: 301-451-2020
Fax: 301-496-9997
Email: darbyw@mail.nih.gov