Key Dates

Related Announcements

• October 9, 2020 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional). See NOFO PA-20-272.

Issued by

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Purpose

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to outline priorities for providing supplemental funding to investigators and institutions with active National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awards that experienced significant setbacks as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which were unable to be resolved with non-monetary options (e.g., modification to the project or re-budgeting to accomplish aims).

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation efforts significantly impacted the U.S. and other countries worldwide. As a result, the NIMH recognizes that investigators may be experiencing significant delays and disruptions to their research and training programs.

This NOSI is to inform the research community that the NIMH is extending support for Administrative Supplements to cover unanticipated costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or mitigation-related efforts that could not be covered by rebudgeting existing funds. All requests must be within scope of the awarded specific aims of the parent award.

Due to limited resources the NIMH will not fund all requests. Investigators should exhaust other means of overcoming pandemic-related setbacks and should only request NIMH supplemental funding in cases of significant need.  Requests for support during the first year of the parent award (new or competing renewals) will not be considered responsive to this NOSI. Likewise, COVID-related research requests (i.e. to add research questions on the SARS-CoV2 virus or broader impacts of the pandemic on mental health) will not be considered under this NOSI and should be directed to NOT-MH-22-100).

NIMH will prioritize requests based on the Institute priorities listed below. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Program Officer of the parent award before submitting a supplement application.

Institute Priorities

In concert with the NIH priorities, the NIMH aims to prioritize supplement requests in the following order:

• Projects where the entire investment is at-risk including
  • Human Subject studies in which completion of enrollment and follow-up are critical for project success
  • Longitudinal cohort studies
• Projects where substantial components of the investment are at risk
• Resources that support multiple projects/institutions
• Early early-stage investigators and at-risk investigators

Other requests may be considered but will be regarded as a lower priority. Investigators planning to submit supplement applications are strongly encouraged to discuss the proposed project with the relevant NIMH scientific/programmatic contacts before applying to determine eligibility and alignment with the NIMH priorities listed above.

PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional) is intended to provide funds for NIH grantees where the work proposed in the supplement is fully within the scope of the ongoing grant.

Application and Submission Information

NIMH accepts and reviews administrative supplement applications on a continuous basis until April 1 of each fiscal year (FY).  Administrative supplement applications received after the April 1 submission date will not be considered for funding until the next fiscal year. Earlier submission in the fiscal year is strongly encouraged. Investigators should not apply for a supplement with significant unobligated balance and should apply at the point in the study when it is clear that additional funds are required.

To be eligible, the parent award must be active (not in a no-cost extension) and the research proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the competitive segment. The proposed project period cannot extend beyond the parent award. NIMH recommends applicants submit as early as possible.

Submit applications for this initiative using the following Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) or any reissue of this announcement through the expiration date of this notice.

• PA-20-272 Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-MH-23-240" (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative
• The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages
• The supplement application should address (where relevant):
  • Status of vertebrate animal research – availability of research organisms, description of housing facility, status of that facility, timeline for facility re-opening (if applicable), status of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval of facility and research protocol
  • Status of human subjects research – availability of subject population, feasibility of achieving recruitment goals, status of IRB approval of the project, and changes implemented to address the impact of COVID-19 on human subject protection plans
  • Personnel – list of key personnel on project, justification for changes in key personnel from previous grant period, status/availability of key personnel
  • Research progress – progress on the originally approved research
  • Resources and Environment – list any changes from the original application and discuss the impact on proposed research
  • Milestones – include specific milestones that could be used for judging progress.
  • A current estimate of the unobligated balance for the project
• For early-stage investigators and at-risk investigators requests, the application should also address:
  • Evidence that time away from the lab due to COVID mitigation efforts has significantly impacted progress as described in the approved aims of the awarded project
  • The feasibility of the proposed research, training and career development given the current/foreseeable limitations on research/training activities
  • The institutional commitment to support the continuity of the individual’s research and training
• Budget: Supplement budget requests should reflect the actual needs to complete the awarded project.
• To be eligible, the parent award must be active (not in a no-cost extension) and the research proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the competitive segment.  The proposed project period cannot extend beyond the parent award. NIMH recommends applicants submit as early as possible.
• Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through April 1, 2026, 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization for consideration within that funding year. Applications received after April 1^st in any fiscal year will be considered for funding in the next fiscal year

Evaluation Process

• Administrative supplement applications will be evaluated by internal programmatic and administrative staff on the status of the research, progress toward the specific aims of the grant, demonstrated need for the supplement, and the program priorities listed above.
• Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered high priority for the NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

Applicants should direct their inquiries to the program officer of the parent award.