NOT-RR-10-001: NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements to Support Core Consolidation

NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements to Support Core Consolidation

Notice Number: NOT-RR-10-001

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.701, 93.702

Key Dates
Release Date: November 6, 2009
Receipt Date: January 13, 2010
(NIH administrative supplements use paper PHS398 application forms.)

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

Participating Institutes and Centers
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov)
National Cancer Institute (NCI) (http://www.cancer.gov)
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) (http://www.nccam.nih.gov)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) (http://www.niaid.nih.gov)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) (http://www.niams.nih.gov)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) (http://www.nidcr.nih.gov)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) (http://www.niddk.nih.gov)
National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) (http://www.nida.nih.gov)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (http://www.niehs.nih.gov)
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) (http://www.ninr.nih.gov)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (http://www.nimh.gov)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (http://www.ninds.nih.gov)

Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the opportunity for investigators and United States institutions/organizations with certain active NIH Research Grants that support core facilities to request administrative supplements for the purpose of consolidating multiple cores into a single, more efficient core. Support for these supplements will come from funds provided to NIH through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ( Recovery Act or ARRA ), Public Law 111-5. Consistent with the intent of the Recovery Act, the purpose of this program is to promote job creation and economic development along with accelerating the pace and achievement of scientific research.

Approximately $15 million of ARRA funds will be obligated by September 30, 2010 to support requests submitted in response to this notice. Support may be requested for up to 1 year for qualified grants (see eligibility section below). It is expected that this will be a one-time opportunity.

Background

The Recovery Act was signed into law on February 17, 2009 with the purpose of stimulating the American economy through job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, and other means. The Recovery Act provides NIH with up to $10.4 billion to be obligated over two years for a variety of biomedical research and research support activities. This administrative supplement opportunity is one part of the overall NIH Recovery Act investment strategy, as described at www.hhs.gov/recovery.

For purposes of this Notice, a core facility is defined as a centralized shared resource that provides access to instruments, technologies, services, as well as expert consultation to biomedical or behavioral investigators. This is a broad definition that covers instrument intensive facilities as well as facilities that offer advice concerning experimental design or data interpretation.
The National Center for Research Resources and the Office of Extramural Research co-sponsored a meeting on Core Facilities in July, 2009 (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/news_&_events/#past_events ). Attendees included core facility managers, institutional officials responsible for core facilities, and representatives from interested professional organizations. A common point of discussion at the meeting was the difficulty in consolidating multiple similar core facilities at the same institution or in the same geographic area. These cores may have been set up by different NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs) or by different departments at the institution. Increasingly, institutions are discovering that multiple similar cores can lead to high costs for the institution as well as decreased quality of services for the users relative to what could be achieved by a single core facility with high quality staff and resources.

The goal of this Notice is to allow institutions that have multiple cores to consolidate those facilities into a single, more efficient, core. This Notice would allow cores supported by multiple ICs at the same institution to consolidate if the ICs agree that this action is appropriate.

Examples of situations that are responsive to this Notice include:

Merging two biomedical/behavioral core facilities in different departments or on different campuses of the same institution to a single core. These cores could have been initiated by the institution or created as a result of NIH awards.
Moving equipment acquired by a single investigator and used by a small cadre of biomedical/behavioral researchers into a core facility where it would be accessible to a much larger group of investigators.
Consolidating cores in two different technologies (cell sorting and sequencing, for example) into a larger single facility. Such a move should allow cross training of staff in multiple techniques and would allow the cores to share centralized billing and scheduling infrastructure.
Merging core facilities at different institutions into a single facility that served the needs at both institutions.

This list is exemplary rather than exhaustive or prescriptive.

Eligibility and Limitations

Institutes and Centers at NIH support core facilities using different activity codes. Unless qualified below, all Program Project (P) and Cooperative Agreement (U) awards with a core facility funded by a participating IC are eligible to apply. Supplements can request no more than $500,000 in equipment. In addition, supplements can request no more than $500,000 for alteration and renovation. Supplements can also request no more than $200,000 (direct costs) for other costs such as personnel and supplies. A particular supplement can contain a request for equipment, renovations, and other costs although all supplements may not require all three categories of support. For questions concerning eligibility, contact the assigned Program Officer.

National Center for Research Resources: G12 awards are eligible to apply in addition to all P and U awards.

National Cancer Institute: Only NCI-designated Cancer Centers with a P30 Cancer Center Support Grant are eligible to apply for a supplement.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease: Only CFAR P30 awards are eligible to apply for a supplement.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Only P30 awards are eligible to apply for a supplement.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease: Only P30 and P60 awards are eligible to apply for a supplement. The budget limitations listed above apply to all supplement requests.

National Institute of Drug Abuse NIDA is particularly interested in consolidation that results in synergistic enhancement of existing research capabilities, while continuing current services.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Only Environmental Health Science Center Grants (P30) are eligible to apply. The budget and eligibility limitations above apply to all supplement requests.

To be eligible, the parent grant must be active and the core consolidation activities proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the current competitive segment. The proposed supplement MUST be within the general scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved within the parent grant. Projects currently in a no cost extension are not eligible to apply.

Only one administrative supplement will be permitted from an eligible award. NIH intends to issue only one administrative per consolidation. Costs for the ongoing core as well as the retiring core(s) should be submitted as part of a single administrative supplement. There are no limits to the number of administrative supplement requests that may be submitted by an institution or Project Director/Principal Investigator.

NIH encourages the participation of individuals from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research, individuals with disabilities and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Applications from foreign institutions are not permitted. Consistent with the goals of the Recovery Act to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery in the United States, applicant must be domestic (United States) institutions/organizations (i.e., located in the 50 states, territories and possessions of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or District of Columbia). In addition, domestic U.S. institutions planning to submit supplement requests that include foreign components should be aware that requested funding for any foreign components should not exceed 10% of the total requested direct costs or $25,000 per year (per subcontract/subaward or in aggregate for multiple subcontracts/subawards), whichever is less.

IMPORTANT: The funds requested by the NIH grantee in the supplement application must be within the general scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved within the parent grant. A request to support new research objectives and aims that are outside of the scope of the approved parent grant are not appropriate under an administrative supplement.

Use of Funds

Administrative supplements may request support to facilitate the consolidation of core facilities. Examples of allowable expenses include:

Personnel needed to plan and implement core consolidation. Examples of implementation activities include merging billing, purchasing, tracking, and scheduling systems. Salary support for such personnel can be requested for no more than one year.
Equipment purchases (under $500,000) to facilitate operations in the consolidated core facility.
Minor alteration and renovation (under $500,000) to reconfigure space in the core facility.

Funds may not be used to support personnel providing services to users of the core facility.

Consolidated or expanded core facilities must be made widely available although the facility must operate within the scope of the parent grant. Awardees will agree to share best practices for core consolidation with the research community. Such sharing may involve participation in a national meeting or publication of a summary of the consolidation process on their web site.

Preparing an Administrative Supplement Request

Requests under this notice should use the PHS 398 forms (rev. 11/2007; available at: http://grants1.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 instructions.

1) Cover Letter - Citing this Notice (NOT-RR-10-001), specify a request for a Recovery Act Administrative Supplement, 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 authorized institutional official, and
Phone, email, and address information for both the PD/PI and the institutional official.

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

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, Notice of Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements ) should be cited in Box 2, and the yes box should be checked.
The Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) must be the same as the PD/PI on the parent award. For Multiple PD/PI parent awards, the Contact PD/PI must be the PD/PI listed on the supplement request. Administrative supplements cannot change the Multiple PD/PI team or convert a grant from a single PD/PI to a multiple PD/PI grant.
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. All other information requested on Form Page 2 should be provided.

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). Summarize the activities that were included in the parent grant that encompass those proposed in the supplemental request. Include a description of the supplement's purpose including the anticipated steps involved in consolidation of the cores, a justification for requested alteration and renovation of space, and a justification for requested equipment. Describe the way that the consolidated core will serve biomedical/behavioral researchers. This description should estimate whether a larger or different group of investigators will use the consolidated core. If the affected core facilities are currently supported by different NIH ICs, a letter/e-mail from the Program Officer of each award should be included indicating approval of the plans to change the existing core.
b) The research project plan should discuss the business plan for the consolidated core facility (not to exceed one page). This plan should address plans to publicize the existence of the consolidated facility, the sources of funds to operate and staff the consolidated facility, and how current users of existing facilities will access the consolidated core facility.

c) The research project plan should discuss how the supplement will accelerate the tempo of scientific research and/or allow for job creation and retention and/or use green/sustainable technologies and design approaches (not to exceed one page). In order to ensure that all expenditures in support of an administrative supplement advance the objectives of the Recovery Act, all applications must address Recovery Act justifications, including how the supplement is expected to stimulate the economy by creating or maintaining jobs in the merged core facility and/or how green/sustainable technologies and design approaches will be used in the merged core facility.

d) Budget for the supplement with a justification that details the items requested, including Facilities and Administrative costs and a justification for all personnel and their role(s) in this project. Note the budget should be appropriate for the work proposed in the supplement request. Applicants are encouraged to discuss budgets with their NIH Program Officer. To meet the various transparency, accountability, and reporting requirements of Recovery Act, all applications under this notice must include detailed budgets on the PHS 398 Form Pages 4 (MS Word PDF) and 5 (MS Word PDF). Modular budget pages will not be accepted even when the parent grant was funded as a modular grant. See Budget and Funding Information below for additional information.

e) Biographical Sketch for all new Senior/Key Personnel. There is no need to repeat information previously provided for other Senior/Key Personnel. MS Word PDF

f) Human Subjects/Vertebrate Animal Documentation. No significant changes in the approved use of human subjects or vertebrate animals will be considered for administrative supplements.

g) PHS 398 Checklist Form MS Word PDF

Review and Selection Factors

Administrative supplement requests will first be reviewed administratively by NIH Program and Grants Management staff with expertise relevant to the supplement request. This evaluation will consider the merit of the supplement request and its applicability to the goals of the Recovery Act. The recommendation of awards for the program will be determined by a trans-NIH group with representation from each IC participating in this Notice. The final evaluation by this group will include the merit of the supplement request, its applicability to the goals of the Recovery Act, and the availability of funds.
Selection factors will include the following:

Relevance to the goals of creating fewer higher quality core facilities that will serve a wider range of biomedical/behavioral researchers.
Relevance of the proposed activities to the parent grant and determination that the proposed activities are within the existing peer-reviewed and approved scope of the project.
Adequate progress of the parent grant appropriate to the current stage of the project.
Appropriate and well-described plan to accomplish the goals of the supplement within the timeframe proposed.
Appropriateness of the request to achieve Recovery Act goals in promoting job creation, economic development, and accelerating the pace and achievement of scientific research.

While geographic variation may be considered in awarding Recovery Act funding, a proposal’s scientific merit will always be the prevailing criterion.

Budget and Funding Information

Funding for administrative supplements to existing grants will be available from Recovery Act funds in FY2010, Therefore, supplements selected for funding will be limited to one year for the budget and project period.

In addition, domestic U.S. institutions planning to submit supplement requests that include foreign components should be aware that requested funding for any foreign components should not exceed 10% of the total requested direct costs or $25,000 per year (per subcontract/subaward or in aggregate for multiple subcontracts/subawards), whichever is less.

How to Apply

To be considered for an administrative supplement, submit a request in writing to the Institute/Center, not to the Division of Receipt and Referral, NIH Center for Scientific Review. Applications must be signed by the authorized institutional official and submitted to the appropriate IC Grants Management Specialist (referenced in the Notice of Award). (NIAID would prefer that the supplement request go directly to the assigned Program Officer rather than the Grants Management Specialist). For all ICs except NIAID, providing the Program Officer for the award a copy of the supplement is encouraged, but not required. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications electronically as an e-mail attachment in PDF format; however the signature of the institutional official must be clearly visible. Applicants may also submit applications in paper format to the appropriate IC Grants Management contact.

The e-mail address for the Grants Management Specialist and the Program Officer can be found in the Notice of Award. Full address information for those individuals is available at http://ned.nih.gov.

Applications must be received no later than January 13, 2010.

Timeline

January 13, 2010 Receipt date
February 2010 Administrative review of supplements completed in each participating IC
March 2010 Trans-NIH committee composed of a representative of each participating IC meets and recommends supplements for funding
May 2010 Supplements go to appropriate Advisory Councils (if appropriate)
June 2010 Earliest date for Notices of Grant Award to be released

Terms of Award

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the grantee organization. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email notification from the awarding component to the grantee business official.

The terms of the NoA will reference the requirements of the Recovery Act.

In addition to the standard NIH terms of award, all funding provided under the Recovery Act will be subject to the HHS Standard Terms and Conditions for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA). The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found in the following document: Standard Terms and Conditions for ARRA Awards.

Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

A Program Official will be assigned to each funded application and will assume responsibility for normal stewardship of the awards.

All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities.

In addition, recipients of Recovery Act funds are reminded that such funds must be separately tracked and monitored independently of any non-Recovery Act funding.

Reporting

Grantees must comply with the requirements set forth in the Recovery Act, including, but not limited to, the quarterly reporting requirements of Section 1512 of the Recovery Act as specified in HHS Standard Terms and Conditions for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found at the following document: Standard Terms and Conditions for AARA Awards.

Recovery Act-related reporting requirements will be incorporated as a special term of award.

Inquiries

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

For scientific or technical questions relating to research that would be supported by this solicitation, contact the Program Administrator assigned to the parent grant. For administrative questions related to this solicitation, contact the Grants Management Specialist noted on the Notice of Award for the parent grant.

Questions about the overall program should be addressed to any of the following contacts:

Dr. Gregory Farber
Office of Extramural Activities
National Center for Research Resources
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 904
Bethesda, MD 20892-4874
Telephone: (301) 435-0778
FAX: (301) 480-3658
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Jaswant S. Bhorjee
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Boulevard, Room 700
Rockville, MD 20892-8335
Telephone: (301) 435-9035
FAX: (301) 402-0181
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Barbara C. Sorkin
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Room 401
Bethesda, MD 20892-5475
Telephone: (301) 594-8018
FAX: (301) 480-3621
Email: [email protected]

Ms. Ann N. Lee
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)
6700 B Rockledge Drive, Room 4211
Bethesda, MD 20892-7626
Telephone: (301) 496-9176
FAX (301) 402-3211
Email: [email protected]

Mrs. Justine F. Buschman
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 877
Bethesda, MD 20892-2350
Telephone: (301) 496-4811
FAX: (301) 480-1284
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Alicia Dombroski
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 660
Bethesda, MD 20892-4874
Telephone: (301) 594-4805
Email: [email protected]

Dr. James Hyde
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Room 789
Bethesda, MD 20892-5460
Telephone: (301) 594-7692
FAX: (301) 480-0475
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Christine Colvis
National Institute of Drug Abuse
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5261
Rockville, MD 20892-9581
Telephone: (301) 443-6480
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Leslie Reinlib
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Division of Extramural Research and Training
530 Davis Drive, Room 3072
Research Triangle Park, NC 27713
Telephone: 919-541-4998
FAX: 919-316-4606
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Jeanette Hosseini
National Institute of Nursing Research
6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 718
Bethesda, MD 20892-4870
Telephone: (301) 594-5972
FAX: (301) 480-8260
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Roger Little
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8211
Rockville, MD 20892-9667
Telephone: (301) 402-5844
FAX: (301) 443-1328
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Thomas Miller
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2139
Rockville, MD 20892-9527
Telephone: (301) 496-1779
FAX: (301) 402-1501
Email: [email protected]