Notice Number: NOT-TR-15-017
Key Dates
Release Date: July 31, 2015
Related Announcements
PAR-15-304
Issued by
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Purpose
This Notice serves to amend missing information and clarify language in PAR-15-304 "Clinical and Translational Science Award (U54)"
The Budget instructions for the Administrative Core are modified to include instructions that were erroneously omitted.
Part 2. Section IV.2. Instructions for the Submission of Multi-Component Applications
B. Administrative Core
Current language:
Budget (Administrative Core)
Budget forms appropriate for the specific component will be included in the application package.
CTSA applications submitted in response to this FOA shall consist of a single applicant institution, plus the possibility of one or more participating partner institutions that are effectively integrated into the proposed activities. The maximum total amount that can be requested per year for the U and K awards is 2.5% of the total institutional NIH direct cost (DC) funding for the year prior to the application and is listed at https://ncats.nih.gov/files/nih-funding-plan.xlsx.
Applicants should summarize in the first paragraph of the budget justification how they determined the maximum amount they could request by providing: 1) the name of the applicant institution; 2) the name of partner institution(s), if any; 3) the NIH DC funding amounts for each of these institutions from the FY14 NIH Funding table; 4) the total NIH DC funding amounts for applicant and partner institutions; and 5) multiply by 2.5%. If the result is less than $3 million in direct costs, you may request $3 million in direct costs; requests for more than $7.5 million in direct costs are not allowed. In addition, existing CTSA units should note the three and four year phase-in plans described in the following paragraph.
The administrative core budget should cover travel expenses for appropriate personnel (up to five people) to attend an annual in-person CTSA investigator meeting. If additional staff are identified to attend, additional justification is required as part of the Budget Justification. The expectation is that administrative operations be streamlined so that the direct cost for administration does not exceed 10% of the total UL1 direct costs. (The UL1 includes the following components: Overall, Admin Core, CTR Cores B-H.) Staff salaries and travel for the optional NRSA Training Core may be included here.
Note: The R&R Budget form included in many of the component types allows for up to 100 Senior/Key Persons in section A and 100 Equipment Items in section C prior to using attachments for additional entries. All other SF424 (R&R) instructions apply.
New language:
Budget (Administrative Core)
Budget forms appropriate for the specific component will be included in the application package.
CTSA applications submitted in response to this FOA shall consist of a single applicant institution, plus the possibility of one or more participating partner institutions that are effectively integrated into the proposed activities. The maximum amount that can be requested per year for the sum of the U and K awards is 2.5% of the total institutional NIH direct cost (DC) funding for the year prior to the application and is listed at https://ncats.nih.gov/files/nih-funding-plan.xlsx.
Applicants should summarize in the first paragraph of the budget justification how they determined the maximum amount they could request by providing: 1) the name of the applicant institution; 2) the name of partner institution(s), if any; 3) the NIH DC funding amounts for each of these institutions from the FY14 NIH Funding table; 4) the total NIH DC funding amounts for applicant and partner institutions; and 5) multiply by 2.5%. If the result is less than $3 million in direct costs, you may request $3 million in direct costs; requests for more than $7.5 million in direct costs are not allowed. In addition, existing CTSA units should note the three and four year phase-in plans described in the following paragraph.
If the applicant institution is currently funded by the CTSA program at a higher level (i.e., >30% total cost of the current FY U and K awards excluding supplement and carryover actions), then the amount requested may be phased in over 3 years if needed to meet the award budget expectations described in this FOA by the beginning of year 4. It is expected that at least 25% of the reduction is proposed for year 1 funding, 50% for year 2, and 75% for year 3. For applicants currently receiving over $20M total cost in CTSA hub funding, the amount requested may be phased in over 4 years if needed to meet the budget expectations described in this FOA by the beginning of year 5. It is expected that at least 20% of the reduction will occur in year 1, 40% in year 2, 60% in year 3 and 80% in year 4. A well justified plan that takes into account any changes in partners will be considered when NCATS funds the awards.
The administrative core budget should cover travel expenses for appropriate personnel (up to five people) to attend an annual in-person CTSA investigator meeting. If additional staff are identified to attend, additional justification is required as part of the Budget Justification. The expectation is that administrative operations be streamlined so that the direct cost for administration does not exceed 10% of the total UL1 direct costs. (The UL1 includes the following components: Overall, Admin Core, CTR Cores B-H.) Staff salaries and travel for the optional NRSA Training Core may be included here.
Note: The R&R Budget form included in many of the component types allows for up to 100 Senior/Key Persons in section A and 100 Equipment Items in section C prior to using attachments for additional entries. All other SF424 (R&R) instructions apply.
The following section of the FOA is revised accordingly to clarify allowable research support categories and mentor support.
Part 2. Section IV.2. Instructions for the Submission of Multi-Component Applications
I. Institutional Career Development Core
Current Language:
Budget (Institutional Career Development Core)
Other Direct Costs: The K budget may include funds to support K scholar research projects and career development activities. Applicants may request from $25,000 to $50,000 per project per year to cover the following expenses: (a) tuition and fees related to career development; (b) up to $10,000 annually in research expenses such as supplies, equipment and technical personnel, to supplement those provided by the mentor; (c) up to $2,500 for scholar travel to scientific meetings and research training workshops; and (d) statistical services.
Mentor support may include up to $10,000 per year associated laboratory or other research-related expenses. Salary support for mentors excluding laboratory- or research-related expenses is not an allowable budget item.
Modified language:
Budget (Institutional Career Development Core)
Other Direct Costs: The K budget may include funds to support K scholar research projects and career development activities. Applicants may request from $25,000 to $50,000 per year to cover the following expenses: (a) tuition and fees related to career development; (b) research expenses such as supplies, equipment and technical personnel to supplement those provided by the mentor; (c) up to $2,500 for scholar travel to scientific meetings and research training workshops; and (d) statistical services.
In addition, mentor support may include up to $10,000 per year associated laboratory or other research-related expenses. Salary support for mentors excluding laboratory- or research-related expenses is not an allowable budget item.
All other aspects of this FOA remain the same.
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
Petra Kaufmann, M.D., M.Sc.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Telephone: 301-435-0178
Email: [email protected]
and Human Services (HHS)
