November 30, 2021
PAR-21-339 - Limited Competition: NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Research Education Grants Program (R25 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
This Notice informs potential applicants of changes to Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) PAR-21-339, "Limited Competition: NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Research Education Grants Program (R25 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)".
Effective immediately,the following sections of PAR-21-339 are modified to reflect changes in participant eligibility, participant costs in terms of reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities, and where the Coordination and Interaction Plan attachment should be included in applications.
Currently Reads:
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
The overarching goal of this R25 program is to provide support to recipients of Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) for research experiencess that complete and/or enhance the training of a workforce to mee the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. To accomplish this over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on:
- Research Experiences:
- Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translational on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process. Examples of research experiences appropriate for career level include, but are not limited to:
- Undergraduates: to provide hands-on exposure to research that reinforces their interest in clinical and translational science and/or prepare them for graduate school matriculation and/or careers in clinical and translational science for graduate and medical, dental, nursing and other health professional students.
- Postdoctoral Fellows and Medical Residents: to extend their skills, experiences, and knowledge base in order to engage in clinical and translational science research activities.
- Junior Faculty: to enhance their research skills, experiences, and knowledge base relative to clinical and translational science by working with faculty members at a partnering institution.
- Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translational on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process. Examples of research experiences appropriate for career level include, but are not limited to:
Modified to Read (changes shown in bold italics):
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
The overarching goal of this R25 program is to provide support to recipients of Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) for research experiences that complete and/or enhance the training of a workforce to mee the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. To accomplish this over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on:
- Research Experiences:
- Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translational on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process. Examples of research experiences appropriate for career level include, but are not limited to:
- Undergraduates (including those at community colleges): to provide hands-on exposure to research that reinforces their interest in clinical and translational science and/or prepare them for graduate school matriculation and/or careers in clinical and translational science for graduate and medical, dental, nursing and other health professional students.
- Graduate Research and Clinical Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Medical Residents: to extend their skills, experiences, and knowledge base in order to engage in clinical and translational science research activities.
- Junior Faculty: to enhance their research skills, experiences, and knowledge base relative to clinical and translational science by working with faculty members at a partnering institution.
- Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translational on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process. Examples of research experiences appropriate for career level include, but are not limited to:
Currently Reads:
Section II. Award Information
Participant Costs
Participants are those individuals who receive the hands-on research experiences offered through the R25 program. Participant costs must be itemized in the Participant/Trainee Support Costs section of the requested budget and sufficient justification must be provided. Participant costs are restricted and cannot be re-budgeted. Allowable participant costs include:
- Round-trip travel to and from the R25 research experience site for non-local participants.
- Up to $1,000 per participant is allowed for research education-related expenses that occur during the period of research experience participation, such as lab supplies, poster production costs, books, non-local travel to a conference to present interim findings from the research project, etc.
- Salary and fringe benefits. The salary and fringe benefits must reflect an employee-employer relationship between the participant and the institution and are to be consistent with the institutional salary policies for employees in similar positions. Salary plus fringe benefits can be included only when such benefits are provided to other employees in similar positions.
- A housing allowance can be requested by the program each year. The average cost for the housing allowance may not exceed $1,000 per participant.
Unallowable participant costs include:
- Stipends
- Daily meals and local transportation costs based on institutional policy
- Gifts, such as hats, t-shirts, key rings, tote bags, refreshments, etc.
- Social functions that include food and beverages without an associated R25 program educational activity.
- Incentive payments to participants for the completion of R25-required activities, surveys, or other program components
- Dues to professional organizations, outside of registration to attend and present research at a professional meeting Individuals supported by NIH training and career development mechanisms (K, T, or F awards) may receive, and indeed are encouraged to receive, educational experiences supported by an R25 program, as participants, but may not receive salary or stipend supplementation from a research education program.
Because the R25 program is not intended as a substitute for an NRSA institutional training program (e.g., T32), costs to support full-time participants (supported for 40 hours/week for a continuous, 12-month period) are not allowable.
Modified to Read (changes shown in bold italics):
Section II. Award Information
Participant Costs
Participants are those individuals who receive the hands-on research experiences offered through the R25 program. Participant costs must be itemized in the Participant/Trainee Support Costs section of the requested budget and sufficient justification must be provided. Participant costs are restricted and cannot be re-budgeted. Allowable participant costs include:
- Round-trip travel to and from the R25 research experience site for non-local participants.
- Up to $1,000 per participant is allowed for research education-related expenses that occur during the period of research experience participation, such as lab supplies, poster production costs, books, non-local travel to a conference to present interim findings from the research project, etc.
- Salary and fringe benefits. The salary and fringe benefits must reflect an employee-employer relationship between the participant and the institution and are to be consistent with the institutional salary policies for employees in similar positions. Salary plus fringe benefits can be included only when such benefits are provided to other employees in similar positions.
- A housing allowance can be requested by the program each year. The average cost for the housing allowance may not exceed $1,000 per participant.
Unallowable participant costs include:
- Stipends
- Daily meals and local transportation costs based on institutional policy
- Gifts, such as hats, t-shirts, key rings, tote bags, refreshments, etc.
- Social functions that include food and beverages without an associated R25 program educational activity.
- Incentive payments to participants for the completion of R25-required activities, surveys, or other program components.
- Dues to professional organizations, outside of registration to attend and present research at a professional meeting.
- Individuals supported by NIH training and career development mechanisms (K, T, or F awards) may receive, and indeed are encouraged to participate in educational experiences supported by an R25 program, but may not receive salary or stipend supplementation from an R25 program.
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The appointment of participants to this R25 cannot overlap with an appointment on another NRSA/PHS supported program including but not limited to NIH Career Development Awards (K), NRSA Training Grants (T32, T35) or NRSA Fellowship Grants (F30, F31, F32, F99).
Reasonable Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities:
As part of this award, funds may be requested to make changes or adjustments in the research setting that will make it possible for an otherwise an otherwise qualified individual with a disability to participate in the program. The accommodations requested under this program must be directly related to the performance of the proposed role on the research project and must be appropriate to the disabilities of the individual. Some types of accommodations that might be provided include specialized equipment, assistive devices and personnel such as readers, interpreters, or assistants. In all cases, the total funds for accommodations must be reasonable and documentation of the disability should be included when a request for additional funds is made post-award. These additional funds are in excess of the expenses allowed under "Participation Costs" above.
Because the R25 program is not intended as a substitute for an NRSA institutional training program (e.g., T32), costs to support full-time participants (supported for 40 hours/week for a continuous, 12-month period) are not allowable.
Currently Reads:
Section III. Eligibility Information
3. Additional Information on Eligibility
Participants
Participants in R25 programs supported through this FOA may include undergraduates, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents, and junior faculty. Unless strongly justified on the basis of exceptional relevance to NIH, research education programs should be used primarily for the education of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Fostering diversity in the scientific research workforce is a key component of the NIH strategy to identify, develop, support and maintain the quality of our scientific human capital. The recruitment of students and junior faculty from diverse backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and women, is encouraged. See the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031 (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-031.html)) for examples of populations that NIH has identified as underrepresented in the U.S. biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences research enterprise.
Modified to Read (changes shown in bold italics):
Section III. Eligibility Information
3. Additional Information on Eligibility
Participants
Participants in R25 programs supported through this FOA may include undergraduates, graduate research and clinical students (i.e., medical students, dental students, nursing students), postdoctoral fellows, medical residents, and junior faculty. Unless strongly justified on the basis of exceptional relevance to NIH, research education programs should be used primarily for the education of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Fostering diversity in the scientific research workforce is a key component of the NIH strategy to identify, develop, support and maintain the quality of our scientific human capital. The recruitment of students and junior faculty from diverse backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and women, is encouraged. See Reminder: Notice of NIH's Encouragement of Applications Supporting Individuals from Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups as well as Individuals with Disabilities [NOT-OD-22-019] (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-019.html); see also the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity [NOT-OD-20-031 (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-031.html)] for examples of populations that NIH has identified as underrepresented in the U.S. biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences research enterprise.
Currently Reads:
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
SF424(R&R) Other Project Information Component
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide with the following additional modifications:
Facilities & Other Resources. Describe the educational environment, including the facilities, laboratories, participating departments, computer services, and any other resources to be used in the development and implementation of the proposed program. List all thematically related sources of support for research training and education following the format for Current and Pending Support.
Other Attachments.
An Advisory Committee is not a required component of a Research Education program. However, if an Advisory Committee is intended, provide a plan for the appointment of an Advisory Committee to monitor progress of the research education program. The composition, roles, responsibilities, and desired expertise of committee members, frequency of committee meetings, and other relevant information should be included. Describe how the Advisory Committee will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program. Proposed Advisory Committee members should be named in the application if they have been invited to participate at the time the application is submitted.
The filename provided for each “Other Attachment” will be the name used for the bookmark in the electronic application in eRA Commons.
Modified to Read (changes shown in bold italics):
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
SF424 (R&R) Other Project Information Component
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide with the following additional modifications:
- Facilities & Other Resources. Describe the educational environment, including the facilities, laboratories, participating departments, computer services, and any other resources to be used in the development and implementation of the proposed program. List all thematically related sources of support for research training and education following the format for Current and Pending Support.
Other Attachments.
Advisory Committee Plan (optional, 1-page maximum) An Advisory Committee is not a required component of a Research Education program. However, if an Advisory Committee is intended, provide a plan for the appointment of an Advisory Committee to monitor progress of the research education program. The composition, roles, responsibilities, and desired expertise of committee members, frequency of committee meetings, and other relevant information should be included. Describe how the Advisory Committee will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program. Proposed Advisory Committee members should be named in the application only if they have been invited to participate at the time the application is submitted.
Coordination and Interaction Plan (3-page maximum). The application must provide a specific plan describing the partnership between the UM1 and any optional components. The application must describe the overarching goals of each component and the coordination, integration, synergy, and mutual reinforcement of resources between the components. Include a description of the roles of any shared partners and/or collaborators. Please name the file “Coordination_Interaction_Plan.pdf”. If this attachment is not included, the application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.
The filename provided for each “Other Attachment” will be the name used for the bookmark in the electronic application in eRA Commons.
All other aspects of this FOA remain the same.
Jamie Doyle, Ph.D.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Telephone: 301-402-0403
Email: CTSATrainingFOAsQuestions@mail.nih.gov
and Human Services (HHS)
