This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices.

EXPIRED

Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information
Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Eye Institute (NEI)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH formerly NCCAM)
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)

Funding Opportunity Title

NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13/U13)

Activity Code

R13/U13 Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings

Announcement Type

Reissue of PA-12-212

Related Notices
  • May 26, 2016 - This PA has been reissued as PA-16-294.
  • NOT-OD-16-004 - NIH & AHRQ Announce Upcoming Changes to Policies, Instructions and Forms for 2016 Grant Applications (November 18, 2015)
  • June 4, 2014 - Notice NOT-14-074 supersedes instructions in Section III.3 regarding applications that are essentially the same.
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number

PA-13-347

Companion Funding Opportunity

None

Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)

93.307; 93.233; 93.839; 93.838; 93.837; 93.865; 93.273; 93.879; 93.286; 93.859; 93.113; 93.173; 93.866; 93.350; 93.853; 93.351; 93.856; 93.855; 93.847; 93.121; 93.172; 93.846; 93.279; 93.867; 93.213; 93.399; 93.396; 93.395; 93.394; 93.393

Funding Opportunity Purpose

The purpose of the NIH Research Conference Grant (R13) and NIH Research Conference Cooperative Agreement (U13) Programs is to support high quality conferences that are relevant to the public health and to the scientific mission of the participating Institutes and Centers.

Key Dates
Posted Date

September 11, 2013

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

November 12, 2013

Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Application Due Date(s)

Standard dates apply, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Standard AIDS dates apply, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Scientific Merit Review

Standard dates apply

Advisory Council Review

Standard dates apply

Earliest Start Date

Standard dates apply

Expiration Date

New Date May 26, 2016 per issuance of PA-16-294. (Original Expiration Date: September 08, 2016)

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement


Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

The purpose of the NIH Research Conference Grant (R13) and NIH Research Conference Cooperative Agreement (U13) Programs is to support high quality scientific conferences that are relevant to the NIH's mission and to the public health. A conference is defined as a symposium, seminar, workshop, or any other organized and formal meeting, whether conducted face-to-face or via the internet, where individuals assemble (or meet virtually) to exchange information and views or explore or clarify a defined subject, problem, or area of knowledge, whether or not a published report results from such meeting. The NIH recognizes the value to members of the research community and all other interested parties in supporting such forums.

Support of conferences is contingent on the fiscal and programmatic interests and priorities of the individual NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs). Therefore, a conference grant application is required to contain a permission-to-submit letter from any one of the participating ICs conference grant contact persons (see Contacts List). Applicants are urged to initiate contact well in advance of the chosen application receipt date and no later than 6 weeks before that date. Please note that agreement to accept an application does not guarantee funding.

The NIH website on NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings centralizes information regarding grants and cooperative agreements for scientific conferences. The Contacts and Special Interests website includes contact information for the participating ICs as well as information about each IC’s specific interests and funding parameters. This website and related links are updated frequently, so interested parties should check periodically for the most current information.

Note: Applicants are encouraged to look at the R13/U13 Frequently Asked Questions for a listing of common questions regarding the preparation and submission of conference grant and cooperative agreement applications.

Section II. Award Information
Funding Instrument

Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities.

Application Types Allowed

New
Renewal
Resubmission
Revision

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget

The appropriate NIH Conference Grant Contact should be consulted for guidance regarding any IC-specific budget limitations.

Award Project Period

Most ICs will accept applications for up to 5 years of support when a series of annual or biannual conferences are proposed by a permanently sponsoring organization. Support for conferences held on a less frequent schedule must be applied for individually.

The appropriate NIH Conference Grant Contact should be consulted for guidance regarding any IC-specific project duration requirements.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information


1. Eligible Applicants


Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

For-Profit Organizations

Governments

Other

Domestic institutions or organizations, including established scientific or professional societies, are eligible to apply for conference support. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply for conference support. Both domestic and international conferences may be supported; however, an international conference can be supported only through the U.S. representative organization of an established international scientific or professional society. An individual is not eligible to receive a grant in support of a conference.

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account and should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate an existing account with the applicant organization’s eRA Commons account. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility


Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement), except for submission:

Section IV. Application and Submission Information


1. Requesting an Application Package

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Required and Optional Components

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, required and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this FOA. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional components.

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Descriptive Title of Applicant’s Project: Enter the title of the scientific conference.

Cover Letter: Advance permission to submit an application is required for all NIH conference grant and cooperative agreement applications, including new, resubmission, renewal, and revision applications. Advance permission to submit an application should be requested early in the process and no later than six weeks before the application due date. All applicants must include the permission-to-submit letter from the NIH Conference Grant Contact who has agreed to accept assignment of the application. Applications that do not include the permission-to-submit letter will not be accepted for review. Note that advance permission to submit an application does not guarantee funding.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Enter the site of the conference as the Performance Site.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

R&R Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

The appropriate NIH IC conference award contact should be consulted for guidance regarding any IC-specific budget requirements. Enter the direct costs requested. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs are not allowed. Provide a narrative justification for each proposed personnel position, including the role of the individual in the conference and the proposed level of effort. Include information regarding efforts to obtain funding for this conference from other sources.

Allowable Costs: Salary (in proportion to the time or effort spent directly on the conference); rental of necessary equipment; travel and per diem or subsistence allowances; supplies needed for conduct of the conference (only if received for use during the budget period); conference services; publication costs; funds to help defray registration costs for some select attendees (for example, women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science, graduate students); speakers fees.

Non-allowable costs: Meals/food and beverages; purchase of equipment; transportation costs exceeding U.S. carrier coach class fares; visas; passports; entertainment; tips; bar charges; personal telephone calls; laundry charges; dues; honoraria or other payments for the purpose of conferring distinction or communicating respect, esteem or admiration; patient care; alterations or renovations; facilities and administrative costs/indirect costs.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: Note that this section will be called Conference Plan in the system-generated Table of Contents.

In the Conference Plan section of the application (uploaded as the Research Strategy attachment), describe the objectives, specific program, and logistical arrangements for the conference. Describe the format and list the agenda and speakers, including the principal topics to be covered, problems to be addressed, and developments or contributions the conference might stimulate. Provide a detailed justification for the conference, including the scientific need, timeliness, and usefulness of the conference to the scientific community.

A critical part of the application for NIH conference support is the documentation of appropriate representation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science in the planning and implementation of, and participation in, the proposed conference. Appropriate representation means representation based on the availability of these scientists from these groups known to be working in a particular field of biomedical or behavioral research. If appropriate representation is not apparent, no award will be issued until program staff members are assured of concerted recruitment efforts. Organizers of scientific conferences must document compliance with the Guidelines for Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in NIH-Supported Conference Grants policy.

Attendance for some individuals will be dependent on the availability of resources for family care. The application should describe plans to identify resources for child care and other types of family care at the conference site to allow individuals with family care responsibilities to attend. The information should allow attendees to make arrangements for family care as needed.

Describe the composition and role of the organizing committee, and provide the names and credentials of key participants (i.e. speakers, presenters, session moderators) in the conference, including the basis for their selection and documentation of their agreement to participate. Estimate the expected size and composition of the audience, as well as the method of selection.

Describe plans for publicizing the conference to all interested participants and for publishing the proceedings (with the latter plan not being required). Identify related conferences held on the subject during the past 3 years and how the proposed conference is similar to and/or different from these, and why it is still necessary and useful. If this is one in a series of periodic conferences held by a permanent sponsoring organization, briefly describe and evaluate the last conference in the series.

Applications requesting multiple years of support must provide the following additional information for each future year requested, in as much detail as possible:

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following modification:

Appendix: Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following modification:

Planned Enrollment Report

When conducting clinical research, follow all instructions for completing Planned Enrollment Reports as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

PHS 398 Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report

When conducting clinical research, follow all instructions for completing Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

3. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

4. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

5. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

In general, conference awards should be issued before the actual start date of the conference.

6. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically.

Important reminders:
All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH. Applications that are incomplete will not be reviewed.

Post-Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-13-030.

Section V. Application Review Information


1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

Overall Impact

After considering all of the review criteria, briefly summarize the significant strengths and weaknesses of the application and judge the likelihood that the proposed conference will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of the goals of NIH-supported research, which is to advance our understanding of biological systems, to improve the control of disease, and to enhance health.

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance

Does this conference address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these endeavors on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

Investigator(s)

Is(are) the PD(s)/PI(s) well suited for organizing and fulfilling the goals of this conference? Are the qualifications and past performance of the PD(s)/PI(s) appropriate, and are they well suited for their described roles in the conference? Are the key personnel and selected speakers appropriate and well suited for their described roles in the conference?

Innovation

Does the conference employ novel approaches or methods to fulfill its purpose? Does the conference draw together appropriate experts who may otherwise not have an opportunity to meet?

Approach

Are the format and agenda for the conference appropriate for achieving the specified goals? Is the conference timely for the subject matter? For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, is the Leadership Plan approach, including the designated roles and responsibilities, governance and organizational structure consistent with and justified by the topics of the conference and the expertise of each of the PD/PIs?

Environment

Is the conference site appropriate? Does the applicant organization have the ability to contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed meetings, exhibits, interactions, etc., take advantage of unique features of the environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is institutional support evident?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Appropriate Representation

How well do the plans for inclusion of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who traditionally have been underrepresented in science provide for their appropriate representation in the planning, organization, and execution of the proposed conference? For more information, visit Inclusion of Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in NIH-Supported Conference Grants policy.

Protections for Human Subjects

Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.

Vertebrate Animals

Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer

Biohazards

Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.

Resubmissions

For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.

Renewals

For Renewals, the committee will consider the progress made in the last funding period.

Revisions

For Revisions, the committee will consider the appropriateness of the proposed expansion of the scope of the conference. If the Revision application relates to a specific line of investigation presented in the original application that was not recommended for approval by the committee, then the committee will consider whether the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group are adequate and whether substantial changes are clearly evident.

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Provision of Family Care Facilities

Are the plans to inform attendees about family care resources adequate?

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Not Applicable

Select Agent Research

Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.

Resource Sharing Plans

Not Applicable

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed conference.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s), in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information


1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. 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.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to the DUNS, SAM Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

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 Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

All conference material (promotional materials, agenda, publications an internet sites) related to this project must include an acknowledgement of NIH support and a disclaimer stating the following: Funding for this conference was made possible [in part] by [insert grant number] from [insert IC name]. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

The following special terms of award are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) administrative guidelines, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) grant administration regulations at 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 (Part 92 is applicable when State and local Governments are eligible to apply), and other HHS, PHS, and NIH grant administration policies.

The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative agreement, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an "acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic involvement with the awardees is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the NIH purpose is to support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the awardees for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the awardees and the NIH as defined below.

The PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility for:

The PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility for defining objectives and approaches, and planning, conducting, analyzing, and publishing results, interpretations, and conclusions of the conference.

The PD/PI(s) will retain custody of, and have primary rights to, information developed under the cooperative agreement, subject to Government rights of access, consistent with the current DHHS, PHS, and NIH policies. Publication and copyright agreements and the requirements for financial status reports; retention of records; and terminal progress reports will be as stated in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Awardees will retain custody of and have primary rights to the data and software developed under these awards, subject to Government rights of access consistent with current DHHS, PHS, and NIH policies.

Awardees are responsible for identifying specific milestones for conferences that will be supported during the project period, when multi-year conferences are supported.

NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:

An NIH Project Scientist will have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below. Substantial involvement as a partner would include, for example, assisting in planning the agenda, selecting speakers, organizing a symposium, determining the content of the meeting, or determining the acceptability of submitted papers. Substantial involvement would not include serving as an invited speaker or providing limited advice

Additionally, an agency program official or IC program director will be responsible for the normal scientific and programmatic stewardship of the award and will be named in the award notice.

In general, the role of IC Program Director should be performed by an IC staff member other than the IC Project Scientist. Otherwise, systems must be in place to address possible conflict of interest when the NIH Program Director is also the Project Scientist for a U13 award.

Areas of Joint Responsibility include:

Each full member will have one vote. Awardee members of the Steering Committee will be required to accept and implement policies approved by the Steering Committee.

Dispute Resolution:

Any disagreements that may arise in scientific or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between award recipients and the NIH may be brought to arbitration. An Arbitration Panel composed of three members will be convened. It will have three members: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual awardee. This special arbitration procedure in no way affects the awardee's right to appeal an adverse action that is otherwise appealable in accordance with PHS regulation 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D and DHHS regulation 45 CFR Part 16.

3. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the annual Non-Competing Progress Report (PHS 2590 or RPPR) and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final progress report, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Applicants are encouraged to look at the R13/U13 FAQs for a listing of common questions regarding the preparation and submission of conference grant and cooperative agreement applications.

Issues that are not addressed in the FOA or on the NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings website, or that remain after consultation with IC staff, may be directed to the R13 mailbox at [email protected].

Application Submission Contacts

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons registration, submitting and tracking an application, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, post submission issues)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

Web ticketing system: https://public.era.nih.gov/commonshelp
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: [email protected]

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading forms and application packages)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726

Web ticketing system: https://grants-portal.psc.gov/ContactUs.aspx
Email: [email protected]

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone: 301-710-0267
TTY: 301-451-5936
Email: [email protected]

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

All programmatic and scientific questions should be directed to the R13/U13 Scientific/Research Contact at the appropriate NIH Institute and Center. See the R13/U13 Contacts and Special Interest website.

Peer Review Contact(s)

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

All financial and grants management questions should be directed to the appropriate NIH Institute and Center participating in the R13/U13 program. See the R13/U13 Contacts and Special Interest website.

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.


Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices



NIH Office of Extramural Research Logo
  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - Home Page Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
  USA.gov - Government Made Easy
NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health®