BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH SUPPORT GRANT

NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 5, February 7, 1992



PA NUMBER:  PA-92-38



P.T. 34



Keywords:

  Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl 

  Grants Administration/Policy+ 



National Center for Research Resources



Application Receipt Date:  June 15, 1992



PURPOSE



The National Center for Research Resources announces the Biomedical

Research Support Grant (BRSG) Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 1992.

Because the FY 1992 appropriation of $5,204,000 for the BRSG Program is

a significant reduction in the amount of funds available, awards which

will be made on a competitive basis and fewer awards will be made.



The objectives of the BRSG Program for FY 1992 have been narrowed to

focus on support for biomedical research projects in ways that are not

adequately or efficiently provided for by other funding mechanisms such

as the traditional investigator-initiated research project grant.



The allowable uses of BRSG funds for FY 1992 are:



o  Pilot research.  Small, short-term projects that explore new

research ideas (including multidisciplinary collaborations to explore

new directions in biomedical research), seek preliminary findings, and

establish the validity of the approach and pilot data that may provide

the basis for research project grant applications.



o  New investigators.  Initial research support for new investigators

and investigators who have recently relocated and are in the process of

applying for longer-term funding.



o  Unexpected requirements and opportunities for projects supported by

other NIH funding mechanisms.  This includes funding to enable research

programs to continue during temporary lapses in project grant support.



These uses exploit the capacity of the BRSG to respond promptly to

short-term, low-cost needs that are essential to complement research

project grant mechanisms that typically fund continuing, multi-year

programs.



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Institutions eligible to apply must have received a minimum of three

allowable Public Health Service (PHS) research grants and/or

cooperative agreements, totalling $200,000 (including direct and

indirect costs), awarded by the PHS during FY 1991.  The guidelines

which are available from the office listed under INQUIRIES describes

the types of research grants that are allowable.  The types of

institutions eligible to apply remain unchanged, i.e., Health

profession schools, graduate schools, hospitals, research

organizations, and health departments. [If applicants are not selected

for a BRSG award, they will remain eligible for the Shared

Instrumentation Grant (SIG) and the Minority High School Student

Research Apprentice Program (MHSSRAP).]



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



The grant mechanism used for this program will be the S07 grant.

Awards of $50,000 for direct costs will be made for a twelve-month

project period.  No indirect costs will be provided.  Final funding

decisions will depend on the availability of funds.  All awards will be

made on or before September 30, 1992.



Because of the delay in the FY 1992 BRSG award process,the NCRR plans

to extend the ending date of all active FY 1991 BRSG awards through

September 29, 1992.  Revised awards reflecting this extension will

reach the institutions prior to the current March 31 end date of the FY

1991 award period



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



The BRSG Program complements the support of biomedical and behavioral

research conducted through research project grants.  The program thus

enhances the productivity and cost-effectiveness of potential and

existing PHS research project grants.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Letters of instructions and modified guidelines providing more specific

information are being sent to Program Directors and institutional

officials at institutions that, according to NIH records, received the

required amount of funds from PHS grants in FY 1991.  The narrative

portion of applications will be limited to two to three pages in length

and must address the items raised in the Review Procedures and Award

Criteria sections.  The receipt date for applications is June 15, 1992.

Applications received after that date will be returned to the

applicant.



REVIEW PROCEDURES



The NIH will conduct an administrative review, which is not intended to

replace or duplicate on-site scientific and technical review of

research application that will take into consideration the following

criteria:



o  The role of the institutional BRSG Advisory Committee and the

quality of the local peer review mechanisms in evaluating the

scientific and technical merit of the proposed projects.



o  Overall appropriateness and potential of the proposed portfolio to

improve the quality and maximize the benefits, cost effectiveness, and

productivity of planned or ongoing PHS research project grants.



o  Accomplishments achieved with BRSG funds over the last three fiscal

years.



o  Level of institutional commitment as indicated by matching

contributions toward the proposed FY 1992 BRSG activities.



The second level review will be by the National Advisory Research

Resources Council.



AWARD CRITERIA



Applications will compete for available funds with all other BRSG

applications received for the June receipt date.  Funding decisions

will be based on:



o  Merit of the overall plan as determined by administrative review.



o  Program balance:  awards will be distributed equally among the top

third, middle third and lower third of institutions ranked on the basis

of the amount of dollars awarded by PHS for research in FY 1991, i.e.,

the "research grants base."



o  Availability of funds.



INQUIRIES



Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:



BRS Program Office

Westwood Building, Room 10A11

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-6743



Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:



National Center for Research Resource

Office of Grants and Contracts Management

Westwood Building, Room 853

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-9840



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 93.337, Biomedical Research Support.  Awards will be made under

authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title III, Part A,

(Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241) and

administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 45 CFR

Part 74.  This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review

requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency Review.



.

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	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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