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

EXPIRED


This Program Announcement expires on November 1, 2004, unless reissued.

DEVELOPING CENTERS FOR INTERVENTIONS AND SERVICES RESEARCH (DCISR)

Release Date:  May 7, 2001

PA NUMBER:  PAR-01-090 (This PAR has been reissued, see PAR-05-144)

National Institute of Mental Health
 (http://www.nimh.nih.gov)

Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  August 1 annually
Application Receipt Date:       October 1 annually

This program announcement (PA) and PAR-01-089, Advanced Centers for 
Interventions and Services Research, supercede the following announcements: 
Prevention Research Centers (PA-99-074), Social Work Research Development 
Centers (PAR-99-130), Specialized Mental Health Interventions Research 
Centers (PAR-98-020), and Centers for Research on Services for People with 
Mental Health Disorders (PAR-94-073).

PURPOSE

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) encourages investigator-
initiated research grant applications to establish Developing Centers for 
Intervention and Services Research (DCISR).  The purpose of this initiative 
is to establish core support for building research infrastructure for 
intervention and services research studies in mental health.  The companion 
program announcement (PA), Advanced Centers for Interventions and Services 
Research (PAR-01-089 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-01-089.html) 
calls for applications for advanced centers devoted to research on 
interventions and services in mental health.  This program announcement 
complements that PA by providing a grant mechanism to support an earlier 
phase of infrastructure building to be utilized by qualified institutions 
with active research programs but without the existing capacity to mount the 
extensive and highly integrated research effort expected of an advanced 
center.  This PA is intended to provide the initial support needed by such 
institutions to build a program over the next 5 years that would then qualify 
for the advanced centers program announcement.

Applicants interested in funding a center for basic neuroscience research 
relevant to mental illnesses should see PAR-98-057, Silvio Conte Centers for 
Neuroscience Research 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-98-057.html) 
and those interested in a center for translational research between 
basic and clinical neuroscience research on severe mental illnesses should 
consider PAR-98-058, Silvio Conte Centers for the Neuroscience of Mental 
Disorders (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-98-058.html).  
Applicants interested in funding for a center for research at the interface 
between basic behavioral research and neuroscience should see PAR-00-130, 
Interdisciplinary Behavioral Science Centers for Mental Health 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-00-130.html).  Applicants 
interested in a center that would foster research projects on the translation 
of basic behavioral research to mental disorders and public health 
applications should consider PAR-01-027, Translational Research Centers in 
Behavioral Science 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-01-027.html).  
Those interested in a center with a focus on HIV/AIDS should 
apply for funding through PAR-99-153, Core Support Program for Mental 
Health/AIDS Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-99-153.html).

Researchers seeking initial infrastructure support to set up research 
partnerships with community settings are also referred to the program 
announcement PAR-00-096, Interventions and Practice Research Infrastructure 
Program (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-00-096.html).  
Applicants are strongly encouraged, if awarded a DCISR, to seek this 
additional support to build research collaborations with community systems 
described in that PA.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010

The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health 
promotion and disease prevention objectives of  Healthy People 2010,  a PHS-
led national activity for setting priority areas.  This PA, Developing 
Centers for Advanced Interventions and Services Research, is related to the 
priority area of mental health and mental disorders.  Potential applicants 
may obtain a copy of  Healthy People 2010  at:  
http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications may be submitted by domestic for-profit and non-profit 
organizations, public or private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, 
laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of 
the Federal government.  Foreign institutions are not eligible for support 
under this announcement.  Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and 
persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as principal investigators.  
A single institution may have more than one DCISR but they must address 
distinctly different research topics.  In such situations, it is expected 
that there will be significant savings from sharing some infrastructure 
resources among the centers at the institution.

Institutions eligible under this PA should have both ongoing research 
activity in the intervention or services area and a demonstrated need for 
infrastructure support to take full advantage of their research potential.  
The existence of research activity is evidenced by the presence of ongoing 
mental health research funded under PHS grants or equivalent sources of peer-
reviewed support, and recent record of peer-reviewed scientific publications. 
Due to their limited research programs, however, such institutions would not, 
in general, be eligible to apply under PAR-01-067, Advanced Centers for 
Intervention and Services Research.  This PA is intended to support 
intervention and services research only.  Those interested in basic 
neuroscience, basic behavioral or HIV-related research should consult other 
NIMH program announcements in those areas.
 
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

This PA will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Exploratory Center 
Grant award mechanism (P20).  This mechanism supports planning for new 
programs, expansion or modification of existing resources, and feasibility 
studies to explore various approaches to the development of interdisciplinary 
programs that offer potential solutions to problems of special significance 
to the mission of NIH.  Support is limited to a maximum of 5 years and is not 
renewable.  Grants are awarded directly to the applicant’s institution and 
are not transferable to another institution.  Under this PA, applicants can 
request up to $400,000 per year for direct costs, plus negotiated Facilities 
and Administrative Costs (formerly known as indirect costs). 

Allowable Costs

The grant mechanism of this PA (P20) provides funding for infrastructure and 
developmental research projects only.  Investigators seeking support for 
specific investigator-initiated research projects should use mechanisms other 
than the P20 (e.g., R01, R21, and R03).

Under this PA, funds can be used to support research participant recruitment 
for all populations, especially activities to ensure appropriate 
participation by women, children and adolescents, elderly and other 
traditionally understudied populations, such as racial and ethnic minorities 
and people in rural areas.  Those developing centers that will conduct 
clinical trials may request funds to support the establishment of a Data and 
Safety Monitoring Board for those trials.  Funds may also be used for travel, 
salaries, meeting expenses, subcontracts and paying consultants.  Applicants 
are referred to the General Clinical Research Center program at the 
NIH/National Center for Research Resources 
(http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/clinical/cr_gcrc.asp) as a potential resource for 
inpatient and outpatient facility costs.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Background

The need to increase the public health relevance of mental health 
interventions and services research has long been recognized and more 
recently highlighted in several reports by the National Advisory Mental 
Health Council.  In particular, this PA addresses major recommendations 
included in Bridging Science and Service 
(http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/bridge.htm) and specific recommendations in 
Translating Behavioral Science into Action 
(http://www.nimh.nih.gov/tbsia/tbsiatoc.cfm), as well as Priorities for 
Prevention Research at NIMH 
(http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/priorrpt/index.htm), which calls for 
studies that would integrate behavioral and prevention research with 
treatment and services research.  Treatment research has traditionally 
focused on testing the short-term efficacy of interventions on symptoms of 
illness.  While these studies, typically conducted on homogeneous samples of 
research subjects at tertiary academic referral sites, have provided 
essential information, their impact on community practice settings has been 
limited by lack of generalizability to communities and restriction of outcome 
variables.  Relatively few attempts have been made to test the effectiveness 
of interventions in community practice settings or to develop effective 
strategies for disseminating research findings among providers and consumers 
of care.  Furthermore, current community practice has not been adequately 
studied to identify factors affecting utilization of mental health 
interventions and services or the quality of those services.  Some 
intervention research is in the early stages of development.  For these 
areas, there may exist a need for limited arrangements among traditional 
research sites that don t require extensive linkages to community treatment 
settings.  Applicants who propose such limited arrangements should describe 
how the areas of research they intend to undertake are best served by such 
arrangements. 

Aims

The intervention and services research that is needed to ultimately improve 
current community practice requires the adoption of novel methodological and 
organizational approaches, building of new partnerships, and, in general, 
enlargement of research activities beyond the traditional boundaries of 
academic settings and specific academic departments.  This PA is intended as 
an infrastructure mechanism to build capacity at qualified institutions to 
pursue a research agenda that contributes to improving the delivery of mental 
health care in community settings.  The goal is for these centers to:  1) 
build and maintain networks to conduct clinical trials and/or conduct 
practice and service systems research, 2) foster interdisciplinary 
collaboration, 3) develop new research methods and 4) cultivate training 
opportunities for new and established investigators.

PROGRAM SPECIFICATIONS

Grants awarded under this PA will provide financial support for two types of 
activities:  (1) general development of research infrastructure and (2) 
funding of at least two specific developing research projects.  All the 
activities will be under the overall direction and supervision of the 
Principal Investigator, who will function as director of the Developing 
Center for Interventions and Services Research.  The Principal Investigator 
should be an established independent researcher in the area of mental health 
interventions and/or services research and will have a minimum time 
commitment of 30 percent to the developing center.  All applications must 
have an Operations Core, Research Methods Core, and Principal Research Core.

Development of Research Infrastructure

It is expected that the applicants will have current research activities at 
their institution and will explain how research on mental health 
interventions and services can be expanded and enhanced by the support 
requested under this PA.  

The application should describe how the DCISR will expand training 
opportunities for junior investigators or established investigators willing 
to focus their efforts on interventions and services research.  The direct 
support of training efforts (e.g., stipends), however, should be sought 
through other NIH training and career development grant mechanisms. 
 
Operations Core

The developing center must have a clearly articulated Operations Core that 
should serve to integrate the scientific and infrastructure aims.  This core 
includes administrative functions, data management and statistical analysis, 
dissemination activities, clinical trials operations if appropriate and any 
specialized interdisciplinary components.  The Operations Core should foster 
an environment of research excellence, support methodological innovation, 
facilitate multidisciplinary collaborations, coordinate efforts, and monitor 
progress according to an overall focused research agenda.  As appropriate, 
these efforts should include the engagement of community stakeholders, such 
as individuals with mental illness and their families, mental health care 
providers, community organizations and institutions (e.g., schools, group 
homes, and extended care facilities), public and private purchasers of mental 
health care, and insurers and managed care organizations. 

The Operations Core should include a data management and statistical analysis 
component as well as a clinical trials operations component when relevant.  
These components may be located at a single institution or across multiple 
institutions.  Depending on the research focus, other specialized components 
might be included in the Operations Core (e.g., economics component).  
Applicants should describe effort for recruitment of research participants 
and data collection activities within this core.

The DCISR may consist of several collaborating sites that are not all located 
in a single institution or geographic region.  The collaboration of multiple 
institutions and settings to create a  virtual center  must be specified and 
explained in the Operations Core section so the feasibility of such 
arrangements can be evaluated. 

The Operations Core of the application should outline the scientific 
leadership for all anticipated research.  It should describe an 
administrative structure that maximizes efficiency through program planning 
and monitoring, an infrastructure development and maintenance plan, 
opportunities for investigators to do integrative work, and plans for 
accountability.  The Operations Core should also address knowledge and 
technology transfer, and enhancing the availability of center accomplishments 
(e.g., data, methods, etc.) within and beyond the center.

Research Methods Core

Each application should describe a process for building a Research Methods 
Core.  The purpose of this core function is to support testing of innovative 
approaches to research design, assessment methods, recruitment strategies, 
and analytic approaches needed for intervention and services research.  
Applicants should seek funding through traditional mechanisms (R01, R21, R03) 
for specific projects. 

There are a large number of potential areas of investigation that could be 
included in this core.  The following are some examples of research areas 
that could fit in this core.  These are not meant to be comprehensive, nor 
are the examples meant to be exclusive of other topics.  For example, a 
center might develop and evaluate ways to adapt assessment and treatment 
protocols previously used in restricted settings for use in community 
settings.  Of special interest is research on ways to integrate qualitative 
and quantitative methods into intervention, practice or service system 
studies.  Developing new designs for conducting clinical trials and 
statistical techniques to analyze data from novel research designs would be 
important areas to address in centers that are conducting clinical trials.  
Other potential efforts in this core might include: new methods for retention 
and recruitment of research participants, new technology for data entry and 
database management, and new measures to broaden assessment of the effect of 
interventions at the individual and system level.  In addition, centers could 
improve methods that increase the relevance of research findings for 
community stakeholders such as payers and public policy makers (e.g., 
economic analyses in clinical trials or expanded measures of impact such as 
disability and functional status).  A center might develop ways to improve 
intervention and services research studies through utilization of theory and 
methods from fields outside health (e.g., decision analysis, marketing and 
engineering).  Applicants are encouraged to focus on how this core will 
enhance the research activities chosen in the principal research core (see 
below).

Principal Research Core

The developing center must have a clearly articulated plan to develop a set 
of scientific core functions that will enhance and expand capacity for at 
least one of two scientific areas: intervention research and/or practice and 
service systems research.  Although not mandatory, applicants are encouraged 
to consider ways in which both areas (interventions and practice/service 
systems research) can be integrated into a focused research agenda.  
Applicants should select a major mental health problem as the focus of the 
research core and propose studies to address it.  The research area chosen 
should be the primary research focus of the center and all other cores should 
clearly relate to the efforts pursued in this core.  A separate description 
must be provided for the Principal Research Core area, including potential 
research proposals in this area, summary descriptions of exploratory and 
developmental research projects, and how these proposals and projects will 
relate to and support one another as well as projects in other cores.  
Applicants should describe how the Operations and Research Methods Cores are 
integrated in the service of this Principal Research Core and related 
research projects.

A Principal Research Core that focuses on interventions research should seek 
to build capacity to facilitate the testing of preventive, treatment or 
rehabilitative interventions with the ultimate goal of increasing the number 
of evidence-based interventions applicable to community practice.  Support 
can be used to increase the capability to conduct efficacy trials, 
assessments of safety, and dose-finding studies, and feasibility testing, as 
well as effectiveness trials to test the generalizability of interventions.

There are a large number of potential areas of investigation that could be 
included in this core.  The following are some examples of interventions 
research areas that could fit in this core.  These are not meant to be 
comprehensive, nor are the examples meant to be exclusive of other topics. 
For example, applicants could propose to test interventions that target 
multiple levels of risk and severity, test various ways of delivering 
interventions such as sequenced approaches or algorithms and test 
interventions in large community populations that have shown some promise in 
small restricted populations.  A DCISR could propose to develop new ways of 
identifying groups most likely to benefit from various intervention 
approaches as well as determining factors that would predict variability in 
response to interventions.  Other possible research topics might include 
research to determine optimal dosing and duration of interventions to prevent 
relapse and recurrence.  In addition, a center might propose to test ways of 
improving adherence to interventions and how to minimize side effects from 
interventions.  A center might also propose to test new intervention models 
that take into account the service context in which the intervention will be 
embedded and the impact of an intervention on much broader measures of 
outcome (e.g., disability and functional status).

A DCISR may choose to have a Principal Research Core that focuses on practice 
and service systems research.  The purpose of such a research focus should be 
to examine sources and consequences of variability of the treatments or 
services provided in the community and to identify better ways to disseminate 
and implement research-based interventions and services in community 
settings.  Practice research is based on three areas of research 
investigation: clinical epidemiology, quality of care research, and 
dissemination research.  Service systems research addresses broad 
organizational, financing, and policy questions.

There are a large number of potential areas of investigation that could be 
included in a core focused on practice and services systems research.  The 
following are some examples of research that could fit in this core.  These 
are not meant to be comprehensive, nor are the examples meant to be exclusive 
of other topics.  For example, applicants could propose to conduct research 
on the various factors that may enhance or detract from the effective 
delivery of interventions and test ways of modifying these factors to improve 
the delivery of care.  Other potential topics include: how consumer and 
clinician choices impact effective delivery of interventions and the outcomes 
from the intervention, how perspectives on quality of care vary by 
stakeholder and how those differences can be used to improve care.  In 
addition, centers could propose to test various dissemination or 
implementation strategies for incorporating and sustaining the delivery of 
effective interventions in community settings.  A DCISR might choose to 
examine usual care in the community and how an improvement in such care is 
influenced by individual, clinician and system factors.  Research on the 
feasibility and utility of alternative methods to deliver interventions 
(e.g., telehealth) or studies to improve delivery of interventions in 
traditionally underserved areas (e.g., rural and frontier areas) would be 
other possible research topics for study.

Specific Research Projects

At least two developmental research projects must be described in the 
application with enough detail to allow appropriate peer-review of their 
scientific merit and methodological soundness.  Due to the purposes of this 
PA and its funding limitations, such projects are not expected to be major 
research proposals, able to test major experimental hypotheses in a 
definitive manner.  Rather, such projects are intended to provide preliminary 
data to be utilized in guiding the design of future more definitive 
investigations.  These projects are similar to the ones typically supported 
under the developing grant mechanism (R21), e.g., Exploratory Development 
Grants for MH Intervention Research 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-99-134.html) 
and Pilot Effectiveness Trials for Mental Health 
Disorders (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-99-118.html).  The 
focus of these specific research projects will be relevant to the focus of 
the Principal Research Core that the applicant has chosen to include in the 
developing center.

ORGANIZATION OF CENTERS

A developing center may be organized in a variety of ways and may include one 
institution or several.  There is no single model for a: the structure will 
depend upon the research questions and approaches selected to study them.  
One type of center could adopt a Clinical Research Organization type 
approach, providing administrative, management, and operational support to a 
large set of ongoing and planned intervention or services studies in various 
community sites.  Another type of center could adopt a decentralized, multi-
site focus in which specialized activities are supported in different sites.  
A conceptual and theoretical rationale for the organizational structure 
should be discussed in the application.  However, they must include the 
required cores outlined above.

AWARD MANAGEMENT

Because of the complexities of this funding mechanism and associated 
scientific aims, applicants should note that higher levels of program 
scrutiny, both pre- and post-award, may be necessary.

INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS 

It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and 
their sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported biomedical and 
behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and 
compelling rationale and justification are provided indicating that inclusion 
is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of 
the research.  This policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 
(Section 492B of Public Law 103-43). 

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
UPDATED "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in 
Clinical Research," published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts on 
August 2, 2000 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-048.html), 
a complete copy of the updated Guidelines are available at 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_update.htm.  The 
revisions relate to NIH defined Phase III clinical trials and require:  a) 
all applications or proposals and/or protocols to provide a description of 
plans to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by 
sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable, 
and b) all investigators to report accrual, and to conduct and report 
analyses, as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group 
differences.

INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) 
must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by 
the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.  
This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications submitted for 
receipt dates after October 1, 1998.

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in 
Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH Guide for 
Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the following URL 
address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html.

Investigators also may obtain copies of these policies from the program staff 
listed under INQUIRIES.  Program staff may also provide additional relevant 
information concerning the policy.

NIH GRANTS POLICY STATEMENT

The NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) has been revised and reissued.  The 
provisions of the revised NIHGPS are effective for all funded NIH grants and 
cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after March 1, 
2001.  The revised NIHGPS is available at:  
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2001.

URLS IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES

All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within 
specified page limitations.  Unless otherwise specified in an NIH 
solicitation, Internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide 
information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no obligation 
to view the Internet sites.  Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may 
be compromised when they directly access an Internet site.

LETTER OF INTENT

Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by the date indicated in the 
heading of this PA, a letter of intent that includes a descriptive title of 
the proposed center, the name, address, and telephone number of the Principal 
Investigator, the identities of other key personnel and participating 
institutions, and the number and title of this PA.

Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not 
enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it 
contains allows NIMH staff to estimate the potential review workload and to 
plan the review.  The letter of intent should be sent to the appropriate program 
contact, at the address listed under INQUIRIES, below.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the program contacts listed 
under INQUIRIES with any questions regarding their proposed project and the 
goals of this PA.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 
4/98).  Application kits are available at most institutional offices of 
sponsored research and from the Division of Extramural Outreach and 
Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, 
MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone (301) 710-0267, Email: 
[email protected].  Applications are also available on the Internet at: 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm.

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the 
Checklist of the documents included, and three signed photocopies in one 
package to:

CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040, MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)

At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application must be
sent to:

Jean G. Noronha, Ph.D.
Division of Extramural Activities
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6154, MSC 9609
Bethesda, MD  20892-9663
Bethesda, MD  20817 (for courier/express service)

Applications must be received by the application receipt date indicated in 
the heading of this PA.  If an application is received after that date it 
will be returned to the applicant without review.

APPLICATION PAGE LIMITS

The description of the Operations Core, Methods Core, Principal Research 
Core, and Specific Research Projects should be limited to a total of no more 
than 30 pages.

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Applications will be reviewed by CSR for completeness and by NIMH program 
staff for responsiveness.  Applications that are incomplete and/or non-
responsive will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.  
Applications that are complete and responsive will be evaluated for 
scientific and technical merit by an appropriate scientific review group 
convened by NIMH in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. 
As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written 
critique and undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to 
have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications 
under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a 
second level review by the National Advisory Mental Health Council.

Review Criteria 

The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of 
biological systems, improve the control of disease, and enhance health.  In 
the written comments reviewers will be asked to discuss the following aspects 
of the application in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed 
research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals.  Each 
of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall 
score, weighting them as appropriate for each application.  Note that the 
application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely 
to have major scientific impact and thus deserves a high priority score.  For 
example, an investigator may propose to carry out important work that by its 
nature is not innovative but is essential to move a field forward.

(1) Public Health Significance:  Does this center and its associated research 
projects address an important public health problem?  If the aims of the 
application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge of intervention 
and/or services research be advanced? What will be the effect of the center 
and its affiliated studies on care in community settings?

(2) Innovation:  Does the center propose to develop novel concepts, 
approaches, measures or methods in the development and assessment of 
interventions and/or services research?  Are the aims original and 
innovative? Does the center extend existing approaches or develop new 
methodologies or technologies appropriate to the assessment of interventions 
and services?

(3) Approach:  Is there adequate rationale to support the importance of a 
center approach as opposed to other mechanisms (e.g., individual R01 
applications)?  Does a conceptual and theoretical framework focused on a 
major topic in intervention and/or services research inform the center 
organization and infrastructure development? Is the concept of a center 
fulfilled, including:  (1) an integrated theme bringing together a 
multidisciplinary team of investigators in a common mission, (2) development 
of a pooled, core database or access to research participants that can yield 
results beyond that accomplished with individual projects alone, (3) 
attraction of established investigators and development of collaboration 
among investigators with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, (4) a 
research mentorship component for new investigators through research training 
and career development mechanisms, and (5) a process for stimulation and 
evaluation of new pilot study proposals?  Is the approach for the center 
adequately developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the general aims of 
the center?  Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and 
consider alternative tactics?  Are collaborations across sites well justified 
and reasonable to carry out the research activities?

(4) Leadership:  Are the center director and other senior investigators at 
the forefront of their respective fields? Do they have the experience and 
authority necessary to organize, administer and direct the center?

(5) Environment:  Does the scientific environment of the center contribute to 
the probability of success? Does the center take advantage of unique features 
of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements?  
Is the center able to gain and sustain access to a representative range of 
people in a broad set of academic and community settings?  Is there evidence 
of institutional support?  Are the collaborating sites chosen for the center 
the appropriate ones to address the research questions proposed?

In addition to the above criteria, in accordance with NIH policy, all 
applications will also be reviewed with respect to the following:

The reasonableness of the proposed budget and duration in relation to the 
proposed research.

The adequacy of plans to include both genders, minorities and their 
subgroups, and children as appropriate for the scientific goals of the 
research.  Plans for the recruitment and retention of research participants 
will also be evaluated.

The adequacy of the proposed protection for humans to the extent they may be 
adversely affected by the activities proposed in the application.

AWARD CRITERIA

Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended 
applications.  The following will be considered in making funding decisions: 
Quality of the proposed project as determined by peer-review, availability of 
funds, and program priority.

INQUIRIES

Inquiries are encouraged.  The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions 
from potential applicants is welcome.  Applicants may also consult NIH staff 
for advice concerning collaborations and access to patients and patient 
material.

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues about practice and service 
systems research to:

Junius Gonzales, M.D.
Division of Services and Intervention Research
National Institute of Mental Health 
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7141 , MSC 9631
Bethesda, MD 20892-9631
Telephone:  (301) 443-3364
FAX:  (301) 443-4045
Email:  [email protected]

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues about interventions for adults 
and the elderly to:

Barry Lebowitz, Ph.D.
Division of Services and Intervention Research 
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7162, MSC 9635
Bethesda, MD 20892-9635
Telephone:  (301) 443-1185
FAX:  (301) 443-4045
Email: [email protected]

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues about interventions for 
children and adolescents to:

Benedetto Vitiello, M.D.
Child and Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Intervention Research Branch
Division of Services and Intervention Research
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7147, MSC 9633
Bethesda, MD 20892-9633
Telephone:  (301) 443-4283 
FAX:  (301) 443-4045 
Email:  [email protected]

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Joy R. Knipple
Grants Management Branch
Division of Extramural Activities
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6115, MSC 9605
Bethesda, MD 20892-9605
Telephone: (301) 443-8811
FAX:  (301) 443-6885
Email:  [email protected]

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS 

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 
93.242 (NIMH).  Awards are made under authorization of Sections 301 and 405 
of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as 
amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under NIH 
grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  This 
program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of 
Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products.  In 
addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking 
in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which 
regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early 
childhood development services are provided to children.  This is consistent 
with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of 
the American people.





Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices



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