Expired PAR-10-004: MBRS Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) (R25)

Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)

NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health^®

Part I Overview Information

Department of Health and Human Services

Participating Organizations
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

Components of Participating Organizations
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), (http://www.nigms.nih.gov)

Title: MBRS Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) (R25)

Announcement Type
This is a reissue of PAR-06-548.

Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:

April 15, 2013 - This PAR has been reissued as PAR-13-196.
March 24, 2011 - See Notice NOT-GM-11-106 Notice of Allowable Post-submission Material for R25 Applications.
August 16, 2010 - IMPORTANT NOTE! NIH has eliminated the error correction window for due dates of January 25, 2011 and beyond. As of January 25, all corrections must be complete by the due date for an application to be considered on-time. See NOT-OD-10-123.

Program Announcement (PA) Number: PAR-10-004

NOTICE: Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Federal assistance must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED IN PAPER FORMAT.

This FOA must be read in conjunction with the application guidelines included with this announcement in Grants.gov/Apply for Grants (hereafter called Grants.gov/Apply).

A registration process is necessary before submission and applicants are highly encouraged to start the process at least four (4) weeks prior to the grant submission date. See Section IV.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.859

Key Dates
Release/Posted Date: October 9, 2009
Opening Date: December 25, 2009 (Earliest date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): Not required
NOTE: On-time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization).
Application Due Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm
AIDS Application Submission/Receipt Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#AIDS.
Peer Review Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Council Review Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Additional Information To Be Available Date (URL Activation Date): Not Applicable
Expiration/Closing Date: January 8, 2013

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Additional Overview Content

Executive Summary

The Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program was created in response to a legislative mandate of increasing the participation of underrepresented (UR) minority faculty, investigators and students engaged in biomedical and behavioral research, and to broaden the opportunities for their participation in biomedical and behavioral research. To accomplish this goal, the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program provides institutional grants to establish research education programs at minority-serving institutions that will increase the preparation and skills of UR students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences as they academically advance in the pursuit of the Ph.D. degree in these fields.

Purpose. The goal of the RISE Program is to increase the number of students from UR groups in biomedical and behavioral research who successfully complete the Ph.D. degree in these fields.
Mechanism of Support. This FOA will use the NIH Research Education (R25) grant mechanism. Research education programs may not be transferred from one institution to another.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The amount to be awarded is approximately $6 million (total costs) per year for new and renewal applications. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research education program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the quality, duration, and costs of the applications received.
Budget and Project Period. There are no specific budget limitations; however, the requested direct costs must be reasonable, well documented, fully justified and commensurate with the scope of the proposed program. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed five years.
Eligible Institutions/Organizations. Institutions/organizations listed in Section III, 1.A. are eligible to apply subject to the following eligibility criteria: the applicant institution must (a) award degrees in a biomedical or behavioral science field, and (b) must have a student body that is more than 50% from UR groups in biomedical or behavioral research. If the applicant institution has a significantly high student enrollment from UR groups in the biomedical or behavioral sciences but less than 50%, the institution may be eligible if the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, through the MBRS Chief, determines that the institution has demonstrated special commitment to the retention and graduation of UR students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences and to the hiring and retention of science faculty from UR groups.
Eligible Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs). Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research are invited to work with their institution/ 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.
Number of PDs/PIs. More than one PD/PI (i.e., multiple PDs/PIs), may be designated on the application.
Number of Applications. An applicant institution may not submit more than one application at any time. Eligible institutions may only receive one RISE award. Research education programs may not be transferred from one institution to another.
Review of Applications. Initial merit review will be convened by the NIGMS Office of Scientific Review.
Resubmissions. Resubmission applications will be accepted; however, such applications must include an Introduction addressing the previous peer review critiques (Summary Statement). Applicants who submitted applications prior to January 25, 2009 and are not funded, may resubmit in accord with NIH Resubmission policies, but must utilize the new application forms and instructions with a restructured and shorter Research Plan.
Renewals. Renewal applications are allowed for this research education program.
Application Materials. See Section IV.1 for application materials. All applications, including resubmission, revision and renewal, submitted for due dates January 25, 2010 and beyond, must utilize the most current forms and instructions
General Information. For general information on SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission, see these Web sites:
- SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission Information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm
- General information on Electronic Submission of Grant Applications: http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/
Hearing Impaired. Telecommunications for the hearing impaired are available at: TTY 301-451-5936.

Table of Contents

Part I Overview Information

Part II Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
1. Research Education Objectives

Section II. Award Information
1. Mechanism of Support
2. Funds Available

Section III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
A. Eligible Institutions
B. Eligible Individuals
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
3. Other - Special Eligibility Criteria

Section IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Request Application Information
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
3. Submission Dates and Times
A. Submission, Review, and Anticipated Start Dates
1. Letter of Intent
B. Submitting an Application Electronically to the NIH
C. Application Processing
4. Intergovernmental Review
5. Funding Restrictions
6. Other Submission Requirements

Section V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
2. Review and Selection Process
A. Additional Review Criteria
B. Additional Review Considerations
C. Resource Sharing Plan(s)
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Section VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
3. Reporting

Section VII. Agency Contact(s)
1. Scientific/Research Contact(s)
2. Peer Review Contact(s)
3. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Section VIII. Other Information - Required Federal Citations

Part II - Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

1. Research Education Objectives

Several reports from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as well as from the National Academies reveal the national need for a well-trained workforce in biomedical and behavioral sciences and the continuing importance of developing and maintaining a strong, vital scientific workforce whose diversity reflects that of our nation. It was also reported that as a nation, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Natives of US Pacific Islands have been found to be underrepresented (UR) in the biomedical and behavioral sciences (National Research Council, 2000, Addressing the Nation’s Changing Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309069815]; and National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Doctoral Scientists and Engineers:1999 Profiles, NSF 03-302, Project Officer, Kelly H. Kang (Arlington, VA 2002) [http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf03302/htmstart.htm]). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was specifically encouraged, in the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, to increase the participation of members from nationally underrepresented groups in biomedical and behavioral research. In response to this Congressional Act, the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Branch of the Division of Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) announces the Research Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) Program. This program is an opportunity to develop new or expand existing effective institutional developmental programs designed to academically and scientifically prepare UR students in the biomedical or behavioral sciences for competitive research careers and leadership positions in these fields. The program supports institutional awards to minority-serving institutions (MSI) that confer degrees in biomedical and/or behavioral science fields, and have a demonstrated commitment to encourage and assist UR faculty, students and investigators in biomedical and behavioral sciences.

The goal of the RISE Program is to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups in biomedical and behavioral research who enter into and successfully complete Ph.D. degree programs in these fields. Specifically, the RISE program aims to enhance the MSI’s research training output in biomedical and behavioral sciences by (a) increasing the number of students that complete baccalaureate (B.S./B.A.) degrees and enroll in Ph.D. programs, (b) increasing the number of students that complete master (M.S.) degrees and enroll in Ph.D. programs, and (c) increasing the number of pre-doctoral students that complete the Ph.D. degree. Furthermore, RISE program undergraduates (UG) at the community college level are expected to graduate and transition directly to the next academic step, UG at the B.S/B.A level and M.S. degree participants are expected to directly matriculate into Ph.D. programs, and Ph.D. participants are expected to complete their terminal degrees in biomedical and/or behavioral research fields and advance to competitive postdoctoral positions. Thus, it is also expected that the RISE program contributes to reducing the national gap in the completion of Ph.D. degrees between UR and non-UR students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences.

Jolly, Campbell, and Perlman (in Engagement, Capacity and Continuity: A Trilogy for Student Success. GE Foundation, September 2004) concluded that three essential factors must be present in programs for students to succeed in the sciences. These are: (a) student engagement in the sciences, i.e., awareness, interest and motivation, (b) knowledge and skills needed to advance to increasingly more rigorous content in the sciences and quantitative disciplines, and (c) presence of an articulated system where the skills, knowledge and information that students need to move to more advanced levels are provided at each earlier, less advanced level. All factors are interdependent and each is necessary to ensure student persistence or continuance and success. Proposed RISE programs must select and employ well-integrated strategies, rooted in education research, that provide students what they need to progress to the next stage of the science education pipeline.

The expectations of the MBRS RISE Program at the national level are that: (a) the RISE Program will increase the overall number of UR students that complete a Ph.D. and continue biomedical research careers; (b) at least 50% of the UG students and 75% of the master’s students participating in the RISE Program will, upon graduation, directly enter into a Ph.D. program; (c) at least 90% of the Ph.D. students participating in the RISE Program will complete the degree; and (d) the Program will contribute to ongoing student and faculty efforts to reduce the national gap in the completion of Ph.D. degrees between UR and non-UR students in the biomedical and behavioral science. To accomplish these objectives, the design of the proposed institutional programs should be derived from an institutional self assessment of the (a) research environment; (b) student and faculty demographics; (c) number of UR and non-UR students that complete the Ph.D. degree, continue competitive postdoctoral training, and engage in productive research careers; and (d) challenges/impediments that the students encounter in pursuing and completing the Ph.D. degree. As a result of the self assessment, each applicant institution must establish the program’s goals and specific measurable objectives, which should be consonant with the MBRS RISE Program expectations. These goals and specific measurable objectives should help design an institutional program that will have a significant institutional impact and a greater contribution to the overall RISE goals.

The MORE Division recognizes the heterogeneity in institutional settings and institutional missions. Based on this, various strategies may be utilized to attain the objective of increasing the number of UR researchers via the RISE program. These may include, but are not limited to, student development, academic enhancement and research training activities. To align the RISE program goals with institutional environments and expectations, applicants must select one of the options below that best fit the outcomes of their institutional assessment and the design of the proposed institutional RISE program application. The selected option must be included in the descriptive title of the applicant’s project using the following format: RISE Option X (item 11 in the SF 424 R&R form - Other Project Information).

RISE Option I This option is recommended for applicant institutions with a low or no track record of students graduating and pursuing Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences and few or no faculty currently participating in funded biomedical research as principal investigators. Participants of the proposed programs should be only UG either at the associate-degree (A.D.) or the B.S./B.A. level. Institutions applying to this option are expected to (a) establish the fundamentals of research training, (b) improve the science curriculum, and (c) increase the retention and graduation in the sciences relevant to biomedical and/or behavioral research, i.e. provide the baseline and proposed increase so that the resulting % change is clearly stated.

RISE Option II This option is recommended for applicant institutions with a moderate track record (1-3 students per year) of students graduating and pursuing Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences and a moderate number (1-5) of faculty members currently participating in funded biomedical research as principal investigators. Participants of the proposed programs should be UG (at the B.S/B.A. level only) and graduate students at the M.S. degree level only. Institutions applying to this option are expected to (a) improve the science curriculum, (b) increase the retention and graduation in the sciences relevant to biomedical and/or behavioral research, i.e. provide the baseline and proposed increase so that the resulting % change is clearly stated, (c) improve from A to B (defined % change) the track record of students completing a Ph.D. degree, and (d) improve from A to B (defined % change) the track record of students that complete a degree (B.S./B.A. or M.S.) at the institution and pursue a Ph.D. degree at institutions with research-intensive environments.

RISE Option III This option is recommended for applicant institutions with a past track record (7-10 students per year) of students graduating and pursuing Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences and a significant number (7 or higher) of faculty members currently participating in funded biomedical research as principal investigators. Participants of the proposed programs should be UG (at the baccalaureate level only) and graduate students (both M.S. and/or Ph.D.). Institutions applying to this option are expected to (a) improve from A to B (defined % change) the track record of students that complete a Ph.D. degree, (b) improve from A to B (defined % change) the track record of students that complete a degree (B.S./B.A. or M.S.) at the institution and complete a Ph.D. degree at institutions with research-intensive environments, and (c) improve from A to B (defined % change) the track record of students that complete a Ph.D. at the institution and pursue postdoctoral positions at institutions with research-intensive environments.

The RISE program supports the initiation of new academic developmental activities as well as the expansion, enhancement, and/or improvement of existing activities. Some institutions may opt to offer programs to improve preparation of UG students for admission to research doctoral degree programs, others may concentrate on training graduate students to obtain their doctoral degrees and prepare for successful research careers, and still others may concentrate on both. The proposed RISE program must include an evaluation based on cited literature and methodology designed to clearly demonstrate the value of the proposed program to the institution, as well as to document the institutional contribution in achieving the MBRS RISE goals.

See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal Citations, for policies related to this announcement.

Section II. Award Information

1. Mechanism of Support

This FOA will use the NIH Research Education Grant (R25) award mechanism. The Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project.

This FOA uses just-in-time concepts (see SF424 (R&R) Application Guide). It also uses the non-modular budget format. Applicants must complete and submit budget requests using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) Budget Component found in the application package for this FOA.

Research education grant support is renewable. It is recommended that applicants contact the scientific/research contact listed in Section VII concerning the submission of a competing renewal (formerly competing continuation ) application. Up to two resubmissions (formerly revisions/amendments ) of a previously reviewed research education grant application may be submitted. See NOT-OD-09-003 and NOT-OD-09-016.

2. Funds Available

Because the nature and scope of the proposed research education program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. Although the financial plans of the NIGMS provide support for this program, awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed 5 years. Although the size of award may vary with the scope of the research education program proposed and there are no specific budget limitations, the requested direct costs must be reasonable, well documented, fully justified and commensurate with the scope of the proposed program. All awards are subject to the availability of funds.

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

1.A. Eligible Institutions

The following organizations/institutions are eligible to apply:

Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
Private Institutions of Higher Education
Hispanic-serving Institutions
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions

Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply in response to this FOA.

The applicant institution must award degrees in biomedical or behavioral science fields and must have a student body that is more than 50% from UR groups in biomedical or behavioral research. If the applicant institution has a significantly high student enrollment from UR groups in the biomedical or behavioral sciences but less than 50%, the institution may be eligible if the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, through the MBRS Branch Chief, determines that the institution has demonstrated special commitment to the retention and graduation of students from UR groups in the biomedical and behavioral sciences and to the hiring and retention of science faculty from UR groups. Additionally, institutions should demonstrate a clear and compelling institutional need for RISE support. Applicant institutions may establish collaborations with institutions that have research-intensive environments (i.e., NIGMS IMSD and/or T32 institutions) for the conduct of research training. For information regarding eligibility please contact the MBRS Branch Chief and/or the Scientific/Research Contact (see Section VII. Agency Contacts).

Institutions supported by the MBRS Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) are not eligible to apply for or hold a RISE grant.

In many cases, it is anticipated that the proposed research education program will complement other ongoing research training occurring at the applicant institution and that a substantial number of program faculty will have active research projects in which participants may gain relevant experiences consistent with their research interests and goals. Institutions with existing Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training grants (e.g., T32) or other federally funded training programs may apply for a research education grant provided that the proposed educational experiences are distinct from those training programs receiving NIH support. Moreover, the R25 mechanism is not intended to support long-term training by NRSA-eligible individuals and may not be used to circumvent or supplement Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA research training mechanisms.

1.B. Eligible Individuals

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research education program as the PD/PI 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. The PD/PI must have a regular full-time appointment at the applicant institution.

More than one PD/PI (i.e., multiple PDs/PIs), may be designated on the application for projects that require a team science approach and therefore clearly do not fit the single-PD/PI model. Additional information on the implementation plans and policies and procedures to formally allow more than one PD/PI on individual research projects is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi. All PDs/PIs must be registered in the NIH electronic Research Administration (eRA) Commons prior to the submission of the application (see http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm for instructions).

The decision of whether to apply for a grant with a single PD/PI or multiple PDs/PIs grant is the responsibility of the investigators and applicant organizations and should be determined by the scientific goals of the project. Applications for grants with multiple PDs/PIs will require additional information, as outlined in the instructions below. When considering the multiple PD/PI option, please be aware that the structure and governance of the PD/PI leadership team as well as the knowledge, skills and experience of the individual PDs/PIs will be factored into the assessment of the overall scientific merit of the application. Multiple PDs/PIs on a project share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PD/PI is responsible and accountable to the grantee organization, or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of required reports. For further information on multiple PDs/PIs, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

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

3. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria

Sponsoring Institution: The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed research education project. Appropriate institutional commitment to the project includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned research education project. The application should include a letter explaining the institutional commitment to the proposed research education program.

Participants: The RISE program is an institutional program and it is expected that program-supported activities will be open to all students at the institution. The program should not deny participation in program-supported activities to anyone based solely on his/her race, color, national origin, disability, religion, gender and age. The program-supported participants are selected by the applicant institution. To receive salary support from the RISE program, students must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals or permanent residents and must be enrolled full time in academic degree programs in biomedical or behavioral science fields at the applicant institution. (A non-citizen national is a person who, although not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. This is generally a person born in a land that is not a state, but that is under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration -- for example, American Samoa.) An individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence must possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card (USCIS Form I-551) or other legal verification of such status prior to appointment on the grant. Individuals on temporary visas, those seeking asylum, or refugees are not eligible for support from the RISE program.

The purpose of the RISE Program is to achieve greater participation in the biomedical and behavioral research enterprise of this country of students from UR groups. For the purpose of the RISE Program UR groups include those reported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as well as the National Academies to be nationally underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences (i.e., African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Natives of US Pacific Islands, and people with disabilities). Applicants may include and identify any other categories that institutional policies have determined to be underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research fields with a strong rationale, appropriate references, and official validated documentation. Selection of program-supported participants should take into consideration whether the student’s participation would help achieve the overall goals/objectives of the proposed institutional program and the MBRS goals. It is the responsibility of the applicant institution to establish the qualifications of students prior to their selection for the RISE program.

Training in Responsible Conduct of Research: Applicants are required to include a plan for Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (see Section IV.6).

Evaluation Plan: Applications must contain an evaluation plan in order to determine their effectiveness. Applications submitted without Evaluation Plan section may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed.

Dissemination Plan: Applications must contain a dissemination planApplications submitted without a Dissemination Plan section may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed.

Number of Applications: Applicant institutions may not submit, or have pending, more than one RISE grant application. Eligible institutions may only hold one RISE award.

Resubmissions: Applicants may submit a resubmission application, but such application must include an Introduction addressing issues raised in the previous critique (Summary Statement). Applicants who submitted applications prior to January 25, 2009 and are not funded, may resubmit in accord with NIH Resubmission policies, but must utilize the new application forms and instructions with a restructured and shorter Research Plan.

Renewals: Applicants may submit a renewal application.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

To download a SF424 (R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for completing the SF424 (R&R) forms for this FOA, go to http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp and follow the directions provided on that Web site.

Registration:

Appropriate registrations with Grants.gov and eRA Commons must be completed on or before the due date in order to successfully submit an application. Several of the steps of the registration process could take four weeks or more. Therefore, applicants should immediately check with their business official to determine whether their organization/institution is already registered with both Grants.gov and the Commons. All registrations must be complete by the submission deadline for the application to be considered on-time (see 3.C.1 for more information about on-time submission).

A one-time registration is required for institutions/organizations at both:

Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp) and
eRA Commons (http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm)

PDs/PIs should work with their institutions/organizations to make sure they are registered in the eRA Commons.

Several additional separate actions are required before an applicant institution/organization can submit an electronic application, as follows:

1) Organizational/Institutional Registration in Grants.gov/Get Registered

Your organization will need to obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) as part of the Grants.gov registration process.
If your organization does not have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), allow for extra time. A valid TIN or EIN is necessary for CCR registration.
The CCR also validates the EIN against Internal Revenue Service records, a step that will take an additional one to two business days.
Direct questions regarding Grants.gov registration to:
Grants.gov Customer Support
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
Business Hours: M-F 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Email [email protected]

2) Organizational/Institutional Registration in the eRA Commons

To find out if an organization is already Commons-registered, see the "List of Grantee Organizations Registered in NIH eRA Commons.
Direct questions regarding the Commons registration to:
eRA Commons Help Desk
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Business hours M-F 7:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Email [email protected]

3) Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Registration in the NIH eRA Commons: Refer to the NIH eRA Commons System (COM) Users Guide.

The individual(s) designated as PDs/PIs on the application must be registered also in the NIH eRA Commons. In the case of multiple PDs/PIs, all PDs/PIs must be registered and be assigned the PI role in the eRA Commons prior to the submission of the application.
Each PD/PI must hold a PD/PI account in the Commons. Applicants should not share a Commons account for both an Authorized Organization Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) role and a PD/PI role; however, if they have both a PD/PI role and an Internet Assisted Review (IAR) role, both roles should exist under one Commons account.
When multiple PDs/PIs are proposed, all PDs/PIs at the applicant organization must be affiliated with that organization. PDs/PIs located at another institution need not be affiliated with the applicant organization, but must be affiliated with their own organization to be able to access the Commons.
This registration/affiliation must be done by the AOR/SO or his/her designee who is already registered in the Commons.

Both the PDs/PI(s) and AOR/SO need separate accounts in the NIH eRA Commons since both are authorized to view the application image.

Note: The registration process is not sequential. Applicants should begin the registration processes for both Grants.gov and eRA Commons as soon as their organization has obtained a DUNS number. Only one DUNS number is required and the same DUNS number must be referenced when completing Grants.gov registration, eRA Commons registration and the SF424 (R&R) forms.

1. Request Application Information

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.

Note: Only the forms package directly attached to a specific FOA can be used. You will not be able to use any other SF424 (R&R) forms (e.g., sample forms, forms from another FOA), although some of the "Attachment" files may be useable for more than one FOA.

For further assistance, contact GrantsInfo -- Telephone 301-710-0267, Email: [email protected].

Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY 301-451-5936.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Prepare all applications using the SF424 (R&R) application forms and in accordance with the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.

The SF424 (R&R) Application Guide is critical to submitting a complete and accurate application to NIH. Some fields within the SF424 (R&R) application components, although not marked as mandatory, are required by NIH (e.g., the Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component must contain the PD/PI’s assigned eRA Commons User ID). Agency-specific instructions for such fields are clearly identified in the Application Guide. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.

The SF424 (R&R) application has several components. Some components are required, others are optional. The forms package associated with this FOA in Grants.gov/APPLY includes all applicable components, required and optional. A completed application in response to this FOA includes the data in the following components:

Required Components:
SF424 (R&R) (Cover component)
Research & Related Project/Performance Site Locations
Research & Related Other Project Information
Research & Related Senior/Key Person
PHS398 Cover Page Supplement
PHS398 Research Plan
PHS398 Checklist
SF 424 Research & Related Budget (See Special Instructions, below, regarding appropriate required budget component.)

Optional Components:
PHS398 Cover Letter File
Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

Applications with Multiple PDs/PIs

When multiple PDs/PIs are proposed, NIH requires one PD/PI to be designated as the "Contact PI, who will be responsible for all communication between the PDs/PIs and the NIH, for assembling the application materials outlined below, and for coordinating progress reports for the project. The contact PD/PI must meet all eligibility requirements for PD/PI status in the same way as other PDs/PIs, but has no other special roles or responsibilities within the project team beyond those mentioned above.

Information for the Contact PD/PI should be entered in item 15 of the SF424(R&R) Cover component. All other PDs/PIs should be listed in the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component and assigned the project role of PD/PI. Please remember that all PDs/PIs must be registered in the eRA Commons prior to application submission. The Commons ID of each PD/PI must be included in the Credential field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component. Failure to include this data field will cause the application to be rejected.

All projects proposing Multiple PDs/PIs will be required to include a new section describing the leadership of the project.

Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan: For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, a new section of the Research Education Program Plan, entitled Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan [Section 14 of the Research Plan Component in the SF424 (R&R)], must be included. A rationale for choosing a multiple PD/PI approach should be described. The governance and organizational structure of the leadership team and the research project should be described, and should include communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts. The roles and administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or program should be delineated for the PDs/PIs and other collaborators.

If budget allocation is planned, the distribution of resources to specific components of the project or the individual PDs/PIs should be delineated in the Leadership Plan. In the event of an award, the requested allocations may be reflected in a footnote on the Notice of Award.

Research Education Program

While the proposed research education program may complement other, ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those research training and research education programs currently receiving federal support.

Although research education grants are not typical research instruments, they do involve experiments in education and/or dissemination of research knowledge that require an evaluation plan in order to determine the degree of success or failure. A plan must be provided for program evaluation. Benchmarks should be specified, and specific plans and procedures must be described to capture, analyze and report outcome measures that would determine the success of the research education program in achieving its objectives. The evaluation plan must be based on appropriate literature and cited methodology. The plan should also identify the selected evaluator and present his/her credentials.

A specific plan must be provided to disseminate nationally any materials developed under the auspices of the research education program, e.g. Web postings, presentations at scientific meetings, workshops, etc.

Allowable Costs: Allowable costs must be consistent with NIH policy and be reasonable, allocable, well documented and fully justified for the research education program proposed in the application. Grant funds may not be used to supplant funds otherwise available at the applicant institution. (See Section IV.5. for funding restrictions and unallowable costs.)

Personnel: Individuals participating in the design and implementation of the research education program may request salary and fringe benefits appropriate for the person months devoted to the program. These expenses must be itemized in Sections A and B, as appropriate, of the Research & Related Budget. Salaries requested may not exceed the levels commensurate with the institution's policy for similar positions and may not exceed the congressionally mandated cap. (If mentoring interactions and other activities with students/participants are considered a regular part of an individual's academic duties, then mentoring and other interactions with students/participants are non-reimbursable from grant funds). Limited administrative and clerical salary costs associated distinctly with the program that are not normally provided by the applicant organization may be direct charges to the grant only when specifically identified and justified. Salary support for the PD/PI (or combination of multiple PDs/PIs) is limited to up to 2.25 person months during the academic year and 0.75 person months in the summer, depending on person months devoted to the administration of the program. Program coordinators are allowed as long as their roles in the program implementation are clearly defined and significantly different from the roles of the PDs/PIs. The duties and responsibilities of the program coordinators must be well described in the budget and must include a strong justification. Requested funds for faculty members who have full time appointments at the applicant institution (in any role in the program) should be commensurate with person/months effort and may not be used to increase one’s actual institutional salary, supplement it or establish the institutional base salary.

Other Program-Related Expenses: Consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel for key persons, and other program-related expenses must be justified as specifically required by the proposed research education program and must not duplicate items generally available for educational programs at the applicant institution. These expenses must be itemized, as appropriate, in Sections C. (Equipment), D. (Travel), and F. (Other Direct Costs) of the Research & Related Budget.

Cost of consultants for evaluation of the program is allowed; however, if the evaluator is an employee of the applicant institution, the cost must be included in the category of key personnel salary (effort listed in person months).

Cost of consultants who are specialists in developing strategies and programs to prepare students from UR groups for careers in research may also be included, but these costs should be reasonable and well justified.

RISE student travel is limited to domestic scientific conferences and off-campus research experiences. Foreign travel is only allowed for RISE graduate students making oral presentations at recognized professional scientific meetings in their specific area of research.

Cost of renovation of teaching/research laboratory/shared instructional facilities is allowed, provided these are critical to implementing a RISE-supported activity. Renovation costs are limited to a maximum of $50,000 per grant award, and grantees must follow the NIH grant policies for alterations and renovations located at: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part6.htm.

Participant Costs: Participants are those individuals who benefit from the proposed research education program. Participant costs must be justified as specifically required for the proposed research education program. Participant costs must be itemized in Section E. (Participant/Trainee Support Costs) of the Research & Related Budget.

Support is allowed for UG (A.D./B.S./B.A.) and graduate (M.S./Ph.D.) students in the form of salary and wages. Stipends are not allowable for the RISE Program. Salary support is allowed for UG students active participation in student-development and research education activities supported by the program, as long as there is an employee-employer relationship between the student and the institution. The total compensation must be reasonable and commensurate with the institution’s support scale for the work performed provided the following criteria are met: (a) it is the institution’s practice to provide compensation for all students in similar circumstances regardless of the source of support for the activity, (b) the UG student is not supported for more than 15 hours per week during the academic year and not more than 40 hours/week during the summer, and (c) student participation in the specific developmental activity is not a curriculum requirement for graduation. A justification must be provided if the requested support for UG is more than $12 per hour. Support for students is not provided for time spent by the students passively participating in RISE-sponsored, non-research activities, i.e., group-learning activities, attendance at conferences, etc.

Graduate students may be supported on RISE funding usually up to two years if preparing for a M.S. degree and a total of five years (including any RISE funding for a M.S. degree) if preparing for a Ph.D. degree provided their progress towards the degree is satisfactory. Graduate students (both M.S. and Ph.D.) are allowed tuition remission as part of a compensation package.

M.S. students may receive salary support for up to 20 hours a week during the academic year and while they are fulfilling their course requirements, and 40 hours a week during the summer if no courses are being taken. Ph.D. students are allowed a salary compensation package that includes salary, fringe benefits, tuition and fees up to the maximum NIH-permitted annual graduate student support, which is NRSA level #0 for postdoctoral trainees, as indicated in the Graduate Student Compensation policy, located at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-017.html. (See NIH webpage for current figure http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm.) It is an expectation of NIGMS that those students who are enrolled in Ph.D. programs as part of the RISE program will be trained to compete successfully for support from other departmental, federal or non-federal graduate-training sources for which they are eligible, in order to complete their programs.

Program-supported students may not concurrently hold another federally sponsored stipend or fellowship, other federal award that duplicates RISE support, or supplemental salary support, e.g., from a mentor’s federal research grant. However, concurrent with RISE support, students may make use of federal educational loan funds and assistance under the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act (G.I. Bill) or may receive funds from a Pell Grant, based on financial need. Such funds are not considered supplementation or compensation.

Each year, program-supported students must be formally appointed to the RISE program using the NIH’s Statement of Appointment form (PHS 2271 Statement of Appointment, http://grants.nih.gov/training/phs2271.pdf).

Institutional Commitment: Evidence of institutional commitment to the research educational program is strongly encouraged. The applicant institution must provide information that documents a commitment to the MBRS goal of increasing the number of UR students, faculty and investigators engaged in biomedical and behavioral research. In addition, the applicant institution must demonstrate that the goals of the proposed RISE research education program will be an integral part of its research and research training endeavor. The application must include a description of support (financial or otherwise) to be provided to the program, which could include support for curriculum implementation, support for additional participants in the program, space, shared laboratory facilities and equipment, release time for the PDs/PIs and participating faculty, or any other creative ways to improve and enhance the growth of the research education program. While cost sharing is not required, the applicant institution should show that funds for program activities, especially student support, are not merely being substituted for institutional resources.

A letter of institutional commitment may be attached at line item 16 (Letters of Support). Appropriate institutional commitment should include the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned research education program.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs: F&A costs for the applicant organization and consortium participants will be reimbursed at 8 percent of modified total direct costs (exclusive of tuition, fees, and equipment).

3. Submission Dates and Times

See Section IV.3.A for details.

3.A. Submission, Review, and Anticipated Start Dates
Opening Date: December 25, 2009 (Earliest date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Application Due Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm
AIDS Application Due Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#AIDS
Peer Review Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Council Review Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward

3.A.1. Letter of Intent

A letter of intent is not required for the funding opportunity.

3.B. Submitting an Application Electronically to the NIH

To submit an application in response to this FOA, applicants should access this FOA via http://www.grants.gov/Apply and follow steps 1-4. Note: Applications must only be submitted electronically. PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

3.C. Application Processing

3.C.1 Submitting On-Time:

Applications may be submitted on or after the opening date and must be successfully received by Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization) on the application due date(s). (See Section IV.3.A. for all dates.) If an application is not submitted by the due date(s) and time, the application may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed. All applications must meet the following criteria to be considered on-time :

All registrations must be complete prior to the submission deadline
The application must receive a Grants.gov traking number and timestamp (or eRA help desk ticket confirming a system issue preventing submission) by 5:00 p.m. local time on the submission deadline date.
Any system identified errors/warnings must be corrected and the submission process completed within the error correction window.

Please visit http://era.nih.gov/electronicReceipt/app_help.htm for detailed information on what to do if Grants.gov or eRA system issues threaten your ability to submit on time.

Submission to Grants.gov is not the last step applicants must follow their application through to the eRA Commons to check for errors and warnings and view their assembled application!

3.C.2 Two Day Window to Correct eRA Identified Errors/Warnings:

IMPORTANT NOTE! NIH has eliminated the error correction window for due dates of January 25, 2011 and beyond. As of January 25, all corrections must be complete by the due date for an application to be considered on-time. See NOT-OD-10-123.

Once an application package has been successfully submitted through Grants.gov, NIH provides applicants a two day error correction window to correct any eRA identified errors or warnings before a final assembled application is created in the eRA Commons. The standard error correction window is two (2) business days, beginning the day after the submission deadline and excluding weekends and standard federal holidays. All errors must be corrected to successfully complete the submission process. Warnings will not prevent the application from completing the submission process.

Please note that the following caveats apply:

Initial application submission must be on-time.
The AOR/institutions is expected to enforce that application changes made within the error correction window are restricted to those necessary to address system-identified errors/warnings. NIH may reject any application that includes additional changes.
Proof of on-time submission (e.g., Grants.gov timestamp and tracking number) and description of all changes made within the window must be documented in the PHS 398 Cover Letter component of the application.

3.C.3 Viewing an Application in the eRA Commons:

Once any eRA identified errors have been addressed and the assembled application has been created in the eRA Commons, the PD/PI and the Authorized Organization Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) have two weekdays (Monday Friday, excluding Federal holidays) to view the assembled application before it automatically moves forward to NIH for further processing.

If everything is acceptable, no further action is necessary. The application will automatically move forward to the Division of Receipt and Referral in the Center for Scientific Review for processing after two weekdays, excluding Federal holidays.
Prior to the submission deadline, the AOR/SO can Reject the assembled application and submit a changed/corrected application within the two-day viewing window. This option should be used if it is determined that some part of the application was lost or did not transfer correctly during the submission process, the AOR/SO will have the option to Reject the application and submit a Changed/Corrected application. In these cases, please contact the eRA Help Desk to ensure that the issues are addressed and corrected. Once rejected, applicants should follow the instructions for correcting errors in Section 2.12, including the requirement for cover letters on late applications. The Reject feature should also be used if you determine that warnings are applicable to your application and need to be addressed now. Remember, warnings do not stop further application processing. If an application submission results in warnings (but no errors), it will automatically move forward after two weekdays if no action is taken. Some warnings may need to be addressed later in the process.
If the two-day window falls after the submission deadline, the AOR/SO will have the option to Reject the application if, due to an eRA Commons or Grants.gov system issue, the application does not correctly reflect the submitted application package (e.g., some part of the application was lost or didn t transfer correctly during the submission process). The AOR/SO should first contact the eRA Commons Helpdesk to confirm the system error, document the issue, and determine the best course of action. NIH will not penalize the applicant for an eRA Commons or Grants.gov system issue.
If the AOR/SO chooses to Reject the image after the submission deadline for a reason other than an eRA Commons or Grants.gov system failure, a changed/corrected application still can be submitted, but it will be subject to the NIH late policy guidelines and may not be accepted. The reason for this delay should be explained in the cover letter attachment.
Both the AOR/SO and PD/PI will receive e-mail notifications when the application is rejected or the application automatically moves forward in the process after two weekdays.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the CSR. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

There will be an acknowledgement of receipt of applications from Grants.gov and the Commons . The submitting AOR/SO receives the Grants.gov acknowledgments. The AOR/SO and the PI receive Commons acknowledgments. Information related to the assignment of an application to a Scientific Review Group is also in the Commons.

Note: Since email can be unreliable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to check periodically on the application status in the Commons.

The NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial merit review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. However, the NIH will accept a resubmission application, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the critique from the previous review.

4. Intergovernmental Review

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. A grantee may, at its own risk and without NIH prior approval, incur obligations and expenditures to cover costs up to 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or renewal award if such costs: 1) are necessary to conduct the project, and 2) would be allowable under the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior approval. If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the grantee must obtain NIH approval before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval is required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or renewal award.

The incurrence of pre-award costs in anticipation of a competing or non-competing award imposes no obligation on NIH either to make the award or to increase the amount of the approved budget if an award is made for less than the amount anticipated and is inadequate to cover the pre-award costs incurred. NIH expects the grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs result in borrowing against future support and that such borrowing must not impair the grantee's ability to accomplish the project objectives in the approved time frame or in any way adversely affect the conduct of the project. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

RISE applications must present an integrated set of student-development activities and therefore a single consolidated budget is required. Each item in the budget must be clearly justified. RISE grant awards include some restrictions as to how the funds may be used. The following account summarizes the non-allowable costs under the RISE program.

Unallowable Costs include:

Faculty research mentors time or effort compensation.
Undergraduate student tuition, housing, food, foreign travel, or recruitment expenses.
Graduate student housing, food, foreign travel (except for making oral presentations at recognized professional scientific meetings in their specific area of research.), or recruitment expenses.
Undergraduate or graduate student support in the form of a stipend (note: stipend differs technically from salary/wages described above, which is allowable).
Support for either graduate or undergraduate students not matriculated at the applicant institution.
Costs for textbooks for academic courses that are required for graduation, incentives (including laptop computers), memberships, or subscriptions to internet services or journals.
Support for faculty research or purchase of research equipment to be used solely for faculty research.
Faculty salary to supplement the actual academic-year salary, or increase the base by which the academic-year salary is calculated/established.
Cost of renovation of conference rooms, offices, and general purpose classrooms.
A summer stand-alone program for students not matriculated as full-time students at the applicant/grantee institution.
Costs of workshops or courses with a limited focus of preparation for a specific test, including GRE and MCAT.
Consortium/sub-contractual arrangements.
Other costs prohibited by OMB Circular A-21. See: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a021/a021.html

6. Other Submission Requirements

PD/PI Credential (e.g., Agency Login)

The NIH requires the PD(s)/PI(s) to fill in his/her Commons User ID in the PROFILE Project Director/Principal Investigator section, Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component.

Organizational DUNS

The applicant organization must include its DUNS number in its Organization Profile in the eRA Commons. This DUNS number must match the DUNS number provided at CCR registration with Grants.gov. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.

PHS 398 Research Plan Component Sections

All application instructions outlined in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (MS Word or PDF) are to be followed, with the following requirements for R25 applications:

The Introduction (required for a resubmission application) is limited to three pages.
The Research Education Program Plan must be attached using the Research Strategy section (Item 3 of the Research Plan). This section may not exceed 25 pages, including tables, graphs, figures, diagrams, and charts.
Research Education Program applications will use the non-modular budget format and "Just-in-Time" concepts. See Sections II.2 and IV.2 for budgetary guidance.

Supplementary Research Education Program Application Instructions

Applicants should use the following guidance, in addition to the instructions accompanying the SF 424 (R&R) form.

1. SF 424 Research & Related Project/Other Project Information: Include the selected option in the descriptive title of the applicant’s project starting with the following format: RISE Option X.

2. SF 424 Research & Related Project/Performance Site Location(s): Include collaborating sites, if appropriate.

If multiple sites are involved in the research education program, the applicant institution must be one of these sites for the program. A justification must be included for sites other than the applicant institution in the program narrative.

3. SF 424 Research & Related Other Project Information, Item 9 (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.

4. SF 424 Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile: Key Personnel must include the PD/PI (or multiple PDs/PIs, if applicable) as well as any other key persons (such as those involved in developing, implementing, directing, monitoring, evaluating, etc., who are integral to the proposed research education program) participating in the research education program.

5. Research & Related Budget: Complete for each budget period requested.

A. Senior/Key Person: complete for all senior/key persons associated with the research education program. The PD/PI (or multiple PDs/PIs, if applicable) must be included here.

B. Other Personnel: complete for all other personnel (including clerical and administrative staff) associated with the research education program.

C. Equipment: self-explanatory.

D. Travel: include here any travel funds requested for senior/key persons and other personnel (i.e. those persons identified in Sections A. and B.) associated with the research education program.

E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs: include here all allowable categories of funds requested to support participants in the research education program. If categories in addition to those listed in this section of the 424R&R form are needed, describe in Other. State the number of Participants/Trainees to be supported by the proposed research education program. RISE participant salary and fringe benefit costs should be listed in the "Other" field of this section since stipends are not allowable for the RISE Program. The allowable categories of participant support costs are summarized in Section IV.5 for this FOA.

F. Other Direct Costs: itemize as appropriate and allowed for the research education program.

K. Budget Justification: provide a detailed justification for each category for which funds are requested. For Section E, itemize each category of support costs per participant and justify.

6. PHS 398 Research Plan Attachments: The Research Plan Component should contain material organized under the following subheadings in a single attachment and as appropriate to the specific program:

Part 1 of the Research Plan (Introduction): is required and permitted only for resubmissions. The introduction must provide detailed information regarding the changes to the proposed project in response to the comments provided by reviewers in the summary statement of the previous application. The introduction should not exceed three page (this is not counted as part of the 25-page limit of the Research Strategy).

Part 2 of the Research Plan (Specific Aims): The application must address (a) the overall goals and specific measurable objectives (including anticipated milestones defined as anticipated intermediate steps toward the objectives) that the institution expects to accomplish in preparing UR students to pursue/complete Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and/or behavioral science research and in striving to achieve the RISE goals and expectations; (b) the future impact of the proposed RISE program on the institutional demographics of both the student and faculty pools; (c) the overall number of UR students at the institution that complete degrees in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences at the applicant institution, that matriculate in Ph.D. programs at institutions with research-intensive environments (as well as at the applicant institution, if applicable) and that continue competitive post doctoral training and engage in productive research careers; and (d) how the proposed RISE program will contribute to the NIH-MBRS goals as described in the research education objectives, see Section I. The specific aims should not exceed one page (this is not counted as part of the 25-page limit of the Research Education Program Plan).

Part 3 of the Research Plan (Research Education Program Plan attached using the Research Strategy section) should contain material organized under the following subheadings in a single attachment and as appropriate to the specific program. This Research Education Program Plan section (limited to 25 pages) should be organized to reflect the institutional scope of the proposed program, and it should be presented as an integrated set of student developmental activities that enhance academic excellence and promote timely progression of students to the next academic/career step. Use the appendix to include the required detailed information summarized in the data tables included in this section. The summarizing data tables in this section must include clear and precise statements of the location of the required detailed information in the appendix.

3.a. Significance: include the following items:

1) Institutional Setting and Current Status of the Undergraduate and/or Graduate Biomedical Science-Related Academic Programs: Provide a brief description of the mission of the institution, its academic components and research infrastructure. Briefly describe the current student development and research-training programs as well as counseling/mentoring services (funded by the institution and by sponsoring entities) and their success in preparing and graduating UR students as well as all other students in the sciences. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the following format to provide the required information.

Table 1 Current Student Development and Research Training Programs

	Title Program 1	Title Program 2	Title Program 3
Project Duration (Years) Start and Ending Dates
Funding Entity
Program Goals
Participant Number
Target Audience
Eligibility Criteria (if applicable)

2) Institutional Student and Faculty Profile: For the last five (5) years, provide the numbers and trends of (a) the total number and percent of UG and graduate students that completed degrees in biomedical/behavioral-related disciplines at the institution; and (b) the total number and percent of graduate students that have completed Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences at the institution, continued competitive postdoctoral training, and engaged in productive research careers. Applications must include data for UR* groups (defined as members of any of the following groups: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Natives of US Pacific Islands), as well as data for non-UR* groups. For the current year only, provide the number of faculty (overall, UR*, and Non-UR*) and their research funding in the biomedical/behavioral-related departments at the institution. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the following formats to provide the required information.

Table 2 Cumulative Institutional Baseline Data

Reporting Period: (should cover 5 years)

INSTITUTIONAL BASELINE DATA	Total Number	UR* Number (%)	Non-UR* Number (%)
A. Total Students enrolled at the Institution (last 5 years)
B. Total Enrollment Data in RISE-relevant departments (last 5 years)
B1. UG
B2. M.S.
B3. Ph.D.
C. Graduation Data in RISE-relevant sciences (last 5 years)
C1. UG
C2. M.S.
C3. Ph.D. and/or M.D./Ph.D.
D. Advanced Degrees Pursued by Alumni (last 10 years)
D1. Completed Ph.D. degrees in RISE-relevant sciences
D2. Completed M.D. degrees
D3. Completed other professional technical degrees (e.g., D.D.S., D.M.D.,D.V.M., J.D., Ed.D., etc.)
List of departments included in this table:

Instructions: Provide the institutional cumulative number and percent for the indicators above for requested years to create an institutional baseline profile. Include the data only for the academic level/degrees awarded by the applicant institution. Note: UR* is defined as members of any of the following groups: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Natives of US Pacific Islands. Suggested institutional information resources are: Office of the Registrar, Office of Institutional Planning and/or Research, Alumni Office, Office of Institutional Development, Office of Sponsored Programs, National Student Clearinghouse (http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/). For Graduate Ph.D. data: National Science Foundation (NSF) WebCaspar (http://webcaspar.nsf.gov/). For M.D. data: American Association of Medical Colleges AAMC (http://www.aamc.org/).

Table 3 Institutional Faculty Data

Reporting Period: (current year)

Total Tenure-Track Faculty	Institution-wide	RISE-relevant Departments
Total Tenure-Track Faculty	Institution-wide	Biology Number (%)	Chemistry Number (%)	Physics Number (%)	Other:__Number (%)	TOTALS (%)
A. Total
B. Total UR*
C. Total Non-UR*
D. Faculty participating in externally funded research

Instructions: For the current year only, provide the number and percent of tenure-track faculty (total, UR*, and Non-UR*) in biomedical/behavioral related departments. Of these totals provide the number and percent of faculty who are engaged in externally funded research. Examples of participating departments are shown; modify and/or include others as appropriate and that match the departments whose data was provided in Table 2. Note: UR* is defined as members of any of the following groups: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Natives of US Pacific Islands.

Table 4 Institutional Graduation Data: UG / M.S. / Ph.D. (as applicable)

Create a separate table for each academic level offered at the applicant institution and label them: Table 4A (UG Graduation Data), Table 4B (M.S. Graduation Data) and Table 4C (Ph.D. Graduation Data), as applicable.

Reporting Period: (should cover five years)

Graduation Data	RISE-relevant Departments
Graduation Data	Biology Number (%)	Chemistry Number (%)	Physics Number (%)	Other:__ Number (%)	TOTALS (%)
A. Total Graduated
B. Total UR*
C. Total Non-UR*

Instructions: For the last five (5) years, provide the cumulative number and percent of UG / M.S. / Ph.D. students that graduated from the applicant institution. Examples of participating departments are shown, modify and/or include others as appropriate. Notes: UR* is defined as members of any of the following groups: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Natives of US Pacific Islands.

3.b. Innovation: Describe the vision and anticipated value of the proposed RISE program to the institution. Discuss the potential impact of the proposed RISE program on the institution’s academic programs for preparation and graduation of UR students for biomedical and behavioral research careers. Provide the rationale for incorporating particular features into the proposed RISE program based on appropriate referenced literature and the institutional self-assessment. Describe the institution’s vision of the RISE program and how it will be integrated into any of the existing academic programs and how it will collaborate with or complement other externally funded and institutionally funded educational programs and other undergraduate/graduate student research-training programs. Describe options available to the institution for embracing and incorporating, beyond the scope of the grant, any particularly effective curricular, training, programmatic elements, etc., that may be developed within the institution’s RISE program.

3.c. Approach (Preliminary Studies/Progress Report) should contain information on steps that have led to the proposed research education program. A Progress Report must be included in renewal applications.

1) Preliminary Studies/Progress Report:

For new applications, briefly describe and summarize any significant achievements within the last five years of institutional and externally sponsored initiatives that have encouraged and helped retain UR students and faculty in the RISE-program-participating departments.

For renewal applications, a detailed progress report must be included. Applications with more than one previous funding cycle must provide information on the past two consecutive funding cycles. In the report, state the original and specific measurable objectives, anticipated milestones and outcomes, as well as a summary of the accomplishments of the RISE program.

Programs with an undergraduate component must report (a) the number of the RISE-supported undergraduate students; (b) the number that participated in academic and summer research experiences; (c) the status of RISE-supported students (number who graduated, remain in the RISE program, or withdrew from the RISE program); (d) the number who graduated with undergraduate degrees in biomedical/behavioral-related disciplines and pursued advanced degrees; (e) the number who matriculated into Ph.D. programs in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences (at the applicant institution or elsewhere); (f) the status of those who entered Ph.D. programs (number who completed graduate training, remain in graduate training, or withdrew from graduate training); and (g) publications (in the Progress Report Publication List section below).

Programs with an M.S. graduate component must report (a) the number of the RISE-supported M.S. graduate students; (b) their status (number who graduated, remain in training, or withdrew from graduate training); (c) the number who matriculated in Ph.D. programs in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences (at the applicant institution or elsewhere); (d) the status of those who entered Ph.D. programs (number who completed doctoral training, remain in doctoral training, or withdrew from doctoral training); and (e) publications (in the Progress Report Publication List section below).

Programs with a Ph.D. graduate component must report (a) the number of the RISE-supported Ph.D. graduate students; (b) their status (number who graduated, remain in the RISE program, or withdrew from the RISE program); (c) the number who transitioned to other training mechanisms (i.e., T32 programs, fellowships, research grants); (d) the number who pursue(d) postdoctoral positions and the number who pursue(d) academic, research-related or non-research-related career paths; and (e) publications (in the Progress Report Publication List section below).

Describe the impact and/or value of RISE program activities on the enrollment numbers, profile, academic environment, and graduation rates of UR students and other related aspects of the institution. Describe what has been learned through the program evaluation and any changes made in the program as a result of the evaluation.

The progress report must include the list of appointed (program-supported) UG and graduate (M.S. and/or Ph.D.) participants, as applicable, including name, contact information: phone, address, email, UR group, gender, current academic status, degree pursued and institution. Applicants submitting renewal applications are strongly encouraged to use the following summarizing cumulative formats to provide the required information. Use the appendix to provide the required detailed information on program-supported participants summarized in these suggested tables. Include on each summarizing table a clear and precise statement of the location of the required detailed information in the appendix.

Table 5 Cumulative Summary of RISE Program Participants

Table 5A RISE-supported Participant Data

Reporting Period: __________________

Academic Level	Total Number	Graduated	Currently Enrolled	Withdrew
UG
M.S.
Ph.D.
TOTALS

Table 5B Outcomes of RISE-supported Participants UG / M.S. / Ph.D. (as applicable)

Create a separate table for each academic level of the participants supported by the RISE program, label them as shown below and provide the data for the requested reporting periods.

Table 5B1 - Outcomes of UG RISE-supported Participants

A. Last Funding Period:	Number
A1. Participated in academic year research experiences
A2. Participated in summer research experiences
A3. Entered M.S. programs*
A4. Entered Ph.D programs*
A5. Entered M.D. programs*
A6. Entered M.D./Ph.D. programs*

B. Former UG RISE-supported Participants (exclude last funding period)
B1. Completed M.S.
B2. Completed Ph.D.
B3. Still in (M.S./Ph.D.) graduate training
B4. Withdrew from (M.S./Ph.D.) graduate training

Table 5B2 - Outcomes of M.S. RISE-supported Participants

A. Last Funding Period:	Number
A1. Completed M.S.
A1. Entered Ph.D programs*

B. Former M.S. RISE-supported Participants (exclude last funding period)
B1.Completed Ph.D.
B2. Still in Ph.D. graduate training
B3. Withdrew from Ph.D. graduate training

Table 5B3 - Outcomes of Ph.D. RISE-supported Participants

A. Last Funding Period:	Number
A1.Transitioned to other training mechanisms (i.e., T32 programs, fellowships, research grants)*
A2. Completed Ph.D.

B. Former Ph.D. RISE-supported Participants (exclude last funding period)
B1. Postdoctoral positions*
B2. Non-tenure-track faculty positions*
B3. Tenure-track faculty positions*
B4. Other research-related positions (industry, government, etc.)*
B5. Non-research-related positions

Instructions: Provide the information for total number of RISE-supported participants only (students that received salary wages), as applicable. Applications with only one previous funding cycle must include information from the last funding cycle. Applications with more than one previous funding cycle must include information from the last two consecutive funding cycles. *Note for table 5B (1, 2, and 3): Include only the number of RISE participants who actually entered a graduate, post-graduate program, training mechanism or career path. Do not include RISE participants who applied for or were accepted into a program, training mechanism or career path but did not enter it.

2) Program Director/Principal Investigator (or multiple PDs/PIs, if applicable): Describe arrangements for administration of the program, provide evidence that the Program Director(s) is actively engaged in research and/or teaching in an area related to the mission of the NIGMS, and can organize, administer, monitor, and evaluate the research education program, as well as evidence of institutional and community commitment and support for the proposed program. The application should also describe the organizational structure of the institutional administration, show how the PD/PI will interface with it, and describe how the proposed structure will allow the PD to implement the RISE program activities. The responsibilities of the PD/PI typically include placement of students in research laboratories and coordination and implementation of developmental and mentoring activities. In addition, the PD/PI is the principal contact with MBRS/MORE/NIGMS at the institution and prepares and submits in a timely manner the required reports, e.g., annual progress reports, changes in program activities if any, etc. The PD/PI works with the program evaluator (see below) to monitor and evaluate the progress of individual program elements and the overall functioning of the program.

Applicant institutions may include an institutional RISE advisory committee as a component of the application. Describe its role and how it will provide counsel to the PDs/PIs and to the chief executive of the institution. The composition of the committee must reflect the institutional approach and support for the proposed program and may include representatives of the administration, faculty, investigators, mentors, collaborators, PDs/PIs of other student development programs at the institution, and current and former student participants.

Describe the composition and functions of the advisory committee and list the names and titles of the members including their institutional affiliations. The following are some typical functions of an advisory committee: (a) advise and assist the PDs/PIs in the development and implementation of program procedures and practices; (b) assist the PDs/PIs in establishing criteria and procedures for the admittance/retention of students and faculty mentors; (c) monitor progress of program activities and student participants; (d) advise on re-budgeting of funds; (e) help to expand the present effort by identifying internal and external funding sources; (f) monitor compliance with NIH policies and regulations; and (g) if necessary, assist in selecting a new PDs/PIs and addressing faculty and student grievances related to the RISE program.

3) Program Faculty/Staff: Describe the characteristics and responsibilities of the participating faculty; provide evidence that the participating faculty and preceptors are actively engaged in research or other scholarly activities related to the mission of the NIH. Provide a summary of relevant information on the faculty members who would be research mentors and, in addition, those faculty and/or staff who would conduct the student development activities. Provide the biographical sketches of the faculty members with past records in training and mentoring UR students and include their teaching and/or research achievements and extramural research support in the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Section (see Section IV.6, SF424, above). Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the following format to summarize the required information in the application.

Table 6 Summary of Research Mentors and Student Development Facilitators

Faculty Name	Department	Program Role (Mentor/Facilitator)	Research Topic	Current Research Funding (Source, Title, Project Period Dates)

Instructions: Provide the name of faculty that will serve as research mentors and the faculty that will conduct the student development activities. For each faculty member provide his/her biomedical/behavioral-related department, research topic, and current external research funding including funding source, project title and project period dates.

If off-campus research experiences are proposed, letters from the external sites expressing their willingness to have the RISE students participate in their summer programs should be provided. These letters should be included in item 16 (entitled Letters of Support) of the Research Plan. Letters should include information on the participating faculty and their research areas and extramural support. Biographical sketches of additional faculty members that can serve as mentors can be included as a document in the appendix.

4) Proposed Research Education Program: Provide programmatic detail on the special activities proposed (e.g., courses, curricula, seminars, workshops). Provide detailed information on plans to improve the academic and research competitiveness of UR students at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels and to increase their graduation from Ph.D. programs. A coordinated development plan is required.

Provide a brief rationale for each activity proposed and concise information on the selection process for the participants in the RISE program, including the criteria related to the students academic status, monitoring of student progress, and role of the faculty/personnel involved. Describe how each proposed specific academic development activity will contribute toward realization of the measurable objectives. Describe the milestones (i.e., anticipated intermediate steps toward the objectives). Give a brief account of the proposed schedule of the activities and whether these activities will be available to all students. Discuss any perceived impediments to implementing the proposed activities and alternative strategies to achieve the measurable objectives.

Proposed student development activities may include, but are not limited to: (a) revising and updating of science courses/curriculum; (b) developing interdisciplinary or advanced courses with focus on inquiry-based learning or critical thinking and using quantitative skills to address biological problems; (c) providing faculty pedagogical development (as long as it is aligned to a revision and update of a course/curriculum); (d) tutoring for excellence; (e) developing supplemental instruction (e.g., Treisman, U. (1992), College Mathematics Journal 23(5), 362-372); (f) providing collaborative learning experiences and group activities; (g) establishing research-based learning communities using interactive media and infusion of technology; (h) developing research skills through problem-based group research courses; (i) enhancing technical scientific reading comprehension, time management and technical writing skills, and hands-on inquiry based activities; (j) providing information on research careers and scientific seminars; (k) presenting research skills workshops; (l) revising/updating graduate courses with current research topics and developmental skill workshops (i.e., grantsmanship skills for competitive training and funding mechanisms, submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals, etc.); (m) providing activities for students trained in non-life sciences and/or quantitative sciences (i.e., mathematics, computer sciences) that could facilitate entry into biomedical or behavioral research careers; (n) providing institutional biomedical/behavioral research focused conferences and symposia; and (o) enhancing institutional infrastructure as it applies to implement any of the above activities. These activities may be offered to students enrolled full time during the academic year and/or in special summer sessions.

Applications proposing research experiences must demonstrate that participants will have meaningful research experiences in the laboratory of an active investigator who has extramural support and publishes. Provide details on how RISE students will select a research laboratory or be matched with a mentor, the number of hours that the student will spend in the laboratory, what the research experience will consist of, and what the student is expected to learn or accomplish.

The MORE division recognizes that some RISE-eligible institutions may not have enough active researchers with extramural funding to support on-campus research experiences. However, such institutions could create a biomedical/behavioral interdisciplinary research training classroom/laboratory/courses, as well as establish collaborative arrangements with research institutions that have a significant number of mentors with NIH or other extramural research support to have their students benefit from off-campus research experiences, especially during the summer. Thus, each RISE program is strongly encouraged to establish collaborations with institutions that have research-intensive environments (i.e., NIGMS IMSD and/or T32 institutions) in order to facilitate the networking and transition of RISE supported students to T32 training programs, as well as to magnify the institutional impact of the program. Information about NIGMS training (T32) programs is available at: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Training/.

5) Responsible Conduct of Research: Describe plans to provide formal and informal instruction to participants on scientific integrity and ethical principles in research. The plan should be appropriate for the duration and content of the proposed research education program. Although the NIH does not establish specific curricula or formal requirements, all programs are encouraged to consider instruction in the following areas: conflict of interest, responsible authorship, policies for handling misconduct, data management, data sharing, and policies regarding the use of human and animal subjects. Plans must address: 1) the subject matter of the instruction, the format of the instruction, the degree of program faculty participation, participant attendance, and the frequency of instruction; and 2) the rationale for the proposed plan of instruction.

If such instruction is not appropriate for the proposed research education program, then the PD/PI must provide a strong justification for its exclusion.

6) Evaluation Plan: Include evaluation plans for assessing the success of the program in achieving its goals and objectives. Benchmarks should be specified, and specific plans and procedures must be described to capture, analyze and report outcome measures that would determine the success of the research education program in achieving its objectives. The inclusion of evaluation instruments is encouraged. Applications that lack an evaluation plan will not be reviewed. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide information on the RISE program goal of increasing the number of students from underrepresented groups in biomedical and behavioral research who enter into and successfully complete Ph.D. degree programs in these fields. The plan should be designed to assess and evaluate how the proposed program progresses toward meeting its specific aims, measurable objectives, goals and outcomes. The plan must provide useful information to the PDs/PIs and the institution for improving the RISE program. Thus, the emphasis of the evaluation activities in the plan should be on (a) assessment of the overall impact of the program on the institution’s baseline numbers and efforts to accomplish its proposed goals of students that complete Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences, (b) improvement of the overall program outcome, and (c) informing the senior leadership in deciding which elements of the RISE program should be institutionalized.

The evaluation plan must be based on appropriate literature and cited methodology. The plan should also identify the selected evaluator and present his/her credentials. In general, the evaluator must have formal training and experience in evaluation methodology and statistics demonstrated by publications and/or reports in the field. His/her responsibilities usually include preparing reports and recommendations for the PDs/PIs and institutional administrators; interacting with RISE staff and staff from other campus-wide student academic preparation and educational collaboration and research training programs; making recommendations of new administrative structures, policies and procedures; establishing and maintaining contact with institutional officials for the collection and exchange of information; gathering data and information; finding and evaluating alternative solutions; and making recommendations for program direction. The evaluator also provides the conceptual framework for institutional change and suggests ways of reducing the resistance to change. He/she will provide training and technical assistance, as necessary, to staff and to collaborators to insure integrity and adequacy of data capture and reporting. Use the appendix to include the evaluation instruments as a single document.

7) Dissemination Plan: A specific plan must be provided to disseminate nationally any materials developed under the auspices of the research education program, e.g., Web postings, presentations at scientific meetings, workshops, etc. The plan must describe how the resources (including but not limited to websites) will be maintained and/or institutionalized beyond the funding cycle. Applications that lack a dissemination plan will not be reviewed.

Part 4 of the Research Plan (Inclusion Enrollment Report): Provide details about the pool of proposed participants, their qualifications, recruitment strategies and sources of applicant pool, etc. Describe the retention strategies and follow-up activities that would ensure a highly qualified participant pool. Describe the potential participant pool. Applicants must include a description (including numbers and percent) of the potential applicant pool based on the selection criteria established for the proposed RISE program. The data on student pool in the participating departments must be consistent with the enrollment numbers provided in Table 2 (Cumulative Institutional Baseline Data) under Significance in the Research Strategy section of the PHS 398 Research Plan Attachments (Section IV.6). Applicants requesting support for a graduate component (M.S. and/or Ph.D.) must also include an applicant outreach and recruitment plan listing of the institutions that will be providing the potential RISE participants.

Describe the process for the selection of the program-supported participants. Include the program selection criteria, candidate qualification process, and final selection process. Also include the academic position of the members of the participant selection committee (if applicable). Program-supported participants must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals or permanent residents, must be enrolled full time in academic degree programs in biomedical or behavioral science fields at the applicant institution, and their selection must be consistent with the goals of the RISE program.

Part 5 of the Research Plan (Progress Report Publication List): include the following table:

Table 7 Research Publications Co-authored by RISE-supported Participants

Reporting Period: __________________

Student Name (Year of Entry)	Student Academic Level (UG / M.S / Ph.D.)	Mentor (s)	Publications (PMCID, if applicable)	Electronic Link (if available)
Student name 1 (XXXX)

Instructions: Applications with only one previous funding cycle must include information from the last funding cycle. Applications with more than one previous funding cycle must include information from the last two consecutive funding cycles. List RISE supported students sequentially by the year of entry and provide the academic level while supported by the program. Provide the name of the mentor that participated in the research project and the citation of publications resulting for the student’s work highlighting the name of the program-supported student. Provide the PubMed Central Reference Number (PMCID), if the publication acknowledges the RISE grant, and the electronic link to the publication, if available. Do not include conference presentations or abstracts.

Resource Sharing Plan(s)

Not applicable

Appendix Materials

Applicants must follow the specific instructions on Appendix materials as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm).

Do not use the Appendix to circumvent the page limitations. An application that does not comply with the required page limitations may be delayed in the review process.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications submitted for this funding opportunity will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the ICs for funding consideration.

Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by NIGMS and in accordance with NIH peer review procedures (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/peer/), using the review criteria stated below.

As part of the initial merit review, all applications will:

Undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed and assigned an impact/priority score;
Receive a written critique; and
Receive a second level of review by the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council.

Applications submitted in response to this funding opportunity will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

Scientific merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
Availability of funds.
Relevance of the proposed Education Program to program priorities.
Funding under this program takes into consideration the legislative intent (see Executive Summary), and the past performance of the RISE program in increasing the entry of UR students into, and graduation from, Ph.D. programs, as well as the institutional impact of the program on decreasing the existing gap between UR and non-UR students pursuing and completing Ph.D. degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences are weighted heavily in making funding decisions.

The goals of NIH-supported research training, education, and career development programs are to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in adequate numbers and in appropriate scientific areas to address the Nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. In their written critiques, reviewers will be asked to comment on each of the following criteria in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research education program 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.

Research education program grant applications submitted in response to this funding opportunity announcement should be characterized by innovation, scholarship and responsiveness to the priorities and/or changing needs of the NIGMS in meeting its objectives. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIGMS program staff for current information about targeted priorities and policies before preparing an application (see Section VII).

Overall Impact/Priority Score: Reviewers will provide an overall impact/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the research education program to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the activities involved, in consideration of the following five core review criteria, and additional review criteria (as applicable for the proposed program).

Core Review Criteria: Reviewers will consider each of the five 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 the proposed research education program address scientific/education areas and/or topics important to the mission of the NIGMS? How will implementation of the proposed program advance the objectives of this funding opportunity announcement as well as the mission of the NIGMS? Are the proposed goals and specific measurable objectives consonant with the recognized needs of the applicant institution? In which ways will the proposed program produce a significant improvement in the academic preparation and competitiveness of UR students for successful completion of Ph.D. degree programs? If the aims/objectives of the program are achieved, what impact will they have on the education, research training and career preparation of UR students, and on the UR graduation rate in the participating department(s), college(s), and institution? If the aims of the application are achieved, will the proposed RISE program significantly improve the institutional baseline number of UR students that advance to the next academic step?

Approach: Are the conceptual or clinical framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, well reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics? Is there evidence that the program is based on sound research concepts and educational principles? Is the approach feasible and appropriate to achieve the stated research education goals? If the proposed program will recruit participants, are the recruitment, retention, and follow-up activities adequate to ensure a highly qualified and diverse participant pool? Is there an adequate pool of UR students in the participating department(s)?

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 aims of the project/program and the expertise of each of the PD/PIs?

Innovation: Is the research education program original and innovative? For example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area? Does this program duplicate, or overlap with, existing research education, training and/or career development activities currently supported at the applicant institution or available elsewhere? Adaptations of existing research education programs may be considered innovative under special circumstances, e.g., the addition of unique components and/or a proposal to determine portability of an existing program.

Investigators: Are the investigators appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the proposed program appropriate to the experience level of the PD/PI (or multiple PDs/PIs, if applicable) and other researchers? Does the investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the program (if applicable)? Is there evidence that an appropriate level of effort will be devoted by the program leadership to ensure the program's objectives? Is there an adequate number of appropriate research mentors available? If not, does the application describe how the students will participate in appropriate research training activities and experiences?

Environment: Does the scientific/educational environment in which the program will be conducted contribute to the probability of success? Does the proposed research education program benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of appropriate collaboration among participating programs, departments, and institutions? Is the institutional commitment to the proposed program appropriate? If multiple sites are participating, is this adequately justified in terms of the research education experiences provided? Are adequate plans provided for coordination and communication between multiple sites (if appropriate)? How well and in what ways does this program interact with other research education and research training programs at the applicant institution and with collaborating institutions?

2.A. Additional Review Criteria:

In addition to the above criteria, the following items will continue to be considered in the determination of scientific merit and the impact/priority score:

Resubmission Applications (formerly revised/amended applications): Are the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group adequate? Are the improvements in the resubmission application appropriate? Are the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group adequate? Are the improvements in the resubmission application appropriate?

For renewal applications only:

Has the research education program successfully achieved its stated objectives, especially in the context of NIGMS-MORE Division’s expectations (see Section IV.6 Specific Aims), during the prior project period?
Has the research education program successfully recruited a diverse pool of participants (if applicable)? Has the PD/PI effectively shaped the recruitment plan in response to recruitment outcomes? What has been the track record of this program in preparing UR students who enter into and successfully complete Ph.D. degree programs in RISE-relevant fields? Have there been significant changes to the institutional baseline numbers? What has been the impact of the program on decreasing the existing gap between UR and non-UR students pursuing and completing Ph.D. degrees in RISE-relevant sciences?
Has the program been innovative in the past and does it continue to demonstrate innovation? How effective was the previous approach? What has been the program impact and value to the institution?

Evaluation Plan: Is the evaluation plan and timeline adequate for assessing the effectiveness (process and outcome) of the program in achieving its goals and objectives? Is the evaluation plan based on appropriate literature and methodology? Does the plan adequately describe how outcomes will be determined and evaluated? Does the plan adequately address evaluation of the program’s impact on institutional baseline numbers and efforts? Does the proposed evaluator have the appropriate background and credentials?

For Renewal applications: Has the program been adequately evaluated and has the level of success been satisfactory? Do the results of the evaluation document a continued need for support for this program? Is the approach for the next project period responsive to the results of the program’s evaluation?

Dissemination Plan: Is the dissemination plan strong and of high quality? Does the plan include a clear statement of how resources (including but not limited to websites) will be maintained and/or institutionalized beyond the funding period?

Protection of Human Subjects from Research Risk: The involvement of human subjects and protections from research risk relating to their participation in the proposed research will be assessed. See item 6 of the Research Plan component of the SF424 (R&R).

Inclusion of Women, Minorities and Children in Research: The adequacy of plans to include subjects from both genders, all racial and ethnic groups (and subgroups), and children as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research will be assessed. Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will also be evaluated. See item 7 of the Research Plan component of the SF424 (R&R).

Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals in Research: If vertebrate animals are to be used in the project, the five items described under item 11 of the Research Plan component of the SF 424 (R&R) will be assessed.

Biohazards: If materials or procedures are proposed that are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, the adequacy of the proposed protection will be assessed.

2.B. Additional Review Considerations

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

Budget and Period of Support: The reasonableness of the proposed budget and the appropriateness of the requested period of support in relation to the proposed research education program will be assessed by the reviewers. The impact/priority score should not be affected by the evaluation of the budget.

Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research: Peer reviewers will assess the applicant's plans for training in the responsible conduct of research on the basis of the appropriateness of topics, format, amount and nature of faculty participation, and the frequency and duration of instruction.

The plan will be discussed after the overall determination of merit, and the review panel's evaluation of the plan will not be a factor in the determination of the impact/priority score. Plans will be judged as acceptable or unacceptable. The acceptability of the plan will be described in an administrative note on the summary statement. Regardless of the impact/priority score, applications with unacceptable plans will not be funded until the applicant provides a revised, acceptable plan. Program staff will judge the acceptability of the revised plan.

Resource Sharing Plans

Not Applicable

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Not Applicable

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

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 NIH eRA Commons.

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant. For details, applicants may refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General.

Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the Notice of Award (NoA) are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs. See Section IV.5., Funding Restrictions.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email notification from the NIGMS to the grantee business official.

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

Termination of Award: When a grantee institution plans to terminate an award, program and grants management staff at the NIH funding component must be notified in writing as soon as possible.

Change of Institution: The research education program may not be transferred from one institution to another.

Change of Program: Awards are made for a specific program under the guidance and leadership of a particular PD/PI. A change in any of these parameters requires prior approval by the responsible program officer in the NIH funding component. A rationale must be provided for any proposed changes in the aims of the original, peer-reviewed program. If the new program does not satisfy this requirement, the award will be terminated.

Change of PD/PI: If change of the PD/PI is necessary, support of the award is not automatic but may be continued with prior written approval by the NIH funding component, provided that the following conditions are met. The current PD/PI or the grantee institution must submit a written request for the change, signed by the appropriate institutional business official, to the responsible program officer of the NIH funding component that describes the reasons for the change. The Biographical Sketch of the proposed PD/PI, including a complete listing of active research grant support, must be provided. The information in the request must establish that the Specific Aims of the original peer-reviewed research education program will remain unchanged under the direction of the new PD/PI and that the new PD/PI has the appropriate research and administrative expertise to lead the program. This request must be submitted sufficiently in advance of the requested effective date to allow the necessary time for review.

3. Reporting

Awards made in response to this FOA are subject to SNAP. Since RISE programs may involve multiple years, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Progress Report should provide information on the development and implementation of the proposed research education program (including education in the responsible conduct of research), modifications to the research education program as originally proposed, details about the applicant pool and the participants including their career level, gender, and racial/ethnic backgrounds (if applicable), updates on the evaluation of the research education program and dissemination activities (if applicable), and a list of any publications and/or other materials arising from the research education program. Each year, the progress report must include the number of appointed (program-supported) undergraduate and graduate (M.S. and/or Ph.D. as applicable) participants (including name, contact information [phone, address, email], UR group, gender, current academic status, degree pursued and institution); the information and number of presentations, as well as information and the number of peer-reviewed publications including program-supported participants as co-authors; the number of former program-supported participants initiating and/or continuing postdoctoral training (including name, contact information [phone, address, email], UR group, gender, current academic status, degree pursued and institution), and the number of former program-supported participants engaged in research careers (including name, contact information [phone, address, email], UR group, gender, degree pursued, institution, and current academic status). Since the RISE program is an institutional program, the report must also provide the following information: the total (cumulative) number of undergraduates and graduates (M.S. and/or PhD., as applicable) completing degrees at the applicant institution; the total (cumulative) number of students that completed a degree in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences at the applicant institution and then completed a Ph.D. in these fields at the applicant institution (if applicable) or elsewhere; the total (cumulative) number of students that completed a degree in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences at the applicant institution and then completed a professional degree programs (D.D.S., M.D., etc.) at the applicant institution (if applicable) or elsewhere; the total (cumulative) number of undergraduate and graduate (M.S.) students that enrolled in Ph.D. programs in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences at institutions with research-intensive environments; and the total (cumulative) number of undergraduate and graduate (M.S.) students that completed Ph.D. programs in biomedical and/or behavioral sciences at institutions with research-intensive environments. The annual progress report must include the 2271 appointment forms completed for the participants supported during the reporting period.

Evaluation: In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, the NIH may request information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program. Accordingly, award recipients are hereby notified that they may be contacted after completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of program development, implementation, dissemination, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of this program.

Publication and Sharing of Research Results: Investigators are encouraged to submit reports of their findings for publication to the journals of their choice. For each publication that results from this award, NIH support should be acknowledged by a footnote in language similar to the following: This project was supported by NIH grant number ________. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Final Reports: A final Progress Report and Financial Status Report are required when an award is terminated.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage your inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Inquiries may fall into three areas: scientific/research, peer review, and financial or grants management issues:

1. Scientific/Research Contacts:

For Institutional Eligibility:

Hinda Zlotnik, Ph.D.
Chief, MBRS Branch
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH
45 Center Drive, Room 2As.37, MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200
Telephone: (301) 594-3900
Fax: (301) 480-2753
Email: [email protected]

For General Information on Program Policies:

Alberto L. Rivera-Rentas, Ph.D.
Program Director, MBRS Branch
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH
45 Center Drive, Room 2As.37, MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200
Telephone: (301) 594-3900
Fax: (301) 480-2753
Email: [email protected]

2. Peer Review Contacts:

Helen R. Sunshine, Ph.D.
Chief, Office of Scientific Review
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH
45 Center Drive, Room 3AN.12, MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200
Telephone: (301) 594-2881
Fax: (301) 480-8506
Email: [email protected]

3. Financial or Grants Management Contacts:

Ms. Lori Burge
Grants Management Officer
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH
45 Center Drive, Room 2AN.50B, MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200
Telephone: (301) 594-5132
Fax: (301) 480-2554
Email: [email protected]

Section VIII. Other Information

Required Federal Citations

Use of Animals in Research:
Recipients of PHS support for activities involving live, vertebrate animals must comply with PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/PHSPolicyLabAnimals.pdf) as mandated by the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/hrea1985.htm), and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm) as applicable.

Human Subjects Protection:
Federal regulations (45 CFR 46) require that applications and proposals involving human subjects must be evaluated with reference to the risks to the subjects, the adequacy of protection against these risks, the potential benefits of the research to the subjects and others, and the importance of the knowledge gained or to be gained (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm).

Data and Safety Monitoring Plan:
Data and safety monitoring is required for all types of clinical trials, including physiologic toxicity and dose-finding studies (Phase I); efficacy studies (Phase II); efficacy, effectiveness and comparative trials (Phase III). Monitoring should be commensurate with risk. The establishment of data and safety monitoring boards (DSMBs) is required for multi-site clinical trials involving interventions that entail potential risks to the participants ( NIH Policy for Data and Safety Monitoring, NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-084.html).

Sharing Research Data:
Investigators submitting an NIH application seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in any single year are expected to include a plan for data sharing or state why this is not possible (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing). Investigators should seek guidance from their institutions, on issues related to institutional policies and local institutional review board (IRB) rules, as well as local, State and Federal laws and regulations, including the Privacy Rule. Reviewers will consider the data sharing plan but will not factor the plan into the determination of the scientific merit or the impact/priority score.

Policy for Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS):
NIH is interested in advancing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify common genetic factors that influence health and disease through a centralized GWAS data repository. For the purposes of this policy, a genome-wide association study is defined as any study of genetic variation across the entire human genome that is designed to identify genetic associations with observable traits (such as blood pressure or weight), or the presence or absence of a disease or condition. All applications, regardless of the amount requested, proposing a genome-wide association study are expected to provide a plan for submission of GWAS data to the NIH-designated GWAS data repository, or provide an appropriate explanation why submission to the repository is not possible. Data repository management (submission and access) is governed by the Policy for Sharing of Data Obtained in NIH Supported or Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies, NIH Guide NOT-OD-07-088. For additional information, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/gwas/.

Sharing of Model Organisms:
NIH is committed to support efforts that encourage sharing of important research resources including the sharing of model organisms for biomedical research (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/model_organism/index.htm). At the same time the NIH recognizes the rights of grantees and contractors to elect and retain title to subject inventions developed with Federal funding pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act (see the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Beginning October 1, 2004, all investigators submitting an NIH application or contract proposal are expected to include in the application/proposal a description of a specific plan for sharing and distributing unique model organism research resources generated using NIH funding or state why such sharing is restricted or not possible. This will permit other researchers to benefit from the resources developed with public funding. The inclusion of a model organism sharing plan is not subject to a cost threshold in any year and is expected to be included in all applications where the development of model organisms is anticipated.

Access to Research Data through the Freedom of Information Act:
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 has been revised to provide access to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under some circumstances. Data that are: (1) first produced in a project that is supported in whole or in part with Federal funds; and (2) cited publicly and officially by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. It is important for applicants to understand the basic scope of this amendment. NIH has provided guidance at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm. Applicants may wish to place data collected under this funding opportunity in a public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include information about this in the budget justification section of the application. In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider use of data collected under this award.

Inclusion of Women And Minorities in Clinical Research:
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 clinical research projects unless a clear and compelling justification is 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 clinical research should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-001.html); a complete copy of the updated Guidelines is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm. The amended policy incorporates: the use of an NIH definition of clinical research; updated racial and ethnic categories in compliance with the new OMB standards; clarification of language governing NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials consistent with the SF424 (R&R) application; and updated roles and responsibilities of NIH staff and the extramural community. The policy continues to require for all NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials that: a) all applications or proposals and/or protocols must 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) investigators must report annual accrual and progress in conducting analyses, as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences.

Inclusion of Children as Participants in Clinical Research:
The NIH maintains a policy that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) must be included in all clinical research, conducted or supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.

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 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/children/children.htm).

Required Education on the Protection of Human Subject Participants:
NIH policy requires education on the protection of human subject participants for all investigators submitting NIH applications for research involving human subjects and individuals designated as key personnel. The policy is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-039.html.

Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC):
Criteria for Federal funding of research on hESCs can be found at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp and at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-116.html. Only research using hESC lines that are registered in the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry will be eligible for Federal funding (http://escr.nih.gov/). It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide in the project description and elsewhere in the application as appropriate, the official NIH identifier(s) for the hESC line(s) to be used in the proposed research.

NIH Public Access Policy Requirement:
In accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy, investigators funded by the NIH must submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central (see http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/), an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. The NIH Public Access Policy is available at (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html). For more information, see the Public Access webpage at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/.

Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued final modification to the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information", the "Privacy Rule", on August 14, 2002. The Privacy Rule is a federal regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 that governs the protection of individually identifiable health information, and is administered and enforced by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Decisions about applicability and implementation of the Privacy Rule reside with the researcher and his/her institution. The OCR website (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/) provides information on the Privacy Rule, including a complete Regulation Text and a set of decision tools on "Am I a covered entity?" Information on the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on NIH processes involving the review, funding, and progress monitoring of grants, cooperative agreements, and research contracts can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-025.html.

URLs in NIH Grant Applications or Appendices:
All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. For publications listed in the appendix and/or Progress report, Internet addresses (URLs) or PubMed Central (PMC) submission identification numbers must be used for publicly accessible on-line journal articles. Publicly accessible on-line journal articles or PMC articles/manuscripts accepted for publication that are directly relevant to the project may be included only as URLs or PMC submission identification numbers accompanying the full reference in either the Bibliography & References Cited section, the Progress Report Publication List section, or the Biographical Sketch section of the NIH grant application. A URL or PMC submission identification number citation may be repeated in each of these sections as appropriate. There is no limit to the number of URLs or PMC submission identification numbers that can be cited.

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 FOA is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.

Authority and Regulations:
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at http://www.cfda.gov/ and is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372. 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. See also Senate Appropriations Committee Report, No. 92-316, July 29, 1971, Executive Order 12900, Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans February 22, 1994, Executive Order 12876, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, November 1, 1993, and Executive Order 13021, October 21, 1996 and Outline of Work Plan, August 18, 1998, White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and discourage the 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.

Loan Repayment Programs:
NIH encourages applications for educational loan repayment from qualified health professionals who have made a commitment to pursue a research career involving clinical, pediatric, contraception, infertility, and health disparities related areas. The LRP is an important component of NIH's efforts to recruit and retain the next generation of researchers by providing the means for developing a research career unfettered by the burden of student loan debt. Note that an NIH grant is not required for eligibility and concurrent career award and LRP applications are encouraged. The periods of career award and LRP award may overlap providing the LRP recipient with the required commitment of time and effort, as LRP awardees must commit at least 50% of their time (at least 20 hours per week based on a 40 hour week) for two years to the research. For further information, please see: http://www.lrp.nih.gov/.