Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information

Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Funding Opportunity Title
Phased Research to Support Substance Use Epidemiology, Prevention, and Services Studies (R61/R33 Clinical Trials Optional)
Activity Code

R61/R33 Exploratory/Developmental Phased Award

Announcement Type
New
Related Notices

    See Notices of Special Interest associated with this funding opportunity

  • April 17, 2024 - Notice of Change to Application Due Date for PAR-24-062, "Phased Research to Support Substance Use Epidemiology, Prevention, and Services Studies (R61/R33 Clinical Trials Optional)". See Notice NOT-DA-24-026
  • February 23, 2024- Notice of Change to Key Dates for PAR-24-062. See Notice NOT-DA-23-053.
  • August 31, 2022- Implementation Changes for Genomic Data Sharing Plans Included with Applications Due on or after January 25, 2023. See Notice NOT-OD-22-198.
  • August 5, 2022- Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. See Notice NOT-OD-22-189.
Funding Opportunity Number (FON)
PAR-24-062
Companion Funding Opportunity
None
Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Assistance Listing Number(s)
93.279, 93.273
Funding Opportunity Purpose

The purpose of this notice of this funding opportunity (NOFO) is to support translational research across epidemiology, addiction services, and prevention to, ultimately, reduce the burden of substance use on public health. This NOFO encourages research that facilitates rapid translation from one discipline to another (e.g., epidemiology to prevention); supports community/stakeholder engagement in substance use treatment and prevention clinical trials; or reduces the research to practice gap through the rapid transition from pilot study to clinical trial, or effectiveness to implementation study. The goal is to support translational research improving our ability to 1) identify and characterize malleable individual, familial, behavioral, developmental, and socio-cultural/environmental factors (within the population or precise subgroups) with the potential for multi-directional transfer of knowledge; 2) prevent initiation of substance use or progression to misuse or use disorder; and 3) maximize the efficient delivery of high-quality, personalized addiction treatment and related services to ultimately inform and facilitate real world responses designed to reduce the burden of substance use, misuse and/or addiction on the health of the population. This NOFO invites projects for which preliminary feasibility or pilot data are not available.

This NOFO requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), which will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation. Applications that fail to include a PEDP will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn. Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance material.

Key Dates

Posted Date
November 08, 2023
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)
January 14, 2024
Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

One month prior to application due date.

Dates in bold and italics reflect changes per NOT-DA-24-026

Application Due Dates

Review and Award Cycles

New

Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed)

AIDS - New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision, as allowed

Scientific Merit Review

Advisory Council Review

Earliest Start Date

February 14, 2024Not ApplicableMarch 15, 2024July 2024October 2024December 2024
June 14, 2024June 14, 2024August 14, 2024November 2024January 2025April 2025
October 11, 2024October 11, 2024December 13, 2024March 2025May 2025July 2025
February 14, 2025February 14, 2025March 17, 2025July 2025October 2025December 2025
June 13, 2025June 13, 2025August 14, 2025November 2025January 2026April 2026
October 10, 2025October 10, 2025December 15, 2025March 2026May 2026July 2026
February 13, 2026February 13, 2026March 16, 2026July 2026October 2026December 2026
June 15, 2026, 2026June 15, 2026August 14, 2026November 2026January 2027April 2027
October 14, 2026October 14, 2026December 14, 2026March 2027May 2027July 2027

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

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

Expiration Date
New Date - December 15, 2026 (Original Date: November 14, 2026) per issuance of NOT-DA-23-053
Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

  1. Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
  2. Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.

  3. Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.


  4. Table of Contents

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) advances science on alcohol and substance use to improve health through effective intervention, epidemiological, translational, and services research. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) support science across a continuum of research portfolios related to epidemiology/etiology, prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction.

This NOFO aims to: 1) advance substance use research priorities related to rapid translation from one discipline to another (e.g., epidemiology to prevention); 2) facilitate community/stakeholder engagement in substance use treatment and prevention clinical trials; and 3) reduce the research to practice gap through the rapid transition from pilot study to clinical trial or effectiveness to implementation study. Applications in response to this NOFO will require a phased approach, with 1-2 years of preparatory work during the R61 phase prior to transitioning to the R33 phase to conduct a larger study. Projects must meet relevant milestones outlined in the R61 phase of the project in order to transition to the R33 phase. Phased awards do not require pilot or feasibility data at the time of submission, and transition to Phase 2 is not guaranteed.

Research Objectives

Below are examples of broad types of research that may be appropriate under this NOFO. Investigators are also encouraged to review existing NOFOs, NOSIs and the NIDA and NIAAA websites for additional details on high priority research areas of interest.

Types of studies include, but are not limited to:

  • A pilot test of a promising intervention in a new population/setting that transitions to a larger implementation/effectiveness trial.
  • Epidemiologic research that supports the development and/or testing of a novel or adapted intervention to prevent substance use initiation, misuse, or use disorder.
  • Epidemiologic research that supports the testing of an adapted intervention to treat substance use disorder, support recovery, or provide harm reduction services.
  • A community-driven study that includes engagement of community experts and co-creation of research methods in the planning phase, then transitions to a study of the impact of a policy or program to address substance use.
  • A multi-site implementation study requiring a planning phase to prepare multiple sites for implementation, then transition to a large trial with the intervention administered across diverse settings/organizations.

Applications should propose rigorous methods that are appropriate to the area of science (epidemiology, services, prevention). Applications that are innovative and do not focus on replicating previous findings will be prioritized. Key elements that applicants should consider include:

  • Diverse and/or multi-disciplinary teams, including meaningful engagement of relevant practitioners and community stakeholders in study conceptualization, design, execution, and interpretation.
  • Potential scalability and sustainability of the proposed intervention, if included, including perspectives of prospective funders/payers, workforce/practitioners, organizational or policy leaders, and patients/community members should the proposed intervention prove to be successful.
  • The role of health disparities and inequities and their relevance to the phenomena, populations, settings, interventions, or services being studied.

To maximize the acceptability, feasibility, scalability, and sustainability of prevention or treatment services being studied, applicants are encouraged to engage relevant end users in study conceptualization, design, execution, and interpretation. For the purpose of this NOFO, end user is broadly defined and may include policymakers, state and local level decision makers, practitioners, intervention implementers, families, youth, and community members, among others. For instance, applicants may partner with communities and localities who use existing funds (e.g., insurance; entitlement programs; federal block grants; settlement funds) to support evidence-based interventions and leverage those resources as the foundation for building infrastructure. Additionally, applicants may consider partnering with settings or organizations that receive SAMHSA program grants, in an effort to study programs leveraging existing federal funds and determine the impact of current federal investment.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Priorities

The NIDA 2022-2026 Strategic Plan outlines the Institute’s mission to advance science on substance use and addiction and improve health through effective intervention, epidemiological, translational, and services research that can be disseminated and implemented on a broad scale. The Strategic Plan identifies the need to: 1) Test interventions across the continuum; 2) Improve our understanding of substance use, behavior, and social determinants to better understand targets of intervention; and 3) Support research to ensure evidence-based decisions, strategies, and approaches are implemented by systems as broadly and rapidly as possible to improve health.

NIDA’s Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research (DESPR) advances the NIDA mission by supporting research across the continuum of epidemiology, prevention, services, recovery, and harm reduction to reduce the impact of substance use and improve public health. Each of DESPR’s three branches the Epidemiology Research Branch, the Services Research Branch, and the Prevention Research Branch identify and update priority areas of science on the NIDA website.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Priorities

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) supports and conducts research on the adverse impact of alcohol use on human health and well-being. NIAAA’s major initiatives seek to address alcohol-related issues across the lifespan. To accomplish this, NIAAA supports research in areas ranging from basic science to clinical studies and from genetics to neuroscience to epidemiology. Priorities of the NIAAA Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research may be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AA-23-018.html.

Phases of the Award & Milestones

Support for this research will be provided in two phases using the R61/R33 Exploratory/Developmental Phased Award mechanism. This includes initial support of up to two years of the R61 phase, followed by up to four years of support for the R33 phase. Transition to the R33 phase is contingent upon successfully meeting R61 milestones, with a maximum of six years total support for both phases.

Applicants are not required to provide preliminary data for this NOFO. However, even for high risk/high reward research, applications will be prioritized that provide a theoretical framework and a clear vision for how the research can be sustained beyond the life of the grant. The R61 phase is a planning phase that can be for up to two years and will support activities that establish targets for the R33 phase and/or demonstrate feasibility. It is expected that work during this phase will largely focus on issues related to 1) collecting feasibility or pilot data for a clinical trial; 2) primary data collection, secondary analysis of existing data sets, or conducting policy analysis/impact studies to establish targets for an intervention; 3) stakeholder engagement to ensure buy-in, sustainability, scalability, etc.; 4) testing hypotheses for which preliminary data is not otherwise available; or 5) demonstrating ability to build necessary infrastructure to support intervention implementation. Analysis of existing data may be appropriate to all types, including qualitative information and the integration of quantitative and qualitative data. Applications must delineate milestones that signify the completion of major elements necessary to support a larger scale project in the second phase (e.g., successful piloting of an intervention or intervention component, report with epidemiological findings, accessing or improving timeliness of a specific dataset, establishing Memoranda of Understanding [MOU] with key stakeholders, etc.).

For transition to the R33 phase, recipients must submit the transition package 75 days prior to the anticipated start date of the R33 phase. The transition plan should include the R61 progress report describing in detail the progress towards the R61 milestones and a description of how research proposed for the R33 phase will be supported by the completion of the R61 phase milestones. These materials will be evaluated by NIH program staff to determine if the milestones were met.

Transition to the R33 phase requires administrative review by NIH staff and is not guaranteed. Approval of the transition to the R33 phase will be based on the original R61/R33 peer review recommendations, successful completion of transition milestones, any proposed changes to the R33 research based on R61 findings, program priorities, and availability of funds. It is not expected that all applications will continue to the R33 phase.

Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP)

  • This NOFO requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) as described in NOT-MH-21-310, submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment (see Section IV).
  • Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance material. The PEDP will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation, as well as considered among programmatic matters with respect to funding decisions.

Applications Not Responsive to this NOFO:

The following applications will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed:

  • Applications that do not include research related to substance use epidemiology, prevention, or services research.
  • Applications focused solely on testing new treatment interventions.
  • Applications that do not include a Milestone Plan (see Part 2. Section IV Other Project Information below for instructions on submission of the milestone plan).

Pre-Application Consultation

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with appropriate NIH Program staff early in the application development process. This early contact will provide an opportunity to discuss and clarify NIH policies and guidelines, including the scope of the project relative to the NIDA/DESPR or NIAAA priorities and the intent of this NOFO.

Special Considerations

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the guidelines and adhere to the requirements applicable to their research listed in the Special Considerations for NIDA Funding Opportunities and Awards. Upon award, these considerations will be included in the Notice of Grant Award.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Investigators proposing NIH-defined clinical trials may refer to the Research Methods Resources website for information about developing statistical methods and study designs.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

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

Application Types Allowed
New
Resubmission

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.

Clinical Trial?

Optional: Accepting applications that either propose or do not propose clinical trial(s).

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

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

Award Budget

Application budgets must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The R61 phase is limited to a budget of no more than $350,000 in direct costs per year and the R33 phase is limited to a budget of no more than $750,000 in direct costs per year.

Award Project Period

The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is six years. This includes up to two years for the R61 phase and up to four years for the R33 phase, with the total project period for both phases not to exceed six years.

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

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

All organizations administering an eligible parent award may apply for a supplement under this NOFO.

Higher Education Institutions

  • Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or 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
  • Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
  • Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

  • Small Businesses
  • For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Local Governments

  • State Governments
  • County Governments
  • City or Township Governments
  • Special District Governments
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Federal Government

  • Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
  • U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

  • Independent School Districts
  • Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
  • Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
  • Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
  • Regional Organizations
  • Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Organizations)
Foreign Organizations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.

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

Required Registrations

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information.

  • System for Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
    • NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
    • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) - A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
  • eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants.gov registration; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
  • Grants.gov Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

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

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

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. See, Reminder: Notice of NIH's Encouragement of Applications Supporting Individuals from Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups as well as Individuals with Disabilities, NOT-OD-22-019.

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

2. Cost Sharing

This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

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

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

  • A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
  • A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
  • An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications).

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

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

Letter of Intent

Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

  • Descriptive title of proposed activity
  • Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
  • Names of other key personnel
  • Participating institution(s)
  • Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to: NIDALetterofIntent@mail.nih.gov

Page Limitations

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

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

SF424(R&R) Cover

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

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

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

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. The additional instructions apply:

Other Attachments:

Timeline & Milestone Plan (Required - 2 page maximum)

Applicants must include an Other Attachment entitled Timeline and Milestone Plan, clearly specifying proposed milestones and when those milestones are expected to be achieved. Milestones should be specific, quantifiable, and scientifically justified; they should establish the feasibility or empirical basis for pursuing the R33 phase of the study. Milestones should not simply be a restatement of the specific aims for the R61 phase, they should signify the completion of major elements necessary to support the larger scale research project in the second phase of the award. For applications where there is no preliminary data or where new partnerships are proposed, applicants should be especially attentive to proposing milestones that will help establish the feasibility of their proposed R33 project. The application should include contingency plans to proactively confront potential delays in meeting the milestones.

Examples of potential milestones for the R61 phase include, but are not limited to:

  • Data to be used in the epidemiological study, including how those data represent the population of focus and the targeted outcomes or mechanisms of interest.
  • A report of an epidemiological analysis of risk factors or target consequences to be addressed in a trial.
  • A summary of planned implementation strategies, including staff selection, staff training, supervision, and fidelity measures.
  • Evidence of having established research partners the community and/or system of relevance, and a plan for collaborating over the course of the research project.
  • Developed and piloted study elements including measures, the study design, adaptation or refinement of the intervention or delivery strategies, intervention manuals, and/or engagement and implementation strategies (e.g., fidelity monitoring, training).
  • A final plan for recruiting, consenting, and retaining participants, describing where recruitment will occur, how many participants are likely to be recruited, and the process for obtaining consent.
  • Tests of data collection and data management systems and processes.
  • Data safety and operational oversight plans; regulatory approvals (e.g., IRB, Tribal review, Data and Safety Monitoring Plan [DSMP]) and other essential documents and procedures for safeguarding data and protecting participants.
  • Updated data sharing protocols and/or plans for data archival, and a timeline for releasing the first set of data or publication of results.

Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP)

  • In an Other Attachment entitled Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives, all applicants must include a summary of strategies to advance the scientific and technical merit of the proposed project through expanded inclusivity.
  • The PEDP should provide a holistic and integrated view of how enhancing diverse perspectives is viewed and supported throughout the application and can incorporate elements with relevance to any review criteria (significance, investigator(s), innovation, approach, and environment) as appropriate.
  • Where possible, applicant(s) should align their description with these required elements within the research strategy section.
  • The PEDP will vary depending on the scientific aims, expertise required, the environment and performance site(s), as well as how the project aims are structured.
  • The PEDP may be no more than 1-page in length and should include a timeline and milestones for relevant components that will be considered as part of the review.

Examples of items that advance inclusivity in research and may be part of the PEDP can include, but are not limited to:

  • Discussion of engagement with different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive, undergraduate-focused, minority-serving, community-based).
  • Description of any planned partnerships that may enhance geographic and regional diversity.
  • Plan to enhance recruiting of women and individuals from groups historically underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce, especially end users of the research.
  • Proposed monitoring activities to identify and measure PEDP progress benchmarks.
  • Plan to utilize the project infrastructure (i.e., research and structure) to support career-enhancing research opportunities for diverse junior, early- and mid-career researchers.
  • Description of any training and/or mentoring opportunities available to encourage participation of students, postdoctoral researchers and co-investigators from diverse backgrounds.
  • Plan to develop transdisciplinary collaboration(s) that require unique expertise and/or solicit diverse perspectives to address research question(s).
  • Publication plan that enumerates planned manuscripts and proposed lead authorship.
  • Outreach and planned engagement activities to enhance recruitment of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups in research.

For further information on the Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), please see https://braininitiative.nih.gov/about/plan-enhancing-diverse-perspectives-pedp

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

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

R&R Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. The additional instructions apply:

PEDP implementation costs

R&R Subaward Budget

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

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

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

PHS 398 Research Plan

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

Specific Aims: In the single page attachment allowed for the specific aims, applicants should provide clearly marked headers for R61 Specific Aims and R33 Specific Aims with brief descriptions of the aims specific to each phase of the study.

Research Strategy:

The Research Strategy should present an overview of the state of the science, a detailed discussion of the specific protocol and approach to data collection, and demonstrate consideration of long-term sustainability and scalability of the proposed efforts. The Research Strategy should also include a description of the team’s experience with the research methods, study population, and setting.

The following criteria should be addressed:

Significance: The R61 and R33 should clearly address a single set of research questions and goals, with the R61 phase building capacity, developing infrastructure, and establishing feasibility for the study to be conducted in the R33 phase. Given this integration, only one Significance section is needed.

The application should demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the significance of the proposed research. The significance must include justification of the importance of the research questions. The application must make clear how the results will expand the evidence base and result in sustainable change and/or additional studies of impact.

Innovation: Given the integration of the R61/R33 phases, only one Innovation section is needed. Applications must describe how the proposed research is innovative in terms of the research methods, population of focus, intervention adaptations, intervention delivery, the investigative team, community partnerships and plans for study co-development, translational study design, data collection protocols, economic analysis, dissemination and sustainability plans, or other potential sources of innovation.

Approach: The application should contain separate Approach sections clearly labeled for the R61 and R33 phases, as described below. It is not necessary to repeat any information or details in the R33 section that are described in the R61 section. Applications must also include a Timeline & Milestone plan as an attachment as described in the SF424 (R&R) Other Project Information. The Approach sections may reference this attachment and should limit what is repeated from this attachment, except where necessary for clarity.

R61 (Phase 1) Approach

All projects must include the following in the R61 Approach section:

  • Plans for study establishment, including preliminary data analysis, pilot testing, community engagement, or other administrative tasks.
  • Plans to understand and address issues of equity, as relevant to the proposed research project.
  • Plans to enhance the likelihood that interventions tested will be sustained if found to be effective.

For R61 applications involving primary data collection, the sampling plan, measure selection and recruitment strategy should be described and scientifically justified. For R61 applications involving secondary data analysis, the selection of dataset(s) should be justified, and any limitations of the dataset should be addressed.

The focus of the R61 phase is the pilot/foundational work needed to inform the larger study proposed in the R33. The R61 Approach section application should detail the strategies that will be taken in order to meet the milestones proposed in order to transition to the R33 phase. Applicants should provide a description of how the study designs, methods and assessments are complementary such that outcomes of the R61 will inform execution and enhance the interpretation of R33 phase outcomes.

R33 (Phase 2) Approach

The research Approach section for the R33 phase must include detailed descriptions of the proposed effectiveness research. Applications must also clearly describe:

  • A model that clearly operationalizes the project’s stated theory of change and illustrates the linkages between intervention activities/services, outputs, and expected outcomes.
  • An analytical plan, including plans to examine whether intervention-induced changes in the proposed mechanisms of action are associated with and account for changes in the outcomes of interest.
  • Discussion of the tools, instruments, or other methods that will be used to collect data on each output and outcome.
  • A timeline for activities to be completed in the R33 phase.
  • A discussion of any impediments that could require an addendum to the research plan or timeline with a discussion of alternative approaches.

Letters of Support: Include letters of support/agreement for any collaborative arrangements, subcontracts, or consultants. For activities to be conducted at an institution other than the applicant institution, a letter of assurance or comparable documentation, signed by the collaborator as well as the institutional officials, must be submitted with the application.

Resource Sharing Plan:

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Other Plan(s):

Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H application forms packages.

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

  • All applicants planning research (funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH) that results in the generation of scientific data are required to comply with the instructions for the Data Management and Sharing Plan. All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Management and Sharing Plan.
Appendix:

Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered Yes to the question Are Human Subjects Involved? on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

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

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

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

Foreign Organizations

Foreign (non-U.S.) organizations must follow policies described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, and procedures for foreign organizations described throughout the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

See Part 1. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications.

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

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the How to Apply Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

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

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

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

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

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this NOFO for information on registration requirements.

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

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by NIDA, NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant, and/or non-responsive will not be reviewed.

Applications must include annual milestones for PEDP. Applications that fail to include annual milestones will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn. Applications must include a PEDP submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment. Applications that fail to include a PEDP will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn before review.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

A proposed Clinical Trial application may include study design, methods, and intervention that are not by themselves innovative but address important questions or unmet needs. Additionally, the results of the clinical trial may indicate that further clinical development of the intervention is unwarranted or lead to new avenues of scientific investigation.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

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

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project rigorous? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Are the scientific rationale and need for a clinical trial to test the proposed hypothesis or intervention well supported by preliminary data, clinical and/or preclinical studies, or information in the literature or knowledge of biological mechanisms? For trials focusing on clinical or public health endpoints, is this clinical trial necessary for testing the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention that could lead to a change in clinical practice, community behaviors or health care policy? For trials focusing on mechanistic, behavioral, physiological, biochemical, or other biomedical endpoints, is this trial needed to advance scientific understanding?

Specific to this NOFO:

  • To what extent does the application demonstrate understanding of the importance of addressing substance use for the population of focus in the proposed research?
  • To what degree does the proposed research build on past research and expand the evidence base for the population, setting, or area of concern?
  • To what extent do the efforts described in the PEDP further the significance of the project?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or those in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance, and organizational structure appropriate for the project?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

With regard to the proposed leadership for the project, do the PD/PI(s) and key personnel have the expertise, experience, and ability to organize, manage and implement the proposed clinical trial and meet milestones and timelines? Do they have appropriate expertise in study coordination, data management and statistics? For a multicenter trial, is the organizational structure appropriate and does the application identify a core of potential center investigators and staffing for a coordinating center?

Specific to this NOFO:

  • To what extent will the efforts described in the PEDP strengthen and enhance the expertise required for the project?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Does the design/research plan include innovative elements, as appropriate, that enhance its sensitivity, potential for information or potential to advance scientific knowledge or clinical practice?

Specific to this NOFO:

  • To what extent will the efforts described in the PEDP meaningfully contribute to innovation?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators included plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects?

If the project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, are the plans to address 1) the protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion or exclusion of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults), justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Does the application adequately address the following, if applicable

Study Design

Is the study design justified and appropriate to address primary and secondary outcome variable(s)/endpoints that will be clear, informative and relevant to the hypothesis being tested? Is the scientific rationale/premise of the study based on previously well-designed preclinical and/or clinical research? Given the methods used to assign participants and deliver interventions, is the study design adequately powered to answer the research question(s), test the proposed hypothesis/hypotheses, and provide interpretable results? Is the trial appropriately designed to conduct the research efficiently? Are the study populations (size, gender, age, demographic group), proposed intervention arms/dose, and duration of the trial, appropriate and well justified?

Are potential ethical issues adequately addressed? Is the process for obtaining informed consent or assent appropriate? Is the eligible population available? Are the plans for recruitment outreach, enrollment, retention, handling dropouts, missed visits, and losses to follow-up appropriate to ensure robust data collection? Are the planned recruitment timelines feasible and is the plan to monitor accrual adequate? Has the need for randomization (or not), masking (if appropriate), controls, and inclusion/exclusion criteria been addressed? Are differences addressed, if applicable, in the intervention effect due to sex/gender and race/ethnicity?

Are the plans to standardize, assure quality of, and monitor adherence to, the trial protocol and data collection or distribution guidelines appropriate? Is there a plan to obtain required study agent(s)? Does the application propose to use existing available resources, as applicable?

Data Management and Statistical Analysis

Are planned analyses and statistical approach appropriate for the proposed study design and methods used to assign participants and deliver interventions? Are the procedures for data management and quality control of data adequate at clinical site(s) or at center laboratories, as applicable? Have the methods for standardization of procedures for data management to assess the effect of the intervention and quality control been addressed? Is there a plan to complete data analysis within the proposed period of the award?

Specific to this NOFO:

  • To what extent are the milestones for the R61 phase well specified?
  • To what degree does the length of the R61 phase seem appropriate and relevant for the scope of work proposed?
  • How well are plans for the R33 phase articulated, including specification of research questions?
  • How well do the plans for the R33 phase logically build on the R61 phase?
  • To what extent does the application consider issues of equity, scalability, and potential sustainability of the intervention?
  • To what degree does the application include a well-justified and appropriate plan for engaging end users and stakeholders?
  • How well-developed and feasible are the timeline and milestones associated with the PEDP ?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment, and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

If proposed, are the administrative, data coordinating, enrollment and laboratory/testing centers, appropriate for the trial proposed?

Does the application adequately address the capability and ability to conduct the trial at the proposed site(s) or centers? Are the plans to add or drop enrollment centers, as needed, appropriate?

If international site(s) is/are proposed, does the application adequately address the complexity of executing the clinical trial?

If multi-sites/centers, is there evidence of the ability of the individual site or center to: (1) enroll the proposed numbers; (2) adhere to the protocol; (3) collect and transmit data in an accurate and timely fashion; and, (4) operate within the proposed organizational structure?

Specific to this NOFO:

  • To what extent will features of the environment described in the PEDP (e.g., collaborative arrangements, geographic diversity, institutional support) contribute to the success of the project?

Additional Review Criteria

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

Study Timeline

Specific to applications involving clinical trials

Is the study timeline described in detail, taking into account start-up activities, the anticipated rate of enrollment, and planned follow-up assessment? Is the projected timeline feasible and well justified? Does the project incorporate efficiencies and utilize existing resources (e.g., CTSAs, practice-based research networks, electronic medical records, administrative database, or patient registries) to increase the efficiency of participant enrollment and data collection, as appropriate?

Are potential challenges and corresponding solutions discussed (e.g., strategies that can be implemented in the event of enrollment shortfalls)?

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Individuals Across the Lifespan

When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following three points: (1) a complete description of all proposed procedures including the species, strains, ages, sex, and total numbers of animals to be used; (2) justifications that the species is appropriate for the proposed research and why the research goals cannot be accomplished using an alternative non-animal model; and (3) interventions including analgesia, anesthesia, sedation, palliative care, and humane endpoints that will be used to limit any unavoidable discomfort, distress, pain and injury in the conduct of scientifically valuable research. Methods of euthanasia and justification for selected methods, if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals, is also required but is found in a separate section of the application. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals Section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animals Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

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

Renewals

Not Applicable

Revisions

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations

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

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Reviewers will comment on whether the Resource Sharing Plan(s) (i.e., Sharing Model Organisms) or the rationale for not sharing the resources, is reasonable.

Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources:

For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.

Budget and Period of Support

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

2. Review and Selection Process

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

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.

Applications may undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.

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

  • Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
  • Availability of funds.
  • Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.4.4 Disposition of Applications.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

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

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

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions. Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Any application awarded in response to this NOFO will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website. This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website.

Individual awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the NIH and are subject to the IC-specific terms and conditions identified in the NoA.

ClinicalTrials.gov: If an award provides for one or more clinical trials. By law (Title VIII, Section 801 of Public Law 110-85), the "responsible party" must register and submit results information for certain applicable clinical trials on the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System Information Website (https://register.clinicaltrials.gov). NIH expects registration and results reporting of all trials whether required under the law or not. For more information, see https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials/reporting/index.htm

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that all protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

Data and Safety Monitoring Requirements: The NIH policy for data and safety monitoring requires oversight and monitoring of all NIH-conducted or -supported human biomedical and behavioral intervention studies (clinical trials) to ensure the safety of participants and the validity and integrity of the data. Further information concerning these requirements is found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/data_safety.htm and in the application instructions (SF424 (R&R) and PHS 398).

Investigational New Drug or Investigational Device Exemption Requirements: Consistent with federal regulations, clinical research projects involving the use of investigational therapeutics, vaccines, or other medical interventions (including licensed products and devices for a purpose other than that for which they were licensed) in humans under a research protocol must be performed under a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational new drug (IND) or investigational device exemption (IDE).

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, Recipients, and Activities, including of note, but not limited to:

If a recipient is successful and receives a Notice of Award, in accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

If a recipient receives an award, the recipient must follow all applicable nondiscrimination laws. The recipient agrees to this when registering in SAM.gov. The recipient must also submit an Assurance of Compliance (HHS-690). To learn more, see the HHS Office for Civil Rights website.

HHS recognizes that NIH research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this NOFO.

In accordance with the statutory provisions contained in Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), NIH awards will be subject to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) requirements. FAPIIS requires Federal award making officials to review and consider information about an applicant in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS) prior to making an award. An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself that a federal agency previously entered and is currently in FAPIIS. The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgement about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 2 CFR Part 200.206 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

Not Applicable

3. Data Management and Sharing

Consistent with the 2023 NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, when data management and sharing is applicable to the award, recipients will be required to adhere to the Data Management and Sharing requirements as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Upon the approval of a Data Management and Sharing Plan, it is required for recipients to implement the plan as described.

4. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

  • Awardee’s will provide updates at least annually on implementation of the PEDP.

A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. NIH NOFOs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 2 CFR Part 200.301.

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

In accordance with the regulatory requirements provided at 2 CFR Part 200.113 and Appendix XII to 2 CFR Part 200, recipients that have currently active Federal grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of a Federal award, must report and maintain the currency of information reported in the System for Award Management (SAM) about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the award or performance of a Federal award that reached final disposition within the most recent five-year period. The recipient must also make semiannual disclosures regarding such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS). This is a statutory requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all information posted in the designated integrity and performance system on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available. Full reporting requirements and procedures are found in Appendix XII to 2 CFR Part 200 Award Term and Conditions for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

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

Application Submission Contacts

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)

Finding Help Online: https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-480-7075

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Amy B. Goldstein, PhD
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Phone: 301-827-4124
Email: amy.goldstein@nih.gov

Robert Freeman, Ph.D.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Phone: 301443-8820
E-mail: rfreeman@mail.nih.gov


Peer Review Contact(s)

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

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Jennifer Schermerhorn
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Phone: 301-827-6704
Email: schermerhornj@mail.nih.gov

Judy Fox
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Telephone: 301-443-4704
Email: judy.fox@nih.gov


Section VIII. Other Information

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

Authority and Regulations

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 2 CFR Part 200.

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