SMALL GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHERCOMMUNICATION DISORDERS



NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 43, November 27, 1992



PAR:  PAR-93-25



P.T. 34



Keywords:

  Communicative Disorders, Hearing 

  Communicative Disorders, Speech 

  Sensory System 

  041001 



National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders



PURPOSE



This announcement supersedes all previously issued announcements for

the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

(NIDCD) Small Grant Program.  This current Small Grant Program

provides support for pilot research that is likely to lead to a

subsequent Individual Research Project (R01) grant or a First

Independent Research Support and Transition (FIRST) (R29) research

project application.  The research must be focused on areas within

the mission of the NIDCD, that is, hearing, balance/vestibular,

smell, taste, voice, speech, or language.



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Foreign organizations and institutions are not eligible.  Current and

previous recipients of NIH research grants such as small grant

awards, R01, or R29 grants are ineligible for the Small Grant

program.  Individuals who have received research support from other

Federal funding agencies are considered ineligible.



Participation in the program by investigators at minority

institutions is encouraged.



Small grant funds may not be used to support thesis or dissertation

research.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



The Small Grant program is designed solely to support basic and

clinical scientists with limited research experience who are at the

beginning stages of their research careers.



STUDY POPULATIONS



SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NIH

POLICIES CONCERNING INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH

STUDY POPULATIONS



NIH policy is that applicants for NIH clinical research grants and

cooperative agreements are required to include minorities and women

in study populations so that research findings can be of benefit to

all persons at risk of the disease, disorder or condition under

study; special emphasis must be placed on the need for inclusion of

minorities and women in studies of diseases, disorders and conditions

which disproportionately affect them.  This policy is intended to

apply to males and females of all ages.  If women or minorities are

excluded or inadequately represented in clinical research,

particularly in proposed population-based studies, a clear compelling

rationale must be provided.



The composition of the proposed study population must be described in

terms of gender and racial/ethnic group.  In addition, gender and

racial/ethnic issues must be addressed in developing a research

design and sample size appropriate for the scientific objectives of

the study.  This information must be included in the form PHS 398 in

Sections 1-4 of the Research Plan AND summarized in Section 5, Human

Subjects. Applicants are urged to assess carefully the feasibility of

including the broadest possible representation of minority groups.

However, NIH recognizes that it may not be feasible or appropriate in

all research projects to include representation of the full array of

United States racial/ethnic minority populations (i.e., Native

Americans [including American Indians or Alaskan Natives],

Asian/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics).  The rationale for

studies on single minority population groups should be provided.



For the purpose of this policy, clinical research is defined as human

biomedical and behavioral studies of etiology, epidemiology,

prevention (and preventive strategies), diagnosis, or treatment of

diseases, disorders or conditions, including but not limited to

clinical trials.



The usual NIH policies concerning research on human subjects also

apply.  Basic research or clinical studies in which human tissues

cannot be identified or linked to individuals are excluded.  However,

every effort should be made to include human tissues from women and

racial/ethnic minorities when it is important to apply the results of

the study broadly, and this should be addressed by applicants.



For foreign awards, the policy on inclusion of women applies fully;

since the definition of minority differs in other countries, the

applicant must discuss the relevance of research involving foreign

population groups to the United States' populations, including

minorities.



If the required information is not contained within the application,

the application will be returned.



Peer reviewers will address specifically whether the research plan in

the application conforms to these policies.  If the representation of

women or minorities in a study design is inadequate to answer the

scientific questions(s) addressed AND the justification for the

selected study population is inadequate, it will be considered a

scientific weakness or deficiency in the study design and reflected

in assigning the priority score to the application.



All applications for clinical research submitted to NIH are required

to address these policies.  NIH funding components will not award

grants or cooperative agreements that do not comply with these

policies.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Only one Small Grant application may be submitted by a Principal

Investigator per receipt date.  Applicants may not submit R01 or R29

applications on the same topic concurrently (to be considered at the

same Advisory Council) with the submission of a Small Grant

application.



The submission, review, and award schedule for the Small Grant

Program is:



Receipt Dates    Institute Committee    Council    Earliest

   for 1993            Review           Review     Funding



Jan 8                  Feb-Mar           May        Jul

May 5                    Jun             Oct        Dec

Sep 17                 Oct-Nov           Jan        Apr



Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS

398 (rev. 9/91) and will be accepted at the standard application

deadlines as indicated in the application kit.  The receipt dates for

applications for AIDS-related research are found in the PHS 398

instructions.



Application kits are available at most institutional offices of

sponsored research and may be obtained from the Office of Grants

Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of

Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone

301-496-7441.



On the face page of the application: Item 2a  Type "Small Grant

Program NIDCD".  Check the "YES" box.



Sections 1-4:  Do not exceed a total of five pages for the following

sections: specific aims, background and significance, progress

report/preliminary studies, and experimental design and methods.  A

half-page introduction is acceptable only for revised applications.

Applications that exceed the page limitation or NIH requirements for

type size and margins will be returned to the investigator.  The five

page limitation does not include Sections 5-9 (Human Subjects,

Consortia, etc.)



Section 3. Appendix materials are not allowed.



Use the mailing label in the application kit to mail the original and

four copies of the application to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



To ensure that the application is received in sufficient time for the

review, send one copy of the application to:



Chief, Scientific Review Branch

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Executive Plaza South, Room 400-B

6120 Executive Boulevard

Rockville, MD  20892



REVIEW PROCEDURES



A review committee of the NIDCD will evaluate each Small Grant

application in accord with the usual NIH peer review procedures and

criteria.  Applications will be evaluated with respect to the

following criteria:



o  significance and scientific merit of the proposed project;



o  level of innovation;



o  investigator's potential for carrying out the research, as

demonstrated by publication record and/or previous research/clinical

experience or training relative to the goals and methods of the

proposed study;



o  adequacy of the investigator's time commitment to the project;



o  potential of the proposed studies to lead to more extensive

research;



o  adequacy of the facilities, supporting personnel, and available

equipment for carrying out the proposed studies; and,



o  justifications of budget requests.



All applications subsequently will be reviewed by the National

Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Council.



AWARD CRITERIA



The award of grants is contingent on the (1) receipt of applications

of high scientific merit; (2) responsiveness to this announcement,

including the eligibility of investigators; (3) relevance to the

mission of NIDCD; and (4) the availability of appropriated funds.



Applicants may request up to $25,000 (direct costs) per year.  The

grant may not exceed two years and is not renewable. Investigators

are expected to seek continuing support for research through a

research project grant (R01) or FIRST (R29) award.



INQUIRIES



For additional information, investigators are encouraged to call

(301-496-5061) or write to NIDCD staff responsible for grants in the

investigator's particular area of scientific interest:



Dr. Amy Donahue (hearing)

Dr. Lynn Huerta (hearing)

Dr. Kenneth Gruber (hearing)

Dr. Daniel Sklare (balance/vestibular)

Dr. Jack Pearl (chemical senses)

Dr. Rochelle Small (chemical senses)

Dr. Beth Ansel (voice, speech)

Dr. Judith Cooper (language)



For budgetary and fiscal questions, contact:



Sharon Hunt

Grants Management Officer

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Executive Plaza South, Room 400-B

6120 Executive Boulevard

Rockville, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 402-0909



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



Awards will be made under the authority of the Public Health Service

Act, Section 301 (Public Law 78-410, as amended; 42 USC 241) and

administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR

Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  The program is not subject to the

intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or to

Health Systems Agency review.



.

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