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



NIH GUIDE, Volume 22, Number 39, October 29, 1993



PA NUMBER:  PAR-94-009



P.T. 34



Keywords:

  Communicative Disorders, Hearing 

  Communicative Disorders, Speech 

  Language Acquisition & Development 

  0775017 



National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders



PURPOSE



This program 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 grant

(R01) or a First Independent Research Support and Transition (FIRST)

(R29) award 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.



HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000



The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000,"

a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This program

announcement, Small Grant Program for the NIDCD, is related to the

priority area of clinical prevention services.  Potential applicants

may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No.

017-001-11474-0) or "Healthy People 2000" (Summary Report:  Stock No.

017-001-11473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government

Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238).



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Foreign organizations and institutions are not eligible.  Current and

previous recipients of NIH research grants such as small grant

awards, Career Development 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 strongly encouraged.



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

research.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



This program announcement will use the small grant (R03) mechanism.

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.



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

Section 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.



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 cycle) 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 FY94            Review           Review     Funding



Dec 17, 1993         Feb-Mar             May        Jul

Apr 8, 1994          Jun-Jul             Oct        Dec

Aug 23, 1994         Oct-Nov             Jan        Apr



Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS

398 (rev. 9/91) and prepared according to the directions in the

application packet, with the exceptions noted below.



Application kits are available at most institutional offices of

sponsored research and may be obtained from the Office of Grants

Information, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of

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

301-710-0267.



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.  An

additional 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).  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-C

6120 Executive Boulevard

Bethesda, MD  20892



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



A review committee of the NIDCD will evaluate each Small Grant

application in accordance with the usual NIH peer review procedures

and criteria.  Applications will be evaluated with respect to the

following criteria:



o  Scientific, technical, or clinical significance and originality of

the proposed research.

o  Appropriateness and adequacy of the experimental approach and

methodology proposed to carry out the research.

o  Appropriateness of the statistical methods proposed to analyze the

results.

o  Potential of the proposed studies to lead to more extensive

research.

o  Qualifications and research experience of the principal

investigator.

o  Availability of resources necessary for the research, including

any needed to supplement the budget.

o  Appropriateness of the proposed budget and timetable in relation

to the scope of the proposed research.

o  The adequacy of the proposed means for protecting against or

minimizing potential adverse effects upon humans, animals, or the

environment.

o  Adequacy of adherence to guidelines for including gender and

minority representation in any study population.



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 (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.



INQUIRIES



For additional information, investigators are encouraged to call or

write to NIDCD staff responsible for grants in the investigator's

particular area of scientific interest:



Dr. Kenneth Gruber    Hearing                 (301) 402-3458

Dr. Daniel Sklare     Balance/Vestibular      (301) 496-1804

Dr. Jack Pearl        Smell/Taste             (301) 402-3464

Dr. Rochelle Small    Smell/Taste             (301) 402-3464

Dr. Beth Ansel        Voice/Speech            (301) 402-3461

Dr. Judith Cooper     Language                (301) 496-5061



For budgetary and fiscal questions, contact:



Grants Management Officer

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Executive Plaza South, Room 400-C

6120 Executive Boulevard

Bethesda, 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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