Full Text PAR-97-038
 
NIDA SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
 
NIH GUIDE, Volume 26, Number 6, February 21, 1997
 
PA NUMBER:  PAR-97-038
 
P.T. 34

Keywords: 
  Drugs/Drug Abuse 
  Grants Administration/Policy+ 

 
National Institute on Drug Abuse
 
PURPOSE
 
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) small grant program
provides research support of up to $50,000 per year (direct costs)
for up to two years.  This award is not renewable.  This program
announcement replaces and supersedes the NIDA portion of PA-91-08.
 
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 PA,
NIDA Small Grant Program, is related to the priority area of alcohol
and other drugs.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy
People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or Summary
Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325
(telephone 202-512-1800).
 
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
 
Applications for small research grants may be submitted by any
domestic, for-profit or non-profit organization, public and private,
such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of
State and local governments, and eligible agencies of the Federal
government.  Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons
with disabilities are encouraged to apply as principal investigators.
Foreign institutions are not eligible for this award.
 
Small grant support may not be used to supplement research projects
already being supported or to provide interim support of projects
under review by the Public Health Service.  Simultaneous submissions
of both a small and regular research grant application on the same
topic will not be accepted.  Small grant support may not be requested
for thesis or dissertation research.
 
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
 
The mechanism available to this program is the small grant (R03).
Support may be requested for up to two years at $50,000 per year in
direct costs, plus allowable indirect costs.  It is  not renewable.
A no-cost extension of up to one year may be granted to the grantee
institution prior to expiration of the project period.  Support for
subsequent years may be requested through the regular research grant
program.  Because small grants have special application formats,
applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with the program staff
listed under INQUIRIES.
 
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 
This small grant program accepts applications that fall within the
program interests of the NIDA.  The small grant program provides
limited financial support for research within NIDA's purview.
Priority will be given to applications in any of the following four
categories:
 
1.  Newer, less experienced investigators.
 
2.  Investigators at institutions without well-developed research
traditions and resources.
 
3.  More experienced investigators for exploratory studies which
represent significant change in research direction for them.
 
4.  More experienced investigators for testing new methods or
techniques.
 
Applications must include an introductory paragraph in the research
plan section of the application identifying which priority category
(1 through 4 above) is relevant and providing explicit justification
for its applicability.  If the application does not fall into any of
the priority categories, this should be stated.
 
Applications may be made for support of research in any scientific
area relevant to NIDA.  While proposals may involve a wide variety of
biomedical biobehavioral, or clinical disciplines, relevance to the
mission of NIDA must be clear.
 
Applications for studies aimed at problems outside these areas will
be returned without review.  Areas of interest for NIDA are described
in program announcements available from the offices listed under the
INQUIRIES section.
 
INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN
SUBJECTS
 
It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups
and their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported
biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects,
unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification is provided
that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the
subjects or the purpose of the research.  This policy results from
the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law
103-43).  All investigators proposing research involving human
subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines For Inclusion of Women and
Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which have been
published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59
14508-14513) and the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No.
11, March 18, 1994.
 
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
 
Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS
398 (rev. 5/95) and will be accepted at the standard application
deadlines as indicated in the application kit. Application kits are
available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may
be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information
Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC
7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7762, telephone 301/710-0267, email:
asknih@odrockm1.od.nih.gov.  The title and number of the program
announcement must be typed in Section 2 on the face page of the
application.
 
The application must be completed according to the instructions
accompanying the form PHS 398, with two exceptions: (1) The narrative
portion of the small grant application that describes the research
plan (Items a-d) may not exceed 10 pages of text.  Applications
exceeding this length will be returned without review.  Appendices
are allowed, but may not be used to exceed the page limitation.  (2)
An introductory paragraph to the research plan must identify which of
the four priority categories listed in the beginning of this program
announcement applies and provide an explanation of how that priority
category applies.
 
The completed original application and five legible copies must be
sent or delivered to:
 
DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD  20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD  20897 (for overnight/express service)
 
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
 
Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific and
technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened in
accordance with the standard peer review procedures.  All
applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in
which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific
merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be
discussed and assigned a priority score.
 
Review Criteria
 
o  Innovativeness/significance of the research idea; creativity of
the approach
 
o  Qualifications of the Principal Investigator and other relevant
staff;
 
o  For pilot studies, the potential of the proposed study to be a
building block in the development of future research;
 
o  Appropriateness of the proposed approach; i.e., the research
design, methods and analyses;
 
o  Availability and quality of the proposed resources including the
appropriateness of the budget for the tasks proposed.
 
o  Adequacy of plans to include both genders and minorities and their
subgroups as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research.
Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will also be
evaluated.
 
In applying the above criteria, reviewers take into consideration the
stage of scientific career development of the Principal Investigator.
 
The initial review group will also examine the provisions for the
protection of human and animal subjects, and the safety of the
research environment.
 
After their review for scientific merit and the assignment of a
priority score, reviewers will evaluate the justification provided
for the priority category listed for this program.  An administrative
note in the summary statement documenting the review will reflect
their evaluation.
 
AWARD CRITERIA
 
The following will be considered in making funding decisions: quality
of the proposed project as determined by peer review, relevance to
the areas of interest, and availability of funds.  In addition,
Institute staff will consider the IRG evaluation of the justification
for the small grant priority category.  While this program
announcement does not specially exclude applications which do not
fall into one of the priority categories, applications that are in
these areas will be given priority in funding.  Accordingly, other
applicants are advised to reconsider applying for regular research
grants even if they are requesting support that is within the small
grant program dollar and time limits.
 
INQUIRIES
 
Inquiries are encouraged.  The opportunity to clarify any issues or
answer questions from potential applicants is welcome.  Additional
information about this and other NIDA grant programs, program
announcements and Requests for Applications may be obtained from
NIDA's Home Page at http://www.nida.nih.gov
 
Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:
 
Charles W. Sharp, Ph.D.
Division of Basic Research, Room 10A31
Telephone:  (301) 443-1887
FAX:  (301) 594-6043
Email:  cs107m@nih.gov
 
Claire Biswas, Ph.D.
Medications Development Division, Room 11A55
Telephone:  (301) 443-5280
FAX:  (301) 443-2599
Email:  jb168r@nih.gov
 
Ms. Ann Blanken
Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, Room 9A55
Telephone:  (301) 443-6504
FAX:  (301) 443-2636
Email:  ab108v@nih.gov
 
Cynthia Miner, Ph.D.
Office of Science Policy and Communications, Room 10A55
Telephone:  (301) 443-6071
FAX:  (301) 443-6277
Email:  cn171w@nih.gov
 
Bennett Fletcher, Ph.D.
Division of Clinical and Services Research, Room 10A30
Telephone:  (301) 443-4060
FAX:  (301) 443-2317
Email:  bf31c@nih.gov
 
Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:
 
Gary Fleming, J.D., M.A.
Grants Management Branch, Room 8A54
Telephone:  (301) 443-6710
Email:  gf6s@nih.gov
 
The street address for the above staff is:
 
National Institute on Drug Abuse
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD  20857
 
AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS
 
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93.279.  Awards are made under authorization of the
Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as
amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered
under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45
CFR Part 74.  Grants must be administered in accordance with the
Public Health Service Grants Policy Statement, (DHHS Publication No.
(OASH) 82-50-000 GPO 0017-020-0090-1 (rev. 10/01/90). This program is
not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive
Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.
 
The PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products.
In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994,
prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any
portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education,
library, day care, health care or early childhood development
services are provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS
mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the
American people.
 
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