Full Text PAR-97-095
 
MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANTS
 
NIH Guide, Volume 26, Number 27, August 15, 1997
 
PA NUMBER:  PAR-97-095 (see replacement PAR-02-087)
 
P.T.


Keywords: 

 
National Institute of Mental Health
 
PURPOSE
 
This Program Announcement is a revision of, and therefore
supersedes, the prior announcement, "Mental Health Education
Grants," PAR-96-047, and will govern future applications for
competing renewals by new and currently funded education
grants.  This version specifically addresses the following:
(1) three times per year submission; (2) subsistence
allowance and partial tuition costs; (3) total direct cost
cap to $150,000 per year; and (4) clarifies the language on
longer duration of the program.
 
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Education Grants
are a flexible but specialized mechanism that is applicable
in only a limited number of situations.  The purpose of
these grants is to provide innovative educational programs
to encourage individuals to pursue mental health research or
to enhance research and career skills in critical areas of
need.  To meet its programmatic needs, the NIMH will accept
grant applications in response to this announcement that
propose one or more of the following educational objectives:
 
o  Providing educational experiences to motivate high school
students, college students, graduate students, postdoctoral
fellows, and other scientists to pursue careers in mental
health fields.
 
o  Providing research and related experiences for graduate
students, postdoctoral fellows and other scientists (at any
stage of their career), to enhance and broaden their skills
in order to contribute significantly to basic and clinical
neuroscience, behavioral research, and mental health
services, treatment and prevention research.
 
o  Providing experiences that will enhance more experienced
investigators' research, career, and mentoring skills and
success, and will significantly contribute to the
advancement of research fields relevant to the mission of
NIMH.
 
o  Developing and evaluating new curricula or approaches to
advance any of the above goals.
 
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, Mental Health Education
Grants (R25), is related to the priority area of mental
health and mental disorders.  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) from the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325
(telephone 202-512-1800).
 
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
 
Any not-for-profit or for-profit organization engaged in
health-related education or research and located in the
United States, its possessions, or territories may apply for
a Mental Health Education Grant.  Since this is an
educational program, citizenship requirements do not apply
to participants.
 
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
 
The mechanism of support for this program announcement is
the education project grant (R25).
 
FUNDS AVAILABLE
 
Funds requested under this mechanism are limited to $150,000
per year in direct costs.  Requests for lower direct costs,
as well as matching funds from the applicant institution or
other organizations, are strongly encouraged.  Facilities
and administrative costs, formerly known as "indirect
costs," may be allowed based on 8% to total direct costs
exclusive of tuition and fees (including any health
insurance fees) and expenditures for equipment.  The NIMH
anticipates making three to five R25 awards each year,
depending on their excellence as judged by peer review and
program staff.
 
Education Grants may be made for one to five years; the
length of the grant period should be consistent with the
objectives of the program.  In some cases, these awards will
be made to develop new educational approaches for which the
institution will subsequently assume support. In other
cases, the awards will strengthen ongoing activities that
the NIMH will support over periods of one to five years.
 
Applications for one or two years of support are strongly
encouraged and will receive high priority, but proposals for
three to five years may also be submitted for consideration.
Further, the grantee institution is strongly encouraged to
share in the costs of the education program.  Mental Health
Education Grants are renewable (see "additional
considerations for competitive renewals").
 
EDUCATION PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
 
The activities supported by Mental Health Education Grants
typically involve educational experiences shorter in
duration (typically less than 3 months) than those funded
under training grants such as National Research Service
Awards (NRSA) or NIH career development (K-series) awards,
which cover several months to a number of years.  Programs
that last longer than 3 months may also be considered if
strongly justified.  However, no use of this mechanism to
circumvent or supplement existing training mechanisms will
be allowed.  Further, the NRSA programs are governed by
specific policies (see "National Research Service Award
Guidelines," NOT-97-009, published in the NIH Guide, volume
26, number 21, June 20, 1997).  Any exceptions to these
policies must be approved by the NIMH.
 
Mental Health Education Grants support only educational
activities focused on mental health research, and may not be
used for support of clinical training or clinically oriented
continuing education programs in the mental health
professions.
 
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact
appropriate NIMH staff (listed under INQUIRIES) to ascertain
whether their application meets the program priorities of
the particular Institute funding component. If applications
do not address an identified educational need of the NIMH,
as stated above, applications may be returned without
review.
 
Mental Health Education Grants may support a variety of
educational activities, including:
 
o  Short courses, workshops, or seminars
 
o  Structured short-term research experiences
 
o  Longer term research or related experiences (if strongly
justified)
 
o  Projects designed for curriculum development or the
design, implementation, and evaluation of educational
programs
 
Examples of educational programs that would be desirable
include, but are not limited to, the following:
 
o  Seminars, workshops, or short-term courses about research
career opportunities designed specifically for students
enrolled in graduate school degree programs and/or
postdoctoral fellows
 
o  Structured short-term research experiences for promising
high school, undergraduate, or predoctoral students
interested in research involving any of the areas covered
within the mission of the NIMH, such as neuroscience and
behavioral science, clinical and treatment studies,
epidemiology and mental health services research, and AIDS
(see "INQUIRIES")
 
o  Summer courses or workshops designed to facilitate
careers in mental health research for young scientists at
the intersection of basic and clinical research
 
o  Short-term courses or seminars designed to increase
awareness about ethical issues surrounding scientific
research
 
o  Short-term courses or seminars to address issues of
relevance to women, minorities, and persons with
disabilities in scientific careers
 
o  Structured summer research experiences, workshops, or
seminars for undergraduate or high school students
interested in pursuing research careers in neuroscience or
behavioral science
 
o  Seminars designed to facilitate research experiences
among child clinical psychology interns or child psychiatry
fellows
 
o  Workshops focusing on designing improved or "model"
training programs in clinical child psychology
 
o  Workshops to identify areas of need in mental health
services and/or prevention research and research training,
including areas such as managed care, cost-effectiveness,
social work, AIDS among the seriously mentally ill, and
public-academic liaison issues
 
o  Workshops to design model training programs to recruit
graduate students and post-doctoral trainees into AIDS
research
 
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 new policy
results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section
492B of Public Law 103-43) and supersedes and strengthens
the previous policies (Concerning the Inclusion of Women in
Study Populations, and Concerning the Inclusion of
Minorities in Study Populations) which have been in effect
since 1990.  The new policy contains some new provisions
that are substantially different from the 1990 policies.
 
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 reprinted in the NIH GUIDE
FOR GRANTS AND CONTRACTS of March 18, 1994, Volume 23,
Number 11.
 
Investigators may obtain copies from these sources or from
program staff or contact person listed under INQUIRIES.
Program staff may also provide additional relevant
information concerning the policy.
 
LETTER OF INTENT
 
Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by December 1,
April 1, or August 1, a letter of intent that includes a
descriptive title of the proposed education program, the
name, address, and telephone number of the Program Director,
the identities of other key personnel and participating
institutions, and the number and title of this program
announcement.  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 NIMH staff to estimate the potential review workload
and avoid conflict of interest in the review.  The letter of
intent may be sent to the appropriate program staff listed
under INQUIRIES.
 
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
 
Applications are to be submitted on the grant application
form PHS 398 (rev. 5/95).  Applications kits are available
at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may
be obtained from the Grants Information Office, Office of
Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National
Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910,
Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone 301/710-0267, E-mail:
[email protected].
 
Applicants must use the forms for regular research grants
and follow the specific instructions on pages 6-20 in the
PHS 398 application kit, with the exceptions listed below.
As in the standard PHS 398 instructions, sections "a-d" of
the Research Plan in R25 applications are limited to 25
pages.
 
Note: applications that do not conform to the specific
instructions detailed below, will be returned without
review.
 
Specific Instructions for R25 Applications:
 
1. Application face page: item number two on this page must
include the program announcement number and the title,
Mental Health Education Grants (R25).
 
2. Resources (Form page 8): describe the educational
environment; include a description of the facilities,
laboratories, participating departments, computer services,
and any other resources to be used in the conduct of the
proposed program.  Use continuation pages, as necessary.
 
3. Research Plan: part "c" of this section should be
retitled "Preliminary Data and Activities" and included if
applicable.  This section should contain information on
steps that have led to the proposed Education project. A
section entitled "Progress Report" is required for competing
continuation and supplemental applications.
 
4. Research Plan: part "d" of this section should be
retitled "Education Program Plan" and should contain
material organized under the following subheadings, as
appropriate to the specific project:
 
a) Program Direction - describe arrangements for
administration of the program; provide evidence that the
Program Director is actively engaged in research and/or
teaching in an area related to mental health, and can
organize and administer the education program, as well as
evidence of institutional and community commitment and
support for the proposed program.
 
b) Program Faculty/Staff - describe the characteristics and
responsibilities of the faculty; provide evidence that
participating faculty and preceptors are actively engaged in
research or other scholarly activities related to mental
health.
 
c) Proposed Education Program - provide programmatic detail
on the special activities proposed (e.g., courses,
curricula), including description of plans to provide
education to participants regarding the responsible conduct
of research.
 
d) Program Participants - provide detail about the proposed
participants; include a description of plans for recruiting
as participants individuals from underrepresented
racial/ethnic groups.
 
e) Education Evaluation Plan - include evaluation plans for
determining success of the program in achieving its goals
and objectives.
 
5. Research Plan: if applicable, under part "h" of this
section, "Consortium/Contractual Arrangements," include a
description of plans for collaborating with other
institutions for purposes of exchange and sharing of
resources, including faculty, equipment, and facilities.
 
Allowable Costs
 
Allowable costs must be consistent with PHS policy and be
reasonable, allocable, and well documented and justified for
the education program:
 
Personnel costs - faculty members participating in the
design and implementation of the education program may
request salary and fringe benefits appropriate for the
percent of time devoted to the program.  Salaries requested
may not exceed the levels commensurate with the
institution's policy for similar positions.  (Mentoring
interactions and activities with students are considered a
regular part of a faculty member's academic duties and are
non-reimbursable).
 
Administrative and clerical salary costs associated with the
program may be direct charges to the grant only when
specifically identified and justified as reflecting
significantly greater effort than the level of such services
routinely provided by academic departments.  Requests for
consultant costs, equipment, supplies, necessary travel
(including foreign travel for uniquely qualified foreign
faculty), and other project related expenses must be
justified as specifically required by the program proposed
and not duplicate items generally available at the
institution for educational programs.
 
Attendance - participants in the education program may
receive subsistence allowance which includes costs of meals
and lodging (unless furnished as part of the fee for
registration).  They may also receive partial tuition, other
education-related, and travel expenses, including foreign
travel, if strongly justified.
 
Schedule
 
Applications for Mental Health Education Grants will be
accepted and reviewed three times a year according to the
following schedule:
 
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: December 1, April 1, August 1
Application Receipt Date: February 1, June 1, October 1
Review Meeting: June/July, October/November, February/March
NIMH Council Meeting: September, January, May
Earliest Possible Start Date: December 1, April 1, July 1
 
Application Submission:
 
An original and five legible copies of the completed and
signed application are to 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 20817 (for express/courier service)
 
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
 
Applications will be assigned on the basis of established
PHS referral guidelines.  Applications that are complete
will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an
appropriate peer review group convened by the NIMH in
accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures.  As
part of the initial merit review, 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, assigned a priority score,
and receive a second level review by the appropriate
national advisory council or board, when applicable.
 
The review committee will assess the educational,
scientific, and technical merit of any application assigned
to and accepted by the NIMH.  These applications should be
of high quality and responsive to the stated purpose of this
program announcement.
 
Grant applications to the Mental Health Education Program
should be characterized by innovation, scholarship, and
responsiveness to the special and/or changing needs of
mental health research.  To ensure that these objectives are
met, applications will be evaluated by the following
criteria, depending upon the nature and complexity of the
proposed program.
 
(1) Significance: The degree to which the proposed education
program addresses issues that are of great importance to the
NIMH; the program must demonstrate how its achievements will
advance the overall mission of NIMH.
 
(2) Approach: The proposed specialized curriculum must be
appropriate and adequate to augment the research education
goals outlined.  Course requirements and sequence, and
timetable for completing the planned activities must be
presented.  A plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the
program in achieving its objectives must be specified.
 
(3) Innovation: The curriculum must include original and
unique approaches or methods for addressing the needs put
forth in the goals and objectives.  Plans to challenge
existing paradigms or develop new approaches or techniques
must be described.
 
(4) Investigator: The program leadership must demonstrate a
record of achievements and qualifications appropriate to
meeting the proposed goals and implementing the stated plan.
 
(5) Environment:  The scientific/education environment must
be described, indicating the unique features and probability
of success of the program.  Institutional commitment to the
proposed program must be documented.
 
(6) Budget: Justifications must be provided for each
budgeted item and for each year of support that is
requested.
 
Additional considerations for competitive renewals:
 
Applicants seeking a continuation of support will be
evaluated by peer reviewers in terms of the progress
reported from prior support, the viability of the proposed
program extension, and continuing curriculum needs in the
particular area of specialization in which the grant
application is focused.
 
AWARD CRITERIA
 
Applications will compete for available funds with all other
approved applications assigned to NIMH.  The following will
be considered in making funding decisions: Innovativeness,
novelty, and quality of the application as determined by
peer review, program priority, availability of funds, length
of proposed program, and balance among types of grants
supported by NIMH.
 
INQUIRIES
 
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIMH staff for
technical assistance and information concerning current
program priorities before applying for an award.  Requests
for program information about Mental Health Education Grants
may be addressed to:
 
Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS
Dianne Rausch, Ph.D.
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-75
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-9719
FAX:  (301) 443-9719
E-mail: [email protected]
 
Division of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Research
Stephen H. Koslow, Ph.D.
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11-103
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone: (301) 443-3563
FAX: (301) 443-1731
Email: [email protected]
 
Division of Services and Intervention Research
Kenneth G. Lutterman, Ph.D.
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-95
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-3373
FAX:  (301) 443-4045
Email:  [email protected]
 
Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:
 
Diana S. Trunnell
Grants Management Branch
Parklawn Building, Room 7C-08
Bethesda, MD  20857
Telephone: (301) 443-2805
FAX:  (301) 443-6885
Email:  [email protected]
 
AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS
 
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93.242.  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.  This program is
not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of
Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.
Awards will be administered under PHS grants policy as
stated in the Public Health Service Grants Policy Statement
(April 1, 1994).
 
PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to
provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the nonuse 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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