Part I Overview Information

Department of Health and Human Services

Participating Organizations
National Institutes of Health (NIH) (http://www.nih.gov/)

Components of Participating Organizations
National Institute on Aging (NIA) (http://www.nih.gov/nia/)

Title: Developing Integrated Economic Models of Health and Retirement (R01)

Announcement Type
New

Request For Applications (RFA) Number: RFA-AG-07-007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.866

Key Dates
Release Date:  October 10, 2006
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): November 17, 2006
Application Receipt Date(s): December 14, 2006
Peer Review Date(s): February-March 2007
Council Review Date(s): May 2007 
Earliest Anticipated Start Date: July 1, 2007
Expiration Date: December 15, 2006

Due Dates for E.O. 12372
Not Applicable

Additional Overview Content

Executive Summary

• The RFA invites applications for research projects (R01) to develop a comprehensive model of retirement that integrates health and disability, wealth, and family structure.  Though adding other factors that influence retirement into the modeling framework is encouraged, a viable application must present plans that include these factors.
• The RFA will support up to $1 million per year in total costs over five years for all projects awarded under this RFA.
• Anticipated number of awards: two to three research projects (R01).
• This RFA will use the NIH R01 award mechanism.
• Eligible institutions include:  For-profit organizations; Non-profit organizations;  Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories; Units of State government; Units of local government;  Eligible agencies of the Federal government; Foreign Institutions;  Domestic Institutions; and Faith-based or community-based organizations.
• Eligible principal investigators include any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research.
• A principal investigator may submit only one application to this RFA.
• Application materials are available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html.
• Telecommunications for the hearing impaired is available at: TTY 301-451-5936

Table of Contents

Part I Overview Information

Part II Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
  1. Research Objectives

Section II. Award Information
  1. Mechanism(s) of Support
  2. Funds Available

Section III. Eligibility Information
  1. Eligible Applicants
    A. Eligible Institutions
    B. Eligible Individuals
  2.Cost Sharing or Matching
  3. Other - Special Eligibility Criteria

Section IV. Application and Submission Information
  1. Address to Request Application Information
  2. Content and Form of Application Submission
  3. Submission Dates and Times
    A. Receipt and Review and Anticipated Start Dates
      1. Letter of Intent
    B. Sending an Application to the NIH
    C. Application Processing
  4. Intergovernmental Review
  5. Funding Restrictions
  6. Other Submission Requirements

Section V. Application Review Information
  1. Criteria
  2. Review and Selection Process
    A. Additional Review Criteria
    B. Additional Review Considerations
    C. Sharing Research Data
    D. Sharing Research Resources
  3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Section VI. Award Administration Information
  1. Award Notices
  2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
  3. Reporting

Section VII. Agency Contact(s)
  1. Scientific/Research Contact(s)
  2. Peer Review Contact(s)
  3. Financial/ Grants Management Contact(s)

Section VIII. Other Information - Required Federal Citations

Part II - Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

1. Research Objectives

Purpose

The purpose of this RFA is to stimulate studies to develop comprehensive econometric models of retirement from the labor force. This RFA invites applications for research projects (R01) to comprehensively integrate health and disability, wealth, and family factors into a single retirement modeling framework. Though adding other factors that influence retirement into the modeling approach is encouraged, a viable application must present plans for the development of a unified retirement model featuring health and disability, wealth, and family factors.

Background

An important part of NIA’s mission is to improve the well-being of older Americans through the support of research on the special problems of the aged. The decision to retire has lasting effect on the well-being of the elderly. With the population over 65 growing due to improvements in longevity, retirement has emerged as an extended phase of the life course. The approaching retirement of the baby boom generation of Americans along with the future demographic realities of population aging are placing financial pressure on two key programs for the elderly: Social Security and Medicare.  For example, a recent report from the OASDI Board of Trustees projects Social Security program insolvency by 2040 (SSA 2006). Though research has shown that pension systems can influence the timing of retirement, the ability to understand the impact of many possible policy changes is still incomplete. Indeed, understanding the retirement decision requires an understanding of both the direct effects of retirement wealth from Social Security, employer pensions, non-pension wealth, health, disability, and family structure, as well of the interaction and dynamic development of these factors. Developing the modeling capability to inform policy options for programs that provide a substantial amount of support for older populations is critical. Thus, the determinants of work and retirement decisions in later life have become a high priority research area.

Retirement research has evolved a great deal over the course of the last twenty years, with improvement in retirement research infrastructure and a number of substantive analyses examining key factors related to the retirement decision. Early analyses of retirement were limited by imperfect data and technology inadequate to approach the complexities of the retirement decision. Data on individual lifetime earnings, pensions, health and disability status, insurance, wealth and family structure were incomplete, unavailable, cross-sectional, and not available in a single study. The 1988 Ad Hoc Advisory Panel to the Behavioral and Social Research Program noted in their recommendations to the NIA that existing data on health and retirement was a “constraint” on the quality of retirement research (NIA 1998). Further, the complex econometric methodologies required to model the factors that determine the retirement decision were limited by available technology. Improvements in computer technology coupled with successful long-term investments by NIA in longitudinal data files have greatly improved retirement research possibilities. The Health and Retirement Study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and internationally comparable retirement and health studies have greatly improved access to comprehensive longitudinal data (see NIA Supported Data Resources, below). However, along with new data opportunities, an improved computing environment, and a growing interdisciplinary focus in aging research, complexity has also increased. 

During this developmental period for research infrastructure, a number of important studies began to map out the factors that influenced the retirement decision. Exploratory analyses that examined the influence of wealth (i.e., pensions, Social Security, etc.), health and disability, and family factors on the retirement decision have provided a basis for understanding the complexities of modeling retirement. Structural and reduced form approaches to examining retirement demonstrated the challenge of comprehensively modeling the retirement process. Though structural models can often replicate observed patterns of behavior in data, the complexity of the models may not reflect the actual decision-making process of retirement for typical workers (NRC, 1996). Further, structural models require many simplifying assumptions and limited analysis samples that are often not required in more flexible reduced form approaches. However, structural models have the benefit of providing behavioral parameters that are often unobservable in reduced form frameworks. Both approaches have provided valuable insights into the retirement process. Developing the next generation of retirement models may require a balancing of these issues to move the science forward. Applicants will determine appropriate structural or reduced form methodological approaches in their response to this RFA.

Now, the field is uniquely positioned to unify work relating the components of wealth, health, and family structure into a single model of the retirement decision. The model would advance the field of retirement and provide policymakers with comprehensive research support to address the key policy concerns. The purpose of this RFA is to encourage the development of several factors that influence the retirement decision into a more integrated framework to provide a comprehensive understanding of the retirement process. Though innovative applications to the RFA will incorporate many relevant factors, responsive applications will include comprehensive treatments of health and disability, wealth, and family factors.

Health and Disability: Health and disability status can influence the decision to retire in many ways. In the most basic sense, poor health can make work unattractive or even unfeasible, particularly if a job has requirements that are limited by health problems. Health can also influence the returns to continued work. If health maintenance costs are high, than the availability of health insurance to cover costs and the relationship between coverage and continued work can either increase (coverage tied to continued employment) or reduce (retiree health or Medicare eligibility) the cost of retirement. Severe health problems can actually provide unique opportunities to exit the labor force. The Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI) provides benefits for eligible disabled workers as well as Medicare within 24 months of acceptance. The Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI) provides means-tested support and typically provides health insurance coverage under Medicaid for elderly and disabled beneficiaries. Further, some employer pensions have special disability provisions that are often tied to acceptance to SSDI. As these factors suggest, the inclusion of health and disability in retirement models is crucial because there appear to be very important relationships between health and financial incentives to retire. These are further complicated by joint retirement decisions. The measurement of health in surveys is another challenge to integrating health into retirement models (Bound, 1991). Innovative research is needed to incorporate health/disability and the interaction of health/disability with other important factors in the retirement decision into a longitudinal framework. Responsive applications to this RFA will integrate health and disability as well as the dynamic and interactive aspects of health in the retirement process. Innovative applications will also consider the impact of public and private health insurance on retirement.

Wealth: Today’s workers have access to several forms of retirement assets, including defined benefit style pensions from Social Security or an employer, defined contribution pensions, as well as other non-pension wealth. The accumulation of retirement assets over time is related to health, work, and family factors. A great deal of research has contributed to our knowledge of the financial incentives to retire and save for retirement. Early empirical work focused on the impact of Social Security on retirement and then began to integrate the impact of employer pensions (examples include Gustman and Steinmeier, 1986; Mitchell and Fields, 1982; Burkhauser, 1979; and Stock and Wise, 1990). Defined benefit style pensions offer strong financial incentives to retire at specific ages. Retiring prior to the “target” age denies the worker the option of claiming potentially higher benefits at the future date – a feature captured in the most innovative of these analyses. These “forward-looking” retirement frameworks carefully integrated employer pensions, earnings, and Social Security but could not consider health, disability, and family factors due to data constraints. Further, since many used firm data in order to get detailed employer pension records, they were not nationally representative. More recent research has compared retirement with institutional incentives to work in a cross-national setting to demonstrate the power of these institutional arrangements on retirement (Gruber and Wise, 2004). Though it is clear that pensions and wealth can make retirement appealing, the interactions between wealth and non-wealth factors are complicated and failing to consider these other factors can attribute too much significance to wealth. Social Security Disability Insurance, a benefit rarely included in retirement models, provides an example. A typical worker can exit the labor force at age 62 and claim Social Security retirement benefits, though claiming at the early eligibility age reduces the benefit. If the same worker is also insured for SSDI, he could apply for unreduced disability benefits and have the added advantage of providing early access to Medicare. However, there is uncertainty in the SSDI application process – a disability screen and a five month waiting period for benefits. Thus, workers who have access to other forms of income or have support from a spouse may be more inclined to risk the SSDI application process. An increase in the normal retirement age would further reduce the value of early retirement benefits and increase the value of disability benefits even though acceptance is uncertain and would undermine the potential solvency gains of the policy. Modeling these program relationships is important, because many potential reforms could create strong incentives to shift claiming across Social Security program benefits. Responsive applications to this RFA will consider the complete wealth and program benefit options available to workers, including Social Security retirement and disability benefits; employer defined contribution and defined benefit pensions, as well as other private non-pension wealth. 

Family Factors: Research examining the retirements of couples implies that couples coordinate their retirement decisions (Hurd, 1990). The growth in labor force participation of women coupled with the financial factors previously mentioned imply a far more complex budget constraint than in the single worker case. The influence of health becomes even more complex when joint retirement between spouses is considered: while a health shock may lead one member of a couple to leave the labor force, it may require the other member of the couple to prolong a career. Applications responsive to this RFA will consider joint retirement decisions among couples. Innovative applications may consider care and resource transfer issues between spouses and other family members.

Other Factors: Innovative applications will consider other factors related to retirement modeling that are not required for an application to be deemed responsive to this RFA. Subjects including but not limited to phased retirement, job satisfaction, non-financial workplace incentives, expectations, and financial knowledge are all encouraged but not required under this RFA. Further, comparison of U.S. data to foreign countries is also encouraged (see NIA Supported Data Resources below).

General Characteristics of Responsive Applications

Applications using the NIH Research Project (R01) grant mechanism requesting support to develop models of retirement from the labor force that comprehensively integrate health and disability, wealth, and family factors. Research teams must include extensive research expertise in economics.

NIA Supported Data Resources

The following is a list of relevant data resources for applicants to this RFA. Though applicants are encouraged to make use of these resources, a responsive application is not required to make use of any of these resources.

• Health and Retirement Study (HRS): The HRS was designed explicitly to learn about retirement, following the health and economic circumstances of individuals beginning in their 50s, through conventional retirement ages, and into later life. The HRS now contains six biannual waves of survey data, and a sample of over 20,000 older Americans. The HRS includes survey questions on health, functional ability, cognition, family structure and intergenerational support within families, housing, employment, expectations, income and assets, marital history, health care utilization, major life events, insurance, and many other aspects of health and economic circumstances. The data are linked to administrative records from the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, adding even more historical detail to the survey data. In many cases, data have been compiled on the provisions of people's pension based on plan data obtained directly from their employers. For more information about the HRS, including instructions on how to access the data, see http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/.  
• Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID): The PSID is a longitudinal study of a representative sample of U.S. individuals and their families. Though the study emphasizes the dynamic aspects of economic and demographic behavior, it also includes sociological, psychological, and physical health measures. The PSID is the longest running national panel on family and individual dynamics. From 1968 to 1996, the PSID interviewed individuals from families every year, whether or not they were living in the same dwelling or with the same people. After 1996, the PSID moved to biennial data collection. The study continues to follow and interview adult children of sample families when they leave their parent's home. By continually adding these young families, the study maintains a representative sample of the U.S. population providing measures of social and health conditions over the full life course. The PSID currently contains prospective life histories of respondents who have become grandparents as well as a sample of over 4,000 respondents who have died since the survey began. In turn, the PSID includes substantial life histories and measures of the health and social conditions of their lineal descendents, including their grandchildren. For more information about the PSID, including instructions on how to access the data, see http://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/.
• The English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) sample is drawn from respondents to the Health Survey for England (HSE), a study conducted on behalf of the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. Around 12,000 respondents from two separate years of the HSE have been recruited to provide a representative sample of the English population aged 50 and over. The major advantage of the HSE sampling source is that baseline data on respondent's health (details of morbidity, lifestyle, diets and blood samples) have already been collected. The health data will be supplemented by the collection of baseline economic data in the first wave of ELSA. Future rounds of ELSA will then track changes in health and economic position. For more information about ELSA, including a downloadable report containing key analyses, see http://www.ifs.org.uk/elsa/index.php.
• The Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement (SHARE) project is collecting data in order to shed light on population aging in Europe. SHARE will provide demographic, health, social support, and economic variables for respondents aged 50 and over, plus their spouses, independent of age. Economic data will include current work activity, job characteristics, job flexibility, employment history, pension rights, sources and composition of current income, consumption, wealth and housing. For more information about SHARE, including survey questionnaires and project development information, see http://www.share-project.org/.

References

Bound, John (1991), "Self-reported Versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models," Journal of Human Resources 26:106-138.

Burkhauser, Richard V. (1979), “The Pension Acceptance Decision of Older Workers,” Journal of Human Resources 14: 63-75.

Gruber, Jonathan and David A. Wise (2004), “Social Security Programs and Retirement Around the World: Micro-Estimation,” University of Chicago Press.

Gustman, Alan L. and Thomas L. Steinmeier (1986). "A Structural Retirement Model," Econometrica 54(3): 555-584.

Hurd, Michael D. (1990), "The Joint Retirement Decision of Husbands and Wives". In Issues in the Economics of Aging, edited by David A. Wise, University of Chicago Press: 231-254.

Mitchell, Olivia S. and Gary S. Fields (1984), “The Economics of Retirement Behavior,” Journal of Labor Economics 2(1): 84-105.

National Research Council (1996), “Assessing Knowledge of Retirement Behavior,” National Academy Press, Washington, DC. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5367.html

NIA Behavioral and Social Research Program (1998), “Recommendations to the NIA Extramural Program on Priorities for Data Collection in Health and Retirement Economics,” National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD (May).

The Social Security Administration (2006), “The 2006 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds.” http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/trustee06-pr.htm

Stock, James H. and David A. Wise (1990), “Pensions, the Option Value of Work, and Retirement,” Econometrica 58(5): 1151-1180.

See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal Citations, for policies related to this announcement.

Section II. Award Information

1. Mechanism(s) of Support

This funding opportunity will use the R01 award mechanism(s). The Research Project (R01) grant is an award made to support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing the investigator's specific interest and competencies, based on the mission of the NIH.  More information on the R01 mechanism can be found at http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/funding/r01.htm.  

As an applicant, you will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project.

This funding opportunity uses just-in-time concepts. It also uses the modular as well as the non-modular budget formats (see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm). Specifically, if you are submitting an application with direct costs in each year of $250,000 or less, use the modular budget format described in the PHS 398 application instructions. Otherwise follow the instructions for non-modular research grant applications.

2. Funds Available

• NIA expects to award $1 million per year to support total costs for all awards made through this announcement for up to five years;
• NIA anticipates making 2-3 awards through this announcement;
• NIA expects the typical individual award to range from $200,000-$300,000 in direct costs.
• The earliest start date for award made through this announcement is July 1, 2007 with a performance period of up to five years.

NIA intends to commit approximately $1,000,000 dollars in FY 2007 to fund 2-3 new grants in response to this RFA. An applicant may request a project period of up to five years and a budget for direct costs up to $500,000 dollars per year.

Because the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. Although the financial plans of the National Institute on Aging provide support for this program, awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Facilities and administrative costs requested by consortium participants are not included in the direct cost limitation; see NOT-OD-05-004.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

1.A. Eligible Institutions

You may submit (an) application(s) if your organization has any of the following characteristics:

• For-profit organizations
• Non-profit organizations
• Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories
• Units of State government
• Units of local government
• Eligible agencies of the Federal government
• Foreign Institutions
• Domestic Institutions
• Faith-based or community-based organizations

1.B. Eligible Individuals

Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research is invited to work with their institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

This announcement does not require cost sharing as defined in current NIH Grants Policy Statement: https://grants.nih.gov/archive/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm#matching_or_cost_sharing

3. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria

A principal investigator may submit only one application to this RFA.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Information

The PHS 398 application instructions are available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html in an interactive format. Applicants must use the currently approved version of the PHS 398. For further assistance contact GrantsInfo, Telephone (301) 710-0267, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.

Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY 301-451-5936.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Applications must be prepared using the most current PHS 398 research grant application instructions and forms. Applications must have a D&B Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number as the universal identifier when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements. The D&B number can be obtained by calling (866) 705-5711 or through the web site at http://www.dnb.com/us/. The D&B number should be entered on line 11 of the face page of the PHS 398 form.

The title and number of this funding opportunity must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be checked.

Foreign Organizations

Several special provisions apply to applications submitted by foreign organizations:

• Charge back of customs and import fees is not allowed.
• Format: every effort should be made to comply with the format specifications, which are based upon a standard US paper size of 8.5" x 11."
• Funds for up to 8% administrative costs (excluding equipment) can now be requested (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-01-028.html)
• Organizations must comply with federal/NIH policies on human subjects, animals, and biohazards.
• Organizations must comply with Federal/NIH biosafety and biosecurity regulations. See Section VI.2., “Administrative and National Policy Requirements.”
• Additional information regarding foreign grants is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
• Applications from foreign (non-U.S.) institutions submitted using the PHS 398: Follow the NON-MODULAR FORMAT instructions and submit Form Page 4 and Form Page 5. Do not complete or submit the Modular Budget Format Page.

Proposed research should provide special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that are not readily available in the United States or that augment existing U.S. resources

3. Submission Dates and Times

Applications must be received on or before the receipt date described below (Section IV.3.A). Submission times N/A.

3.A. Receipt, Review and Anticipated Start Dates
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): November 17, 2006
Application Receipt Date(s): December 14, 2006
Peer Review Date(s): February-March 2007
Council Review Date(s): May 2007 
Earliest Anticipated Start Date: July 1, 2007

3.A.1. Letter of Intent

Prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

• Descriptive title of proposed research
• Name, address, and telephone number of the Principal Investigator
• Names of other key personnel
• Participating institutions
• Number and title of this funding opportunity

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.

The letter of intent is to be sent by the date listed at the beginning of this document.

The letter of intent should be sent to:

John W. R. Phillips, Ph.D.
Behavioral and Social Research Program
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue
Gateway Building, 533
Bethesda, MD 20892-9205
Telephone: (301) 496-3138
FAX: (301) 402-0051
Email: phillipj@mail.nih.gov

3.B. Sending an Application to the NIH

Applications must be prepared using the research grant applications found in the PHS 398 instructions for preparing a research grant application and must be complete at the time of submission. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the checklist, and three signed photocopies in one package to:

Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710 (U.S. Postal Service Express or regular mail)
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service; non-USPS service)

Personal deliveries of applications are no longer permitted (see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-040.html).

At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application and all copies of the appendix material must be sent to:

Dr. Mary Nekola, Chief
Scientific Review Office
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, #2C/212
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone: (301) 402-7702
FAX: (301) 402-0066
Email: nekolam@nia.nih.gov

Using the RFA Label: The RFA label available in the PHS 398 application instructions must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application. Type the RFA number on the label. Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing of the application such that it may not reach the review committee in time for review. In addition, the RFA title and number must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be marked. The RFA label is also available at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/labels.pdf.

3.C. Application Processing

Applications must be received on or before the application receipt date(s) described above (Section IV.3.A.). If an application is received after that date, it will be returned to the applicant without review. Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the CSR and responsiveness by the National Institute on Aging. Incomplete and non-responsive applications will not be reviewed.  If the application is not responsive to the RFA, NIH staff may contact the applicant to determine whether to return the application to the applicant or submit it for review in competition with unsolicited applications at the next appropriate NIH review cycle.

The NIH will not accept any application in response to this funding opportunity that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. However, when a previously unfunded application, originally submitted as an investigator-initiated application, is to be submitted in response to a funding opportunity, it is to be prepared as a NEW application. That is, the application for the funding opportunity must not include an Introduction describing the changes and improvements made, and the text must not be marked to indicate the changes from the previous unfunded version of the application.

Information on the status of an application should be checked by the Principal Investigator in the eRA Commons at: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/.

4. Intergovernmental Review

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

5. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The Grants Policy Statement can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/policy.htm.

Pre-Award Costs are allowable. A grantee may, at its own risk and without NIH prior approval, incur obligations and expenditures to cover costs up to 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or competing continuation award if such costs: are necessary to conduct the project, and would be allowable under the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior approval. If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the grantee must obtain NIH approval before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval is required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or competing continuation award.

The incurrence of pre-award costs in anticipation of a competing or non-competing award imposes no obligation on NIH either to make the award or to increase the amount of the approved budget if an award is made for less than the amount anticipated and is inadequate to cover the pre-award costs incurred. NIH expects the grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs result in borrowing against future support and that such borrowing must not impair the grantee's ability to accomplish the project objectives in the approved time frame or in any way adversely affect the conduct of the project. See NIH Grants Policy Statement https://grants.nih.gov/archive/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm.

6. Other Submission Requirements

Specific Instructions for Modular Grant applications.
Applications requesting up to $250,000 per year in direct costs must be submitted in a modular budget format. The modular budget format simplifies the preparation of the budget in these applications by limiting the level of budgetary detail. Applicants request direct costs in $25,000 modules. Section C of the research grant application instructions for the PHS 398 at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html includes step-by-step guidance for preparing modular budgets. Applicants must use the currently approved version of the PHS 398. Additional information on modular budgets is available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm.

Domestic institutions submitting applications for grant mechanisms that use the modular budget (R01, R03, R15, R21, and R34) that request $250,000 in direct costs or less for all years must continue to use the modular format even if the application includes a subaward with a foreign (non-U.S.) institution. 

Plan for Sharing Research Data

All applicants must include a plan for sharing research data in their application. The data sharing policy is available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing. All investigators responding to this funding opportunity should include a description of how final research data will be shared, or explain why data sharing is not possible.

The reasonableness of the data sharing plan or the rationale for not sharing research data will be assessed by the reviewers. However, reviewers will not factor the proposed data sharing plan into the determination of scientific merit or the priority score.

Sharing Research Resources
Not Applicable.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process.

The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

• Scientific merit of the proposed project as determined by peer review
• Availability of funds
• Relevance of program priorities

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications that are complete and responsive to the RFA will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the National Institute on Aging in accordance with the review criteria stated below.

As part of the initial merit review, all applications will:

• Undergo a selection 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.
• Receive a written critique.
• Receive a second level of review by National Advisory Council on Aging.
  

The goals of NIH supported research are to advance our understanding of biological systems, to improve the control of disease, and to enhance health. In their written critiques, reviewers will be asked to comment on each of the following criteria in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score, weighting them as appropriate for each application. Note that an application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact and thus deserve a high priority score. For example, an investigator may propose to carry out important work that by its nature is not innovative but is essential to move a field forward.

Significance: Does this study address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

Approach: Are the conceptual or clinical framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, well reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics?

Innovation: Is the project original and innovative? For example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area?

Investigators: Are the investigators appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers? Does the investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)?

Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?

2.A. Additional Review Criteria

In addition to the above criteria, the following items will continue to be considered in the determination of scientific merit and the priority score:

Protection of Human Subjects from Research Risk: The involvement of human subjects and protections from research risk relating to their participation in the proposed research will be assessed (see the Research Plan, Section E on Human Subjects in the PHS Form 398).

Inclusion of Women and Minorities in Research: The adequacy of plans to include subjects from both genders and all racial and ethnic groups (and subgroups) as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research will be assessed. Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will also be evaluated (see the Research Plan, Section E on Human Subjects in the PHS Form 398).

2.B. Additional Review Considerations

Budget: The reasonableness of the proposed budget and the requested period of support in relation to the proposed research. The priority score should not be affected by the evaluation of the budget.

2.C. Sharing Research Data

Data Sharing Plan: The reasonableness of the data sharing plan or the rationale for not sharing research data will be assessed by the reviewers. However, reviewers will not factor the proposed data sharing plan into the determination of scientific merit or the priority score. The presence of a data sharing plan will be part of the terms and conditions of the award. The funding organization will be responsible for monitoring the data sharing policy.

2.D. Sharing Research Resources

Not Applicable.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Not Applicable.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

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.

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant. For details, applicants may refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General (https://grants.nih.gov/archive/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm).

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email notification from the awarding component to the grantee business official (designated in item 12 on the Application Face Page). If a grantee is not email enabled, a hard copy of the NoA will be mailed to the business official.

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. See Also Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions.

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 (https://grants.nih.gov/archive/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm) and Part II Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities (https://grants.nih.gov/archive/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm).

3. Reporting

Awardees will be required to submit the PHS Non-Competing Grant Progress Report, Form 2590 annually (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/2590/2590.htm) and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage your inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Inquiries may fall into three areas: scientific/research, peer review, and financial or grants management issues:

1. Scientific/Research Contacts:

John W. R. Phillips. Ph.D.
Behavioral and Social Research Program
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue
Gateway Building, 533
Bethesda, MD 20892-9205
Telephone: (301) 496-3138
FAX: (301) 402-0051
Email: phillipj@mail.nih.gov

2. Peer Review Contacts:

Dr. Mary Nekola, Chief
Scientific Review Office
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, #2C/212
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone: (301) 402-4156
FAX: (301) 402-0066
Email: nekolam@nia.nih.gov

3. Financial or Grants Management Contacts:

Mr. John Bladen, Grants Management Specialist
Grants and Contracts Management Office
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Ave., #2N/212
Bethesda, MD 20892-9205
Telephone: (301) 402-7730
Fax (301) 402-3672
Email:  BladenJ@nia.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Required Federal Citations

Human Subjects Protection:
Federal regulations (45CFR46) require that applications and proposals involving human subjects must be evaluated with reference to the risks to the subjects, the adequacy of protection against these risks, the potential benefits of the research to the subjects and others, and the importance of the knowledge gained or to be gained (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm).

Sharing Research Data:
Investigators are expected to include a plan for data sharing or state why this is not possible (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing).

Investigators should seek guidance from their institutions, on issues related to institutional policies and local IRB rules, as well as local, State and Federal laws and regulations, including the Privacy Rule. Reviewers will consider the data sharing plan but will not factor the plan into the determination of the scientific merit or the priority score.

Access to Research Data through the Freedom of Information Act:
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 has been revised to provide access to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under some circumstances. Data that are (1) first produced in a project that is supported in whole or in part with Federal funds and (2) cited publicly and officially by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. It is important for applicants to understand the basic scope of this amendment. NIH has provided guidance at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm. Applicants may wish to place data collected under this funding opportunity in a public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include information about this in the budget justification section of the application. In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider use of data collected under this award.

Inclusion of Women And Minorities in Clinical Research:
It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and their sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported clinical research projects unless a clear and compelling justification is provided indicating 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 clinical research should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-001.html); a complete copy of the updated Guidelines is available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm. The amended policy incorporates: the use of an NIH definition of clinical research; updated racial and ethnic categories in compliance with the new OMB standards; clarification of language governing NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials consistent with the new PHS Form 398; and updated roles and responsibilities of NIH staff and the extramural community. The policy continues to require for all NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials that: a) all applications or proposals and/or protocols must provide a description of plans to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable; and b) investigators must report annual accrual and progress in conducting analyses, as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences.

Required Education on the Protection of Human Subject Participants:
NIH policy requires education on the protection of human subject participants for all investigators submitting NIH applications for research involving human subjects and individuals designated as key personnel. The policy is available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-039.html.

NIH Public Access Policy:
NIH-funded investigators are requested to submit to the NIH manuscript submission (NIHMS) system (http://www.nihms.nih.gov) at PubMed Central (PMC) an electronic version of the author's final manuscript upon acceptance for publication, resulting from research supported in whole or in part with direct costs from NIH. The author's final manuscript is defined as the final version accepted for journal publication, and includes all modifications from the publishing peer review process.

NIH is requesting that authors submit manuscripts resulting from 1) currently funded NIH research projects or 2) previously supported NIH research projects if they are accepted for publication on or after May 2, 2005. The NIH Public Access Policy applies to all research grant and career development award mechanisms, cooperative agreements, contracts, Institutional and Individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, as well as NIH intramural research studies. The Policy applies to peer-reviewed, original research publications that have been supported in whole or in part with direct costs from NIH, but it does not apply to book chapters, editorials, reviews, or conference proceedings. Publications resulting from non-NIH-supported research projects should not be submitted.

For more information about the Policy or the submission process please visit the NIH Public Access Policy Web site at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/ and view the Policy or other Resources and Tools including the Authors' Manual (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/publicaccess_Manual.htm).

Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information:
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued final modification to the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information", the "Privacy Rule", on August 14, 2002 . The Privacy Rule is a federal regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 that governs the protection of individually identifiable health information, and is administered and enforced by the DHHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Decisions about applicability and implementation of the Privacy Rule reside with the researcher and his/her institution. The OCR website (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/) provides information on the Privacy Rule, including a complete Regulation Text and a set of decision tools on "Am I a covered entity?" Information on the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on NIH processes involving the review, funding, and progress monitoring of grants, cooperative agreements, and research contracts can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-025.html.

URLs in NIH Grant Applications or Appendices:
All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. For publications listed in the appendix and/or Progress report, internet addresses (URLs) must be used for publicly accessible on-line journal articles.  Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, Internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide any other information necessary for the review because reviewers are under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Furthermore, we caution reviewers that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an Internet site.

Healthy People 2010:
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This PA is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.

Authority and Regulations:
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at http://www.cfda.gov/ and is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. 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 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The NIH Grants Policy Statement can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/policy.htm.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and discourage the 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.

Loan Repayment Programs:
NIH encourages applications for educational loan repayment from qualified health professionals who have made a commitment to pursue a research career involving clinical, pediatric, contraception, infertility, and health disparities related areas. The LRP is an important component of NIH's efforts to recruit and retain the next generation of researchers by providing the means for developing a research career unfettered by the burden of student loan debt. Note that an NIH grant is not required for eligibility and concurrent career award and LRP applications are encouraged. The periods of career award and LRP award may overlap providing the LRP recipient with the required commitment of time and effort, as LRP awardees must commit at least 50% of their time (at least 20 hours per week based on a 40 hour week) for two years to the research. For further information, please see: http://www.lrp.nih.gov.

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NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

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