Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information

Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)

Funding Opportunity Title
Emergency Award: Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Activity Code

U24 Resource-Related Research Projects Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type
New
Related Notices

None

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number
RFA-AG-21-035
Companion Funding Opportunity
PAR-21-213 , U01 Research Project (Cooperative Agreements)
Assistance Listing Number(s)
93.866, 93.313
Funding Opportunity Purpose

The purpose of this Cooperative Resource-Related Research Project FOA is to establish a coordinating center to support and develop research, dissemination, and various data sharing activities for social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19. The Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium Coordinating Center (SBECCC) will foster innovation, collaboration, and synergies across researchers funded through the Social, Behavioral and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium (U01) program and other relevant NIH-funded studies by supporting networking activities intended to advance research in the field; supporting the development and use of harmonized COVID-19 data constructs for primary and secondary data to support comparability and replicability; assisting in efficient and enhanced sharing/discoverability of data; and disseminating findings to the research community and the public.

Key Dates

Posted Date
April 09, 2021
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)
May 09, 2021
Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

May 9, 2021

Application Due Dates Review and Award Cycles
New Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) AIDS Scientific Merit Review Advisory Council Review Earliest Start Date
June 09, 2021 Not Applicable Not Applicable August 2021 August 2021 September 2021

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

No late applications will be accepted for this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

Expiration Date
June 10, 2021
Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Background

Pandemic mitigation and social distancing measures implemented across the United States in response to COVID-19 have had immediate effects on communities in terms of increased social isolation, reduced mobility and transportation, and historic levels of involuntary unemployment and resultant financial strain. The reallocation of healthcare system resources to expand access to COVID-19 testing and treatments may be crowding out access to medical care for other reasons, thereby producing secondary health effects. Reductions in earnings associated with job loss or reduction in hours worked could be lasting, particularly for underserved, vulnerable, and/or low-income workers. Associated reductions in income or lack of access to health insurance may influence adherence to drug regimens and other efficacious preventive services. These immediate impacts will have long-lasting downstream effects on socioeconomic status, attitudes, behaviors, health, and healthcare access that may influence the quality of life of people in the United States and around the world. However, reductions in economic activity associated with stay-at-home mitigation strategies may also reduce some health problems and causes of death (e.g., fewer traffic accidents and fewer non-urgent elective surgeries). Research is needed to understand the net health and mortality impacts of mitigation strategies and their economic side effects on diverse and vulnerable U.S. populations.

Research to understand the health impacts of coronavirus mitigation strategies and the mechanisms that may convey risk and resilience, particularly in underserved and vulnerable populations, will help improve long-term responses to the pandemic and prepare more effectively for the next public health emergency. For example, the success of coronavirus mitigation strategies is contingent on adherence to preventive behaviors including staying at home, social distancing, hand washing, and maskwearing as well as attitudes and behavior related to vaccination. Research on adherence to these preventive behaviors and to understand how personal and social factors promote or impede adherence will be key for developing and communicating effective public health recommendations. As another example, in the United States there are substantial racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 incident infections and mortality. Understanding how individual-, family-, and community-level risk factors interact to produce these COVID-19 disparities will inform the development of more effective interventions for underserved populations.

The NIH Social, Behavioral, and Economic Health Impacts of COVID-19 in Vulnerable and Health Disparity Populations initiative (hereafter SBE) was formed to support research on these and other related issues. The specific objectives of SBE include improving prediction of various mitigation efforts on transmission reduction and on social and economic impacts by leveraging and augmenting existing surveys, cohort studies, and research networks; assessing the downstream health and healthcare access effects from the economic downturn through comprehensive analysis of a wide range of available data sources; and developing digital and community interventions to ameliorate health effects of COVID-19 mitigation strategies in vulnerable populations. To achieve these ends, the SBE has initiated several funding announcements to rapidly support research and research infrastructure primarily via supplements/revisions to existing projects as well as guidance on harmonizing and sharing data to support study comparisons and replication. These calls have led to a significant number of SBE-related research studies, additions to longitudinal data to support COVID-19 SBE research, and both digital and community-level interventions. The collection of funded studies presents unique opportunities to form new research collaborations via networking among funded investigators and the broader research community conducting SBE-relevant research or possessing relevant data; harmonizing data to support comparability/replication through the sharing and development of comparable data constructs; and disseminating results of SBE-supported research to the public and policy makers. Further, these near-term data capture/collection activities may lead to follow-up or longer-term activities intended to capture changes across and even beyond the pandemic, increasing the benefits of communication and collaboration among studies.

This funding opportunity announcement calls for applications to serve as a resource to advance the field of research on social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19. This will be done by a coordinating center via a Cooperative Resource-Related Research Project award (U24) supporting research development activities, a cooperative agreement that would include substantial involvement by NIH in the conduct of project aims with the investigative team - the Social, Behavioral and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium Coordinating Center (SBECCC). A key role of the SBECCC is to serve as a research dissemination and collaboration coordinator with NIH for research awards made to the consortium under PAR-21-213 as well as other SBE-related research/investigators. Together, the SBECCC and SBE-funded research and research infrastructure projects will advance research on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 and associated mitigation efforts on individual, family, and community behavior; and on how subsequent economic disruption affects health-related outcomes, with close attention to underserved and vulnerable populations. The SBECCC will work with Consortium and other investigators conducting SBE-relevant research to share results, implement harmonization among measures captured/collected, identify new opportunities for interaction/collaboration, address methodological/measurement challenges, and share results of funded activities with NIH and the public. Further, the SBECCC will produce reports and analyses summarizing and integrating the findings/products of the consortium. These activities are intended to provide resources to the field at large to support the advancement of research on social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19.

Research Objectives

The primary objective of the SBECCC is to facilitate and advance social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19. To do this, the SBECCC will undertake several research development and sharing activities intended to support the field. The SBECCC will develop, coordinate, and disseminate the research activities of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium and other SBE-related research. Specifically, the SBECCC will conduct activities to facilitate research collaboration and development among researchers; provide information on NIH-recommended COVID-19 harmonized data constructs as they are developed and work with consortium researchers to develop new constructs as needed; facilitate sharing and discovery of data used by Consortium researchers to the field; and disseminate the research contributions of SBE-supported researchers. In conducting these activities, the SBECCC will be a resource for the field intended to support the development of innovative SBE-focused research. Examples of SBECCC functions include but are not limited to:

  • Maintain an active website describing consortium activities and outcomes, serving as the source of information dissemination to scientific and lay audiences that will be easily discoverable.
  • Develop research briefs, blogs, or other means to highlight and disseminate consortium research advances, activities, and resources to the research community, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Work with NIH program staff to identify research areas for collaboration and development among NIH-funded SBE COVID-19 research projects and other relevant investigators/studies to further SBE research objectives. This may include facilitating the networking of Consortium/SBE researchers for the purpose of developing research workshops or conferences and coordinating multi-project activities such as the design of pilot projects or new joint research applications. Applicants proposing pilot programs must propose how pilot projects will be solicited and reviewed prior to submission to NIH for approval in the Approach section of the Research Plan.
  • In collaboration with NIH staff, produce and maintain a database that categorizes consortium awards by study area and populations studied to report on consortium study coverage in achieving SBE goals (e.g., vulnerable populations studied across SBE topic areas to identify opportunities for new research) to alert the research community of potential collaborators as well as gaps in research.
  • Identify and disseminate technical and policy guidelines and best practices for effectively and ethically sharing data, developing new guidelines and best practices as needed for consortium researchers. Improve discoverability of NIH-supported SBE data resources via SBECCC website.
  • Facilitate access to secondary data relevant to this initiative by SBE Consortium Investigators via collaboration with consortium research projects to efficiently obtain data, produce common data constructs, and provide protocols for effective sharing/replication (e.g., descriptions of data access/acquisition procedures, the efficient sharing of computer code used to generate research data sets, etc.).
  • Plan and implement one annual in-person meeting at NIH to be attended by PD/PIs of SBE/Consortium projects in coordination with NIH program staff. The SBECCC will create the agenda for and chair that meeting with guidance from NIH program staff. The purpose of the annual meeting will be to share updates and scientific advances; discuss and plan collaborative activities including the development/sharing of CDEs; host expert sessions on methods/measurement advancement; discuss and plan activities to develop new research activities to advance the field relevant to NIH research priorities, etc. The SBECCC will set aside a portion of its funds to support the annual meeting.
  • Arrange and host virtual calls/meetings around specific topics (research or administrative) as needed to facilitate SBECCC objectives (e.g., development/implementation of common data constructs for specific consortium projects, presentations of new high-impact findings, collaborate on data sharing or acquisition activities, etc.).
  • Respond to queries by the NIH Program Official on behalf of the consortium regarding consortium activities and respond to information requests generated by the consortium, NIH, the scientific community, and the public.

Additional activities or functions may be proposed to promote collaboration across consortium/SBE projects, encourage interactions between SBE programs and other NIH-supported resources, and to enhance the value, innovativeness, and visibility of SBE research.

Applications Not Responsive to this FOA

Responsive applications will include activities to facilitate all of the following: encourage research collaboration and development among researchers; provide information on NIH-recommended COVID-19 harmonized data constructs as they are developed and work with consortium researchers to develop new constructs as needed; facilitate sharing and discovery of data used by Consortium researchers to the field; disseminate the research contributions of SBE-supported researchers; and conduct an annual in-person meeting at NIH as described in this FOA. Applications that do not include these activities will be deemed not responsive and will not receive further consideration for award.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities. See Section VI.2 for additional information about the substantial involvement for this FOA.

Application Types Allowed
New

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this FOA.

Clinical Trial?

Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials.

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

NIA and partner components intend to commit $750,000 in FY 2021 to fund one award. The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget

Application budgets are limited to $500,000 in annual direct costs.

Award Project Period

The total project period may not exceed 5 years.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions

  • Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

  • Hispanic-serving Institutions
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  • Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
  • Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
  • Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
  • Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

  • Small Businesses
  • For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Local Governments

  • State Governments
  • County Governments
  • City or Township Governments
  • Special District Governments
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Federal Governments

  • Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
  • U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

  • Independent School Districts
  • Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
  • Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
  • Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
  • Regional Organizations
Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

  • Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
  • System for Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
  • eRA Commons - Applicants must have an active DUNS number to register in eRA Commons. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants.gov registration, but all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
  • Grants.gov Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization 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.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

The PD/PI and the SBECCC team are expected to have significant knowledge about priority areas in social, behavioral, and economic research; experience in promoting collaboration across different research groups or institutions; and experience in program management and coordination.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. This means that the NIH will not accept:

  • A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
  • A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
  • An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NOT-OD-11-101).

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this FOA. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Letter of Intent

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.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

  • Descriptive title of proposed activity
  • Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
  • Names of other key personnel
  • Participating institution(s)
  • Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

John W.R. Phillips, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3136
Email: John.Phillips@nih.gov

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

The applicant should propose PD(s)/PI(s) and other personnel well suited to conduct the roles of the SBECCC. Specifically, they should include demonstrated experience and an ongoing record of accomplishments in managing social, behavioral, and economic research and research resources; experience with coordinating collaborative research; and expertise appropriate to support the development and implementation of relevant comparable data constructs for secondary data collections or Common Data Elements for primary data collections. If the application is multi-PD/PI, the investigators should have complementary and integrated expertise as well as clear governance plans for the administration of the proposed SBECCC.

R&R Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Additionally, all applications should include costs for an annual meeting of up to two days. The SBECCC will plan and implement one annual in-person meeting at NIH to be attended by PD/PIs of SBE/Consortium projects in coordination with NIH program staff. The SBECCC will create the agenda for and chair that meeting with guidance from NIH program staff. The purpose of the annual meeting will be to share updates and scientific advances, discuss and plan collaborative activities including the development/sharing of CDEs, host expert sessions on methods/measurement advancement, discuss and plan activities to develop new research activities to advance the field relevant to NIH research priorities, etc. Requested costs should reflect the proposed vision for this meeting.

R&R Subaward Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy

The successful completion of program objectives will require the SBECCC to effectively interact with experts in SBE-relevant research, including (but not limited to) four specific groups defined here for clarity:

  • NIH Program Staff: NIH program staff will be responsible for both standard grant program management and substantial involvement via recommendations/guidance on the conduct of aims (e.g., recommendations on dissemination, collaboration, and CDE development/implementation).
  • NIH expects to award approximately 5-6 consortium awards. These consortium awards will include terms and conditions providing guidance on collaboration requirements with the SBECCC to achieve consortium research objectives. Interaction with SBE Consortium Investigators is relevant to all objective areas described below. Though the number and composition of U01 awards from PAR-21-213 will be made in parallel with the award made for this FOA, the applicant should assume approximately 5-6 U01 awards will be made.
  • SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees: The NIH SBE program and their affiliated NIH ICs have made several awards to existing NIH grants to rapidly advance research and research resources. The SBECCC should propose activities to engage this community of SBE COVID-19 researchers so as to best include them in the primary aims of the SBECCC: facilitation of collaborations and CDE use/development and dissemination of research outcomes. Unlike SBE Consortium Investigators, these investigators do not have terms and conditions in their awards obligating them to collaborate with the SBECCC. Therefore, applicants to this FOA should describe a plan of engagement with these studies to best and most feasibly achieve relevant FOA objectives within the allowed budget.
  • Other relevant experts and studies: This category represents other experts and resources of relevance to support the research and data objectives of this FOA that are not in the three groups above. It includes researchers from various disciplines that can help advance methods and measures to enhance research, data sources to support SBE-relevant research, and entities with tools to facilitate research, the conceptualization and production of comparable data, and tools for dissemination of findings/outcomes.

Applicants should propose an organizational structure that describes how interactions among these groups will take place to achieve the objectives of this FOA.

Working in collaboration with these groups and others as appropriate, the SBECCC should propose activities in support of the following objectives:

  • Website: Development and maintenance of an active website providing information about SBE, the consortium, and related projects, as well as proposed activities and outcomes produced by SBECCC in conjunction with the SBE Consortium Investigators and other relevant investigators (e.g., SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees collaborating with SBECCC).
  • Research Dissemination: Dissemination of research advances, activities, and resources to the research community, policymakers ,and other relevant stakeholders produced by SBECCC in conjunction with the SBE Consortium Investigators and other relevant investigators (e.g., SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees collaborating with SBECCC).
  • SBE Database: Development and maintenance of a database to track progress and outcomes of SBE-supported activities organized by SBE research areas and study populations of interest to describe program coverage/gaps in concert with NIH staff for SBE Consortium Investigators and SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees.
  • Annual Meeting: Planning and implementation of an annual in-person meeting with consultation with relevant NIH staff. Plan should be for an in-person meeting at NIH of up to two days, and non-SBECCC participants will support their own travel costs. Applicants may request funds to cover limited amounts of third-party travel to support broader/diverse participation. The annual meeting should feature a combination of SBE Consortium Investigators, SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees, and other relevant experts and studies as appropriate to disseminate findings and conduct other activities to achieve the research development, collaboration, and data enhancement objectives of SBECCC.
  • Foster Collaboration and Advancement of the Field: Foster communication, developmental, and collaborative activities within and across the SBE Consortium Investigators, SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees, and other relevant experts and studies as appropriate to achieve research and CDE development/implementation objectives. In particular, an application should include engagement strategies for SBE Consortium Investigators, SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees, and other relevant experts and studies around the themes of the consortium. Successful collaborations could lead to modification of existing research aims (with NIH approval), supplement requests, or new applications to support collaborative research projects. Applications can also include activities intended to advance the field via improved methods or measurements (e.g., expert meetings, pilot development, etc.). Applicants proposing pilot programs must propose how pilot projects will be solicited and reviewed prior to submission to NIH for approval in the Approach section of the Research Plan. Program and Grants Management must review pilot projects selected by the SBECCC prior to initiating work to ensure that the pilot projects are within scope, consistent with goals of the network, and have appropriate human subjects protections in place.
  • Common Data Constructs: Propose approaches to develop and vet new constructs/elements as necessary to facilitate SBE Consortium Investigators' research goals (e.g., based on gaps in current constructs revealed by consortium projects or the emerging field of COVID-19 SBE research). Constructs include both primary and secondary data elements to promote comparability. Share NIH COVID-19 guidance on common data constructs as it becomes available and assist SBE Consortium Investigators with compliance.
  • Discoverability and Sharing of Data: Make SBE Consortium Investigators' research projects and data resources discoverable by the SBE COVOID-19 research community to promote data sharing, broad use, and replication. Though the SBECCC will not directly share data produced by consortium and other NIH-funded SBE investigators, the SBECCC will facilitate the use of shared data resources by both promoting data assets via the SBECCC website and sharing protocols and programs used to obtain and use third-party data. In instances where captured/re-used data is not directly sharable by the SBE Consortium Investigators, support the development and sharing of plans for providing access protocols and programs to allow third-party researchers to replicate proposed research data files. Specifically, SBE Consortium Investigators are required to provide information describing the data source and how any investigator can apply for data access; computer code used to convert data from the capture source into research data files; explanations of any variables constructed by the investigators; and other relevant information required to assist the use of data from the source for replication studies. The SBECCC will provide expertise to support these activities and share them on the SBECCC website. NIH requires researchers and publishers to make their COVID-19 publications immediately accessible in PubMed Central. The SBECCC should seek SBE Supplement/Revision Awardees and other studies with similar data sharing needs for inclusion in SBECCC discoverability and sharing activities.
  • Facilitate Data Access: Facilitate access to secondary data relevant to this initiative by SBE Consortium Investigators. Work with SBE Consortium Investigators to negotiate access to relevant closed-source data resources (e.g., CMS claims data, death records, etc.) on behalf of the consortium to reduce overlap in effort across consortium research projects to access the same data source; create economies of scale in purchasing by concentrating the consortium's resources; and create efficiencies with regards to broader use, common data constructs, and other factors that can promote use, comparability, and discoverability.
  • Point of Contact for Consortium: Serve as the point of contact for the activities of the SBE Consortium for NIH staff and the broader scientific community.

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

The following modifications also apply:

  • All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, should address a Data Sharing Plan.
  • This program requires sharing of research resources to facilitate collaboration across multiple projects/programs to facilitate innovative, replicable, and comparable social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19. Applicants are required to provide an overarching data and resource sharing plan. The NIH expects awardees to implement a Resources and Data Sharing Plan (e.g., see NIH Data Sharing Policies) consistent with achieving these program goals to share project information/findings, and common data construct/CDE guidance. The Resources and Data Sharing Plan is expected to be updated in conjunction with investigators of the SBE Consortium grantees post-award.
Appendix:
Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered Yes to the question Are Human Subjects Involved? on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start).All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

See Part 1. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov.

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Policy on Late Application Submission.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

In order to expedite review, applicants are requested to notify the NIA Referral Office by email at ramesh.vemuri@nih.gov when the application has been submitted. Please include the FOA number and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy. Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH objective review system.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the SBECCC to exert a sustained, powerful influence on social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance

Does the proposed SBECCC address the needs of the SBE investigators that it will coordinate and serve? Is the scope of activities proposed appropriate to meet those needs? Will successful completion of the aims bring added value or unique advantages or capabilities to the scientific activities and accomplishments of the SBE program? Does the proposed Coordinating Center address the dissemination and collaborative needs of the SBE Consortium? Is there strong evidence of the availability of sufficient scientific expertise and of the ability to work with scientists to serve as the overall SBE Consortium point-of-contact for a broad scientific and policy-oriented community?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s) and other personnel well suited to their roles in the SBECCC? Do they have appropriate experience and training, and have they demonstrated experience and an ongoing record of accomplishments in managing social, behavioral, and economic research and research resources? Do the investigators demonstrate significant experience with coordinating collaborative research? Do they have expertise appropriate to support the development and implementation of relevant comparable data constructs for secondary data collections or Common Data Elements for primary data collections? If the SBECCC is multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise and skills, and are their leadership approach, governance, plans for conflict resolution, and organizational structure appropriate for the SBECC? Does the applicant have experience overseeing selection and management of subawards, if needed? Does the investigative team have relevant experience and expertise in project management and coordination required for activities proposed for the SBECCC? Will the investigative team proposed be able to facilitate cooperation across a wide range of social science fields?

Innovation

Does the application propose appropriate and innovative organizational concepts or management strategies in coordinating SBE Consortium research activities? Are the strategies to form collaborations among SBE investigators new or uniquely applied? Are the concepts, strategies, or instrumentation novel to one type of research program or applicable in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of organizational concepts or management strategies proposed? Do the dissemination strategies include novel approaches to share activities and outcomes with appropriate audiences? Are plans for assisting researchers with development or implementation of CDEs innovative?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, operational plan and organizational structure well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the goals of the SBECCC and the goals of the SBE Consortium that the coordinating center will serve? Do the investigators promote strategies to ensure a robust participation across SBE investigators in SBECCC activities (e.g., collaborations, comparability, dissemination, etc.)? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? Does the proposed strategy adequately establish feasibility and manage the risks associated with the activities of the SBECCC? Does the application include an appropriate plan for workflow and a well-established timeline? Do they provide plans to effectively share NIH recommended COVID-19 common data constructs and, when necessary, develop new ones to support SBE COVID-19 research aims among the SBE research community? To what extent will the SBECCC facilitate the effectiveness and impact of the SBE Consortium? Is the approach to the coordinating functions effective? Are the proposed procedures for communication, cooperation, and fostering collaboration among the Consortium and NIH staff adequate? Are there appropriate plans to coordinate interaction between the Consortium program and other relevant NIH programs? Are there appropriate plans to collect, maintain and synthesize data to achieve stated reporting needs?

If the project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, are the plans to address 1) the protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion or exclusion of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults), justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

Environment

Will the institutional environment in which the SBECCC will operate contribute to the probability of success in facilitating the research activities of the Consortium it serves? Are the institutional support, equipment, and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the SBECCC proposed? Will the SBECCC benefit from unique features of the institutional environment, infrastructure, or personnel? Are resources available within the scientific environment to support electronic information handling?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Individuals Across the Lifespan

When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following criteria: (1) description of proposed procedures involving animals, including species, strains, ages, sex, and total number to be used; (2) justifications for the use of animals versus alternative models and for the appropriateness of the species proposed; (3) interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain and injury; and (4) justification for euthanasia method if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. Reviewers will assess the use of chimpanzees as they would any other application proposing the use of vertebrate animals. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

Not Applicable

Renewals

Not Applicable

Revisions

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: (1) Data Sharing Plan; (2) Sharing Model Organisms; and (3) Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS).

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Not Applicable.

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources:

For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate internal NIA review group(s), using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a internal NIA review group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific objective review, all applications:

  • May undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.

Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA.

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial objective review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Advisory Council on Aging. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

  • Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific objective review.
  • Availability of funds.
  • Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. 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.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website. This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website.

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the awardee must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

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 and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Recipients, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Recipients of federal financial assistance (FFA) from HHS must administer their programs in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, religion, conscience, and sex. This includes ensuring programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency. The HHS Office for Civil Rights provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/provider-obligations/index.html and http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/section1557/index.html.

HHS recognizes that research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this FOA.

Please contact the HHS Office for Civil Rights for more information about obligations and prohibitions under federal civil rights laws at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html or call 1-800-368-1019 or TDD 1-800-537-7697.

In accordance with the statutory provisions contained in Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), NIH awards will be subject to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) requirements. FAPIIS requires Federal award making officials to review and consider information about an applicant in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS) prior to making an award. An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself that a Federal agency previously entered and is currently in FAPIIS. The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgement about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 45 CFR Part 75.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

The following special terms of award are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) administrative guidelines, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) grant administration regulations at 45 CFR Part 75, and other HHS, PHS, and NIH grant administration policies.

The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be a cooperative agreement, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an "acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic involvement with the recipients is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, NIH will support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the recipients for the project, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the recipients and NIH as defined below.

The PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility of:

  • The Principal Investigator(s) will have the primary responsibility for the design and details of the project funded from this FOA and will retain primary responsibility for performance of the activities. The recipient(s) agree(s) to accept assistance from the designated NIH Program Official and Project Scientists in aspects of the scientific and technical management of the study/studies and in coordinating with other Federal agencies.
  • After award, the PD/PI(s) should work with the study’s co-Investigators group plus experts in the scientific community and who are not connected with the project except in this capacity, to advise the PD/PI(s) on the overall scientific and financial management of the project and on the recruitment of new investigators to the project as necessary.
  • The recipient(s) will retain custody of and have primary rights to any data and software developed under this award, subject to Government rights of access consistent with current HHS, PHS, and NIH policies.

NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:

  • NIH Project Scientist(s) will have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards. The NIH Project Scientist will assist in refining study objectives and activities, representing the scientific objectives of NIH and the SBE Initiative as they relate to the SBECCC aims (e.g., recommendations on workshop topics, areas for collaboration among NIH-supported SBE research, projects for dissemination, etc.).
  • An NIH Program Official will be responsible for the normal scientific and programmatic stewardship of the award. The NIH Program Official will approve all major stages of the project and all new major additions/changes to planned activities. In addition, this individual will assist in initiating and maintaining collaborative relationships with relevant federal agencies. Prior approval is required by the NIH Program Official for any replacements of key personnel or other changes in subawards. The NIH Program Official will serve as the primary programmatic/administrative liaison to the NIH SBE Initiative.

Areas of Joint Responsibility include:

  • None; all responsibilities are divided between the recipient and NIH staff as described above.

Dispute Resolution

Any disagreements that may arise in scientific or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between award recipients and NIH may be brought to Dispute Resolution. A Dispute Resolution Panel composed of three members will be convened. It will have three members: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual recipient. This special dispute resolution procedure does not alter the recipient's right to appeal an adverse action that is otherwise appealable in accordance with PHS regulation 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D and DHHS regulation 45 CFR Part 16.

3. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

In accordance with the regulatory requirements provided at 45 CFR 75.113 and Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75, recipients that have currently active Federal grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of a Federal award, must report and maintain the currency of information reported in the System for Award Management (SAM) about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the award or performance of a Federal award that reached final disposition within the most recent five-year period. The recipient must also make semiannual disclosures regarding such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS). This is a statutory requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all information posted in the designated integrity and performance system on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available. Full reporting requirements and procedures are found in Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75 Award Term and Conditions for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Application Submission Contacts

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)

Finding Help Online: http://grants.nih.gov/support/ (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-945-7573

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

John W.R. Phillips, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3136
Email: John.Phillips@nih.gov

Erica Spotts, Ph.D.
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
Telephone: 301-594-2105
Email: spottse@mail.nih.gov

Partha Bhattacharyya, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3136
Email: Partha.Bhattacharyya@nih.gov

Peer Review Contact(s)

Ramesh Vemuri, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-9666
Email: ramesh.vemuri@nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Traci Lafferty
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-8987
Email: laffertt@nia.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

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 Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 75.


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