Part 1. Overview Information

Key Dates

Dates in bold and italics reflect changes per NOT-AG-24-064

No late applications will be accepted for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

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

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

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

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

1. Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
2. Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.
   
   
3. Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.



Table of Contents
Part 1. Overview Information
Key Dates
Part 2. Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Other Award Budget Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research educational activities that complement other formal training programs in the mission areas of the NIH Institutes and Centers. 

The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

The overarching goal of this NOFO is to support short courses designed to increase utilization of the cognitive data from the International HRS and HCAP. Through this initiative, NIA hopes to further the scientific communities' understanding of how different social, cultural, and institutional factors affect the trajectory of AD/ADRD in different contexts that will move the field forward. 

To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this NOFO will support educational activities with a primary focus on: 

• Courses for Skills Development: Short courses designed to increase utilization of the cognitive data from the International HRS and HCAP to improve skills in conducting cross-national comparative research using these cognitive data to study a variety of aging and AD/ADRD topics. The short courses could complement and/or enhance the training of scientists already engaged or interested in behavioral and social science AD/ADRD research, help to recruit new researchers from various backgrounds into AD/ADRD research, and provide course participants with formal and informal opportunities to interact with one another and with course faculty, and to form research collaborations. This initiative aims to develop training for scientists from multiple disciplines. 

Background

Cross-national research on AD/ADRD provides opportunities to study variation in cognitive aging and AD/ADRD outcomes in contexts that vary socially, economically, culturally, and geographically. This type of research can help us better understand how aging in different institutional, policy, environmental, economic, social, geographical, and cultural contexts can lead to different outcomes for individuals and populations related to AD/ADRD. The “cross-national laboratory” provides opportunities to examine differences in national and regional policies in ways that studies of specific countries cannot. This information may inform interventions and policies in the United States and globally to improve population health. 

Rich longitudinal data capturing the social, economic, cultural, and environmental circumstances people age in, coupled with comparable assessments of dementia, can facilitate such research. The International HRS provides these data and includes cognitive data. The HCAP, a sub-study within the HRS, can also help further this area of research. HCAP includes an expanded battery of cognitive tests and informant interviews that is administered to a random subsample of HRS respondents 65 years and older. The HCAP is part of a collaboration with research teams from the International HRS to develop similar cognitive testing protocols across studies.  

HCAP data from the United States, England, Mexico, Chile, India, China, and South Africa have been released. Additionally, data collection is either underway, or has recently been completed, for five countries in the European Union (Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, France, and Italy) as well as in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Dominican Republic, Lebanon, and Nepal. In addition, NIA has funded the Gateway to Global Aging, a free public resource designed to facilitate cross-national and longitudinal studies on aging using the International HRS from around the world and the HCAP. The website includes access to survey data as well as harmonized data. The Gateway is a convenient source for a wider variety of phenotypes associated with AD. 

Cross-national analyses require a large investment of time and resources, as scholars must learn how to use multiple datasets from various countries as well as learn about varying country contexts in order to employ appropriate methods. While the harmonization of the HCAP data across countries makes this process easier, it does not eliminate these challenges. With this initiative, NIA seeks to lower these barriers and support the development of short courses that strengthen the skills of researchers to fully exploit these data resources to conduct cross-national analyses using the cognitive data from the International HRS and HCAP studies. These studies may contribute to scientific advances in NIA priority research areas such as Cognitive and Dementia Epidemiology, Behavioral and Social Pathways to AD/ADRD, Dementia Care, and Caregiver/Care Partner Research. 

NIA plans to support short courses to help researchers develop skills to conduct cross-national analysis of the International HRS cognitive and HCAP data to further our understanding of how different social, cultural, and institutional factors affect the trajectory of AD/ADRD in different contexts that will move the field forward. The short courses could complement and/or enhance the training of scientists already engaged or interested in behavioral and social science AD/ADRD research, help to recruit new researchers from various backgrounds into AD/ADRD research, and provide course participants with formal and informal opportunities to interact with one another and with course faculty, and to form research collaborations. This initiative aims to develop training for scientists from multiple disciplines. 

Research Objectives

Short courses may focus on the following topics and/or statistical methods, although other topics may be proposed by applicants: 

• Overall - Improve understanding of how aging in different institutional, policy, environmental, economic, social, geographical, and cultural contexts mitigate or exacerbate cross-national differences in cognitive health.
• Behavioral and Social Pathways to AD/ADRD - Conduct research to identify behavioral, social, and biobehavioral risk and protective factors (e.g., educational attainment, work/occupation, personality, social engagement, smoking, obesity, sleep, physical activity, diet, adverse childhood experiences, socioeconomic status) on the pathway to cognitive decline and AD/ADRD in different policy and cultural contexts cross-nationally.
• Cognitive and Dementia Epidemiology
  • Improve understanding of disparities in trajectories of cognitive aging and decline and association of dementia with common comorbidities (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.) cross-nationally.
  • Investigate links between environmental exposures, behavioral and social processes, biological (including genetic) risk, and later life cognitive impairment cross-nationally.
  • Consideration of race and sex in trajectories of cognitive aging across and within different international contexts. 
• Dementia Care - Examine how varying national and subnational policy incentives and constraints affect short- and long-term care access, quality, and health outcomes for persons living with dementia.
• Caregiver/Care Partner Research - Examine how varying contexts influence the caregiving experience and impact caregiver outcomes across different populations, including intensity and duration of caregiving, care activities, positive and negative aspects, services and supports, health and well-being, and caregiving effects on employment, income, and participation of caregivers.
• Unexpected national shocks to the system, including natural disasters, extreme weather events, pandemics, and economic shocks - Examine how catastrophic events disrupt access to consumption, economic resources, and social connections and how those vary by regional and/or national context, and how they influence AD/ADRD-related outcomes.
• Protective factors at the individual-level - Examine how protective factors, such as social relationships, cognitive engagement, occupational complexity, health behaviors, well-being, personality, and other behavioral and psychosocial factors influence AD/ADRD-related outcomes, and how these relationships vary across countries and contexts.
• Methods - Focus on methods, rather than a specific content area, such as item response theory (IRT), practice effects, random effects modeling, and other methods to facilitate cross-country co-calibration of cognitive tests. Also, quasi-experimental methods to facilitate analysis of data in the cross-national context.

Short courses topics must be related to AD/ADRD. Any AD/ADRD-related issue may be proposed, as long as the topic aims to help researchers better understand how to leverage the rich social and economic data in the International HRS studies and deal with its related complexities to conduct cross-national analyses of the HRS cognitive and HCAP data. Short courses may be in any of a variety of formats, delivery modalities, length, and expected time to complete.

Required Short Course Dissemination, Delivery, Evaluation, and Sharing

Applicants must provide a description of the strategy for dissemination of the short courses as it is critical that participation in these courses is available to a broad audience. Applicants must propose a plan to deliver and evaluate the short course to at least one cohort of learners that are representative of those who may take, teach, and/or facilitate the course in the future. This plan must include how learners will be selected, approximately how many will be selected to take the near-final course, how feedback about the course will be collected, and how curricula or other procedures will incorporate course feedback.  

When resources have been developed with NIH funds and the associated research findings published or provided to NIH, it is important that the results be made readily available for research purposes to qualified individuals within the scientific community. Grant applications must propose a plan for how course materials will be integrated beyond the current setting into real-time curricula (e.g., teaching materials) and/or asynchronous or self-guided learning.  

Non-Responsiveness Criteria:

The following types of applications will be considered non-responsive to this NOFO and will be administratively withdrawn prior to scientific peer review:

• Applications that do not: 
  • Propose short courses related to facilitating cross-national analyses of cognitive data from the International HRS and HCAP. 
  •  Include specific aims related to AD/ADRD.
  •  Disseminate the opportunity to participate to a wide audience.
  • Provide an evaluation plan for the short courses.
  •  Describe the selection process and how curricula will incorporate feedback.
  •  Include a specific plan to disseminate nationally any findings resulting from or materials developed under the auspices of the research education program (e.g., sharing course curricula and related materials via web postings, presentations at scientific meetings, workshops).  
  •  Include a Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity. 

Resources for Applicants  

Cross-national Research Resources -The following resources are designed to facilitate cross-national comparative research:

• Gateway to Global Aging 
• HCAP Network 
• Health and Retirement Studies Around the World Network 
• NIA's Division of Behavioral and Social Research (BSR) Global Aging Webpage   
• HRS International Family of Studies  

The following are studies that currently have HCAP data available: 

• Chile-Cog 
• China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS-HCAP)  
• English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA): Healthy Cognitive Ageing Project (ELSA-HCAP)  
• Longitudinal Aging Study in India: Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia (LASI-DAD)  
• Mexican Health and Aging Study: Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study (Mex-Cog)  
• Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in Three INDEPTH Communities (HAALSI) 
• HCAP (U.S.)  

The following are studies that will have HCAP data available soon: 

• The Caribbean-American Dementia and Aging Study 
• SHARE-HCAP 
• The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing 
• The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study of Ageing 
• Lebanon Study on Aging and HeAlth 
• Chitwan Valley Family Study (Nepal)  

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

Section II. Award Information

Other Award Budget Information

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

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

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 TribalGovernments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Federal Governments

• U.S. Territory or Possession

• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

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

The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed program. Appropriate institutional commitment to the program includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned program.

Institutions with existing Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training grants (e.g., T32) or other Federally funded training programs may apply for a research education grant provided that the proposed educational experiences are distinct from those training programs receiving federal support. In many cases, it is anticipated that the proposed research education program will complement ongoing research training occurring at the applicant institution.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) 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 allowed. 

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the How to Apply - 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. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information.

• 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.
• NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code – Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) – A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
• eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants.gov registration; 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 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.

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 their organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women 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 How to Apply - Application Guide.

The PD/PI should be an established investigator in the scientific area in which the application is targeted and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. The PD/PI will be expected to monitor and assess the program and submit all documents and reports as required.

2. Cost Sharing

This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

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

NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. 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 NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications)

Program Faculty Researchers from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, persons with disabilities, and women are encouraged to participate as preceptors/mentors. Mentors should have research expertise and experience relevant to the proposed program. Mentors must be committed to continue their involvement throughout the total period of the mentee’s participation in this award.

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 NOFO. 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 How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed in this Notice of Funding Opportunity to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the How to Apply - Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions will not be reviewed.

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:

Minki Chatterji, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging 
Telephone: 301-402-7469 
Email: minki.chatterji@mail.nih.gov 

All page limitations described in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply - Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

Follow all instructions provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

Follow all instructions provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

Follow all instructions provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide with the following additional modifications:

Facilities & Other Resources. Describe the educational environment, including the facilities, laboratories, participating departments, computer services, and any other resources to be used in the development and implementation of the proposed program. List all thematically related sources of support for research training and education following the format for Current and Pending Support. Appropriate institutional commitment should include the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned research education program.

Other Attachments.

An Advisory Committee is not a required component of a Research Education program. However, if an Advisory Committee is intended, provide a plan for the appointment of an Advisory Committee to monitor progress of the research education program. The composition, roles, responsibilities, and desired expertise of committee members, frequency of committee meetings, and other relevant information should be included. Describe how the Advisory Committee will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program. New applications should not include the names of proposed Advisory Committee members, and proposed members should not be contacted prior to peer review.  Please name your file “Advisory_Committee.pdf”.

The filename provided for each “Other Attachment” will be the name used for the bookmark in the electronic application in eRA Commons.

Follow all instructions provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

Follow all instructions provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide with the following additional modifications:

• Include all personnel other than the PD(s)/PI(s) in the Other Personnel section, including clerical and administrative staff.

• Use the section on Participant/Trainee Support Costs to include all allowable categories of funds requested to support participants in the program.

Follow all instructions provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy

Research Strategy section must be used to upload the Research Education Program Plan, which must include the following components described below:

• Proposed Research Education Program
• Program Director/Principal Investigator
• Program Faculty
• Program Participants
• Institutional Environment and Commitment
• Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity
• Training Plan in Methods to Enhance Reproducibility
• Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Evaluation Plan
• Dissemination Plan

Research Education Program Plan

Proposed Research Education Program. While the proposed research education program may complement ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those research training and research education programs currently receiving federal support. When research training programs are on-going in the same department, the applicant organization should clearly distinguish between the activities in the proposed research education program and the research training supported by the training program. As a reminder, applicants may choose to address one or more of the activities listed in Section I. Funding Opportunity Description.

Program Rationale, Mission, Objectives, and Overall Research Education Plan: 

The application should describe:

• Rationale for the topics to be covered in the proposed short course, including the scientific need, timeliness, and how the course complements existing course/training opportunities (as appropriate) in facilitating increased utilization of the cognitive data from the HRS International Family of Studies (International HRS) and Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). Programs may span institutions or draw on expertise from multiple institutions. 
• Learning objectives for the proposed short course, how the proposed course will enhance existing skills and capabilities of the target participants.
• How course content and syllabus are linked to the course objectives. 
• Justification for the balance between didactic and hands-on training and the time allotted for the planned material. 
• Plans for individual attention and faculty-participant interaction to accomplish the course objectives.
• Rationale for any curriculum development activities proposed. 
• Evidence that the program is based on sound research concepts and educational principles.
• Feasibility of the proposed activities and how they relate to the strengths of the institution.
• The estimated number of participants in each offering of the course. 
• Expected processes for planning and implementing the proposed educational activities and coordinating among existing training or research activities already available (where appropriate). 
• Plans for enabling the continued exchange of information after participants complete the course. 
• How the short course may be modified over time depending upon the outcome of the initial offering, participant feedback, and/or new developments in the field to ensure that the course continues to be at the cutting edge.
• Approaches to managing potential problems and alternative strategies for their solutions. 

The application must include:

• Specific aims related to AD/ADRD.
• A description of how the proposed topic(s) address an issue that helps researchers better understand how to leverage the rich social and economic data in the International HRS studies and deal with its related complexities to conduct cross-national analyses of the HRS cognitive and HCAP data.
• If applicable, a description of how the proposed foreign component helps program participants learn how to analyze HRS and HCAP data to investigate how different social, cultural, and institutional factors affect AD/ADRD outcomes.
• A description of how data resources are integrated into the coursework.
• A description of how the program will effectively reach an audience in need of the program’s offerings.
• A description of the strategy for dissemination of the short courses as it is critical that participation in these courses is available to a broad audience. 
• A plan to deliver and evaluate the short course, to at least one cohort of learners that are representative of those who may take, teach, and/or facilitate the course in the future. 
• Where appropriate, describe how the proposed program will develop or utilize innovative approaches and latest best practices to improve the knowledge and/or skills of the intended audience.
• If applicable, a description of how the proposed foreign component ensures that foreign participants achieve the learning objectives of the course.
• If applicable, a description of how the proposed foreign component enhances the program and helps to achieve the project’s stated goals. 

Program Director/Principal Investigator. Describe arrangements for administration of the program.  Provide evidence that the Program Director/Principal Investigator is actively engaged in research and/or teaching in an area related to the mission of NIH, and can organize, administer, monitor, and evaluate the research education program. For programs proposing multiple PDs/PIs, describe the complementary and integrated expertise of the PDs/PIs, their leadership approach, and governance appropriate for the planned project.

Describe the PD/PI’s expertise to provide administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. Provide evidence that an appropriate level of effort will be devoted by the program leadership to ensure the program's intended goal is accomplished. If applicable, provide evidence that the participating faculty have experience mentoring students and teaching science. If applicable, describe how the faculty are good role models for the participants by nature of their scientific accomplishments.

Program Faculty. Researchers from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, persons with disabilities, and women are encouraged to participate as program faculty. Faculty should have research expertise and experience relevant to the proposed program and demonstrate a history of, or the potential for, their intended roles.

Program Participants. Applications must identify the career levels for which the proposed program is planned. Participants can be citizens of other countries as well as US citizens and permanent residents as the goal is to foster cross-national analyses of the HRS and HCAP data. Applications must include a plan of how learners will be selected, approximately how many will be selected to take the near-final course, how feedback about the course will be collected, and how curricula or other procedures will incorporate course feedback.

Institutional Environment and Commitment. Describe any additional aspects of the Institutional Environment and Commitment not addressed under “Facilities & Other Resources” or the required “Institutional Commitment Letter of Support,” described below. Appropriate institutional commitment should include the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned research education program. This section should not duplicate information provided elsewhere.

Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031):

The applicant must provide a Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity. Include outreach strategies and activities designed to recruit prospective participants from groups described in the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity. Describe the specific efforts to be undertaken by the program and how the proposed plan reflects past experiences in recruiting individuals from underrepresented groups.

Applications lacking a Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity will not be reviewed.

Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research. All applications must include a plan to fulfill NIH requirements for instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). The plan must address the following five, required instructional components outlined in the NIH policy:

1) Format - the required format of instruction, i.e., face-to-face lectures, coursework, and/or real-time discussion groups (a plan with only on-line instruction is not acceptable); 
2) Subject Matter - the breadth of subject matter, e.g., conflict of interest, authorship, data management, human subjects and animal use, laboratory safety, research misconduct, research ethics; 
3) Faculty Participation - the role of the program faculty in the instruction; 
4) Duration of Instruction - the number of contact hours of instruction, taking into consideration the duration of the program; and 
5) Frequency of Instruction – instruction must occur during each career stage and at least once every four years. See also NOT-OD-10-019 and NOT-OD-22-055. The plan should be appropriate and reasonable for the nature and duration of the proposed program. Renewal (Type 2) applications must, in addition, describe any changes in formal instruction over the past project period and plans to address any weaknesses in the current instruction plan. All participating faculty who served as course directors, speakers, lecturers, and/or discussion leaders during the past project period must be named in the application.

Applications lacking a plan for instruction in responsible conduct of research will not be reviewed.

Evaluation Plan. Applications must include a plan for evaluating the activities supported by the award. The application must specify baseline metrics (e.g., numbers, educational levels, and demographic characteristics of participants), as well as measures to gauge the short or long-term success of the research education award in achieving its objectives. The application must specify how the learning will be evaluated, including benchmarks for success. Wherever appropriate, applicants are encouraged to obtain feedback from participants to help identify weaknesses and to provide suggestions for improvements.  Please note that the race, ethnicity, or sex of participants or faculty will not be considered in the application review process or when making funding decisions.

Dissemination Plan. A specific plan must be provided to disseminate nationally any findings resulting from or materials developed under the auspices of the research education program (e.g., sharing course curricula and related materials via web postings, presentations at scientific meetings, workshops). This plan must describe how course materials will be integrated beyond the current setting into real-time curricula (e.g., teaching materials) and/or asynchronous or self-guided learning. 

Letters of Support

A letter of institutional commitment must be attached as part of Letters of Support (see section above: "Institutional Environment and Commitment.")

Resource Sharing Plan
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, a Data Management and Sharing Plan is not applicable for this NOFO.

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide, with the following modification:

When relevant, applications are expected to include a software dissemination plan if support for development, maintenance, or enhancement of software is requested in the application. There is no prescribed single license for software produced. However, the software dissemination plan should address, as appropriate, the following goals:

• Software source code should be freely available to biomedical researchers and educators in the non-profit sector, such as institutions of education, research institutions, and government laboratories. Users should be permitted to modify the code and share their modifications with others.
• The terms of software availability should permit the commercialization of enhanced or customized versions of the software, or incorporation of the software or pieces of it into other software packages.
• To preserve utility to the community, the software should be transferable such that another individual or team can continue development in the event that the original investigators are unwilling or unable to do so.

Appendix

Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow the instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply - 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 How to Apply - 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 How to Apply - 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 How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

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

See Part 2. 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. 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 Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications.

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 How to Apply - 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 Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the How to Apply - 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 form. 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.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier provided on the application is the same identifier used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the How to Apply - 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 NIA, 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 vemuri@nia.nih.gov when the application has been submitted. Please include the FON and title, PD(s)/PI(s) name(s), and title of the application.

Recipients or subrecipients must submit any information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award. See Mandatory Disclosures, 2 CFR 200.113 and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4.1.35.

Send written disclosures to the NIH Chief Grants Management Officer listed on the Notice of Award for the IC that funded the award and to the HHS Office of Inspector Grant Self Disclosure Program at grantdisclosures@oig.hhs.gov. 

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described 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 peer review system.

The goal of this research education program is to support short courses geared to increase utilization of the cognitive data from the International HRS and HCAP. This project aims to develop training for scientists from multiple disciplines to improve skills in cross-national comparative research using these cognitive data to study a variety of AD/ADRD topics. Priority areas of focus include but are not limited to behavioral and social pathways to AD/ADRD, cognitive and dementia epidemiology, dementia care, caregiver/care partner research, natural disasters or extreme weather events, protective factors at the individual-level and statistical methods. 

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to strongly advance research education by fulfilling the goal of this research education program, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria, as applicable for the project proposed.

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.

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.

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.

2. Review and Selection Process 

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s), in accordance with NIH peer review policies and practices, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.

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 NOFO.

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this NOFO. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Advisory Council on Aging (NACA). The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

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

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 Section 2.5.1. Just-in-Time Procedures. This request is not a Notice of Award nor should it be construed to be an indicator of possible funding.

Prior to making an award, NIH reviews an applicant’s federal award history in SAM.gov to ensure sound business practices. An applicant can review and comment on any information in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov.  NIH will consider any comments by the applicant in the Responsibility/Qualification records in SAM.gov to ascertain the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and performance record of managing Federal awards per 2 CFR Part 200.206 “Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.”  This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

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. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.4.4 Disposition of Applications.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

A Notice of Award (NoA) is the official authorizing document notifying the applicant that an award has been made and that funds may be requested from the designated HHS payment system or office. The NoA is signed by the Grants Management Officer and emailed to the recipient’s business official.

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions. 

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions. Any pre-award costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the applicant's own risk.  For more information on the Notice of Award, please refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 5. The Notice of Award and NIH Grants & Funding website, see Award Process.

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 recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

The following Federal wide and HHS-specific policy requirements apply to awards funded through NIH: 

• The rules listed at 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
• All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the terms and conditions in the Notice of Award (NoA). The NoA includes the requirements of this NOFO. 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.  
• If a recipient receives an award, the recipient must follow all applicable nondiscrimination laws. The recipient agrees to this when registering in SAM.gov. The recipient must also submit an Assurance of Compliance (HHS-690). To learn more, see the Laws and Regulations Enforced by the HHS Office for Civil Rights website.
  • HHS recognizes that NIH 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 NOFO.

All federal statutes and regulations relevant to federal financial assistance, including those highlighted in NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4 Public Policy Requirements, Objectives and Other Appropriation Mandates.

Recipients are responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable federal regulations.  NIH may terminate awards under certain circumstances.  See 2 CFR Part 200.340 Termination and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.5.2 Remedies for Noncompliance or Enforcement Actions: Suspension, Termination, and Withholding of Support. 

Not Applicable

3. Data Management and Sharing

Consistent with the 2023 NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, when data management and sharing is applicable to the award, recipients will be required to adhere to the Data Management and Sharing requirements as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Upon the approval of a Data Management and Sharing Plan, it is required for recipients to implement the plan as described.

Not applicable for R25 research education program awards.

4. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.4.1 Reporting.  To learn more about post-award monitoring and reporting, see the NIH Grants & Funding website, see Post-Award Monitoring and Reporting. Continuation support will not be provided until the required forms are submitted and accepted. Programs that involve participants should report on education in the responsible conduct of research and complete a Training Diversity Report, in accordance with the RPPR Instruction Guide.

NIH NOFOs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 2 CFR 200.301.

Failure by the recipient institution to submit required forms in a timely, complete, and accurate manner may result in an expenditure disallowance or a delay in any continuation funding for the award.

Other Reporting Requirements

• The institution must submit a completed Statement of Appointment (PHS Form 2271) for each participant appointed full time for eight weeks or more or the equivalent. Recipients must submit the PHS 2271 data electronically using the xTrain system. More information on xTrain is available at xTrain (eRA Commons). An appointment or reappointment may begin any time during the budget period, but not before the budget period start date of the grant year.
• Participant Termination Notice: Within 30 days of the end of the total support period for each participant, the institution must submit a Termination Notice (PHS Form 416-7) via xTrain for each participant appointed full time for eight weeks or more, or the equivalent.

A final RPPR 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 Section 8.6 Closeout.

5. Evaluation

In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, NIH or its Institutes and Centers will periodically evaluate their R25 research education programs, employing the measures identified below.  In assessing the effectiveness of its research education investments, NIH may request information from databases, PD/PIs, and from participants themselves.  Where necessary, PD/PIs and participants may be contacted after the completion of a research education experience for periodic updates on participants’ subsequent educational or employment history and professional activities.

Upon the completion of a program evaluation, NIH and its ICs will determine whether to (a) continue a program as currently configured, (b) continue a program with modifications, or (c) discontinue a program.

In evaluating this research education program NIA expects to use the following evaluation measures:

For Courses for Skills Development:

• Aggregate number and demographic characteristics of participants
• Educational level of participants
• Content
• Participants’ feedback on the program
• New knowledge or skills acquired

For Programs Focusing on Curriculum or Methods Development:

• Aggregate number and demographic characteristics of participants exposed to the new curricula or methods
• General educational level of participants
• Effectiveness of the new curricula or methods assessed by skills/competencies gained compared to existing curricula or methods
• Dissemination and/or adoption of the new curricula or methods

For Outreach Programs:

• Aggregate number and demographic characteristics of individuals reached
• Educational levels of participants
• Assessment of increased awareness, knowledge, or understanding of science- or research-related concepts, processes, or careers

For Research Experience and Mentoring Programs Involving the Following Groups:

Undergraduate Students:

• Aggregate number and demographic characteristics of participants
• Subsequent educational/career progress, including:
  • Successful completion of an undergraduate degree in a STEM field
  • Enrollment in an advanced degree program in a STEM field

Graduate Students:

• Aggregate number and demographic characteristics of participants
• Subsequent educational/career progress of participants, including:
  • Successful completion of a STEM graduate program
  • Subsequent participation in a formal research training or career development program in a STEM field
  • Subsequent participation in research
  • Subsequent employment in a research or research-related field
  • Subsequent authorship of scientific publications in a STEM field
  • Subsequent independent research grant support from NIH or another source

Postdoctorates and Early Career Investigators:

• Aggregate number and demographic characteristics of participants
• Subsequent educational/career progress of participants, including: 
  • Subsequent participation in research
  • Subsequent employment in a research or research-related field
  • Subsequent authorship of scientific publications in a STEM field
  • Subsequent independent research grant support from NIH or another source    

Section VII. Agency Contacts

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

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: https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help (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: 301-480-7075

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

SBA Company Registry (Questions regarding required registration at the SBA Company Registry and for technical questions or issues)
Website to Email: http://sbir.gov/feedback?type=reg

Minki Chatterji, Ph.D. 
Division of Behavioral and Social Research (DBSR)
National Institute on Aging (NIA) 
Telephone: 301-402-8788
Email: minki.Chatterji@nih.gov

Maryam Ghaleh, Ph.D.
Division of Neuroscience (DN)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Email: maryam.ghaleh@nih.gov

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

Jessica Perez 
National Institute on Aging (NIA) 
Telephone: 301-402-7739  
Email: jessi.perez@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.

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 2 CFR Part 200.