Participating Organization(s)	National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Components of Participating Organizations	National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD
Funding Opportunity Title	Limited Competition: NIMHD Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative in Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities: Dissemination Phase (R24)
Activity Code	R24 Resource-Related Research Projects
Announcement Type	New
Related Notices	None
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number	RFA-MD-13-001
Companion Funding Opportunity	None
Number of Applications	Only one application per institution is allowed as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)	93.307
Funding Opportunity Purpose	The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) invites applications for a limited competition Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to provide continuing support for NIMHD Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Intervention Research Phase grantees. The goal of this initiative is to support the implementation and dissemination of evidenced-based interventions designed to reduce health disparities using a community-based participatory research approach.

Posted Date	August 10, 2012
Letter of Intent Due Date	September 10, 2012
Application Due Date(s)	October 10, 2012
AIDS Application Due Date(s)	Not Applicable.
Scientific Merit Review	December 2012
Advisory Council Review	January 2013
Earliest Start Date(s)	March 2013
Expiration Date	October 11, 2012
Due Dates for E.O. 12372	Not Applicable.

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the PHS398 Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. While some links are provided, 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.

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award 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

Purpose

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) requests applications to compete for the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative Dissemination Phase. Previous funding (see RFA-MD-07-003) provided support to NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase grantees to develop effective interventions utilizing CBPR principles and methods to reduce health disparities in major diseases of public health importance which disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with low socioeconomic status, and those living in rural areas. The objective of this current solicitation is to support the dissemination of those interventions developed during the NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase that were effective in achieving the desired health outcome and have the potential to help reduce and eventually eliminate health disparities.

Background

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to ensuring that scientific discoveries are incorporated into practice and policies that improve the health of all populations. However, there are differences in the extent to which scientific discoveries are translated to and adopted by various populations. Many of the nation's most vulnerable populations are mistrustful of traditional research approaches and the resulting scientific discoveries because of a history of research exploitation and abuses (e.g., Tuskegee Syphilis Study). Further, many scientific discoveries have not been translated into approaches and strategies that are effective with vulnerable populations. In order to ensure that scientific discoveries are translated and adopted by all populations, we must utilize strategies and approaches that overcome these barriers to translation and adoption.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that involves partnerships between communities and researchers to define the research problem, design the study/intervention, analyze the data, and disseminate the results. This approach is particularly well-suited for intervention research with vulnerable populations because it facilitates trust between communities and researchers, promotes the exchange of information and skills, and, most importantly, it can improve the quality, effectiveness, translation, and adoption of interventions aimed at improving the health of vulnerable populations.

The NIMHD Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative was designed to support community-based participatory research in planning, implementing, evaluating and disseminating effective interventions for diseases disproportionately affecting health disparity populations which include racial/ethnic minorities, low income populations, and rural populations. The NIMHD CBPR Initiative has three phases: Planning, Intervention, and Dissemination. In 2005, NIMHD (then NCMHD) issued RFA-MD-05-002 to invite applications for a three-year planning grant to develop partnerships, conduct a community needs assessment, identify the disease/condition for intervention research, and plan the intervention methodology with substantial input from the community. The NIMHD CBPR Planning Phase was followed by the Intervention Phase in 2008 (see RFA-MD-07-003) where grantees were provided support to develop, implement, and evaluate effective community-based interventions targeting one or more diseases of major public health importance.

This FOA solicits applications for the NIMHD CBPR Dissemination Phase (third phase) from current NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase grantees who successfully developed feasible and effective community-based interventions. The ultimate goal of the NIMHD CBPR Dissemination Phase FOA is to facilitate the dissemination, adoption, implementation, and sustainability of efforts at the community level that will accelerate the translation of research advances to health disparity populations and eliminate health disparities.

Research Objectives

This FOA provides an opportunity for community stakeholders and researchers to collaborate on the dissemination, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions that will improve the health and well-being of targeted health disparity communities. Applicants must utilize a CBPR approach to develop and execute a research plan to disseminate and implement evidence-based interventions developed during the NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase. Additionally, because NIMHD is interested in enhancing the capacity of communities to sustain interventions beyond this funding opportunity, applicants are required to incorporate strategies and activities that will serve to foster the targeted communities' long-term efforts to reduce health disparities. For the purposes of this FOA, evidence-based interventions, dissemination, and implementation are defined as follows:

• Evidence-based interventions* interventions with proven efficacy and effectiveness and include the following:
  • quality study design
  • at least a 60% retention rate
  • appropriate comparison between intervention and comparison arms
  • significant intended intervention effect (p < .05) for relevant outcome(s)

*Refer to CDC's Prevention Review Synthesis Efficacy Criteria for additional information on evidence-based interventions

• Dissemination targeted distribution of information and intervention materials to a specific audience
• Implementation the process of putting to use or integrating evidence-based interventions within a specific setting

The scope of the research proposed in this application for the NIMHD CBPR Dissemination Phase must include:

• Research plan to disseminate the knowledge and information derived from the evidence-based health intervention developed during the NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase. Because of the emphasis on community capacity-building and empowerment, plans for dissemination must extend beyond publishing manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals to include plans to disseminate information in an appropriate and culturally-congruent manner to health disparity communities.
• A theory-driven implementation strategy to have the evidence-based intervention adopted and integrated within a specified community setting (e.g., community-based organizations, faith-based entities, community health centers, community/residential associations, etc). Plans to adapt the intervention for community-led implementation should be addressed as well as the identification of the specific community setting where the intervention will be integrated.
• Planned strategies that enhance the capacity of communities to sustain the delivery of the evidence-based intervention and for community partners to engage in future health research that may be beneficial to the targeted community. Strategies could include community training on grant-writing, advocacy, and or/policy change aimed at sustaining the intervention.

In addition to disseminating and implementing evidence-based interventions in partnership with communities, the purpose of this FOA also is to enhance the research on implementation and dissemination among health disparity populations. As such, it is required that applications include plans for evaluation of the program’s implementation process including assessment of community adoption, recruitment, retention, and fidelity to the program.

Funding Instrument	Grant
Application Types Allowed	Renewal The OER Glossary and the PHS398 Application Guide provide details on these application types.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	NIMHD intends to commit $12,000,000 in FY 2013.
Award Budget	Application budgets need to reflect actual needs of the proposed project and are limited to $375,000 direct costs per year. Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs requested by consortium participants are not included in the direct cost limitation; see NOT-OD-05-004 .
Award Project Period	The maximum project period is three years.

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

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

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)

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)
• 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

Eligible organizations for this FOA are limited to those organizations currently holding an NIMHD CBPR Initiative in Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities: Intervention Research Phase (R24) Grant funded in response to RFA-MD-07-003.

Foreign Institution

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.

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the PHS398 Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

• Central Contractor Registration (CCR) must maintain an active registration, to be renewed at least annually
• eRA Commons

All Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least4-6 weeks prior to the application due date.

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 PD(s)/PI(s), visit the Multiple Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the PHS398 Application Guide.

Eligible individuals must have experience working with health disparity populations as evidenced by previous community activities and/or evidence of previous partnerships with community-based organizations.

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

Only one application is allowed from each eligible NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase grantee.

NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial peer review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.

Only applications that can clearly demonstrate that the interventions funded during the NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase were effective are eligible for this FOA. Effectiveness of the intervention must be demonstrated in the progress report for renewal and include evidence of a significant intended intervention effect (p <=.05) for the relevant primary health outcome(s). Applications not demonstrating intervention effectiveness will be considered non-responsive to this FOA and not reviewed.

Although a single institution or organization must be the applicant, one or more partners or multi-institutional arrangement (consortium) is required. Such an arrangement must include a:

• Community partner: community organization located or working directly with the participating community (e.g., faith-based organizations, community health centers, schools, community associations, etc.)
• Scientific research partner: institutions or organizations having research scientists

Applicants are required to prepare applications according to the current PHS 398 application forms in accordance with the PHS 398 Application Guide.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the PHS398 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.

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 research
• Name, address, and telephone number of the PD(s)/PI(s)
• Names of other key personnel
• Participating institutions
• Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

Robert Nettey, MD
Chief, Scientific Review Branch
Office of Extramural Research Administration
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892-5465
Telephone: 301-496-3996
Email: [email protected]

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

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

At the time of submission, two additional paper copies of the application and CDs of all copies of the Appendix files must be sent to:

Robert Nettey, MD
Chief, Scientific Review Branch
Office of Extramural Research Administration
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892-5465
Telephone: 301-496-3996
Email: [email protected]

All page limitations described in the PHS398 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

All instructions in the PHS398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy

In the progress report for renewal applications, applicants must include the following:

• A description of the NIMHD-funded CBPR intervention that includes the intervention aims and goals and summary of the study design as originally proposed and approved (if applicable, include an explanation for any changes to the originally-approved scope of work).
• A summary of how the targeted community was involved in the planning and implementation of the intervention. Include key community members' roles and level of effort during the project.
• A summary of the intervention's effectiveness that includes a description of the primary intervention health outcomes intended to be addressed by the intervention and evidence of the intervention effect for each of the primary health intervention outcomes.
• A description of the targeted population with regard to race and ethnicity (as indicated in the targeted enrollment form) and a description of the actual population enrolled in the intervention.
• A summary describing the retention rate of participants in the intervention.

The research strategy must include:

• A research plan to disseminate knowledge derived from the evidence-based health intervention developed during the NIMHD CBPR intervention phase. The dissemination plan must include a strategy to effectively disseminate information and knowledge in a culturally-congruent manner to the health disparity community (or similar communities) that were targeted during the NIMHD CBPR Intervention phase.
• A theory-driven implementation strategy to have the evidence-based intervention adopted and integrated within a specified community setting. Applicants should identify the specific community setting (e.g., community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, community health centers, community/residential associations etc.) where the intervention will be integrated.
• Description of planned strategies to enhance the capacity of communities to maintain the delivery of the evidence-based intervention beyond the project period. Strategies should include the inclusion of activities that will empower communities to engage in future research that may be beneficial to the targeted community (e.g., grant seeking and writing activities, enhancing communities ability to access information, advocacy skills, etc.)
• Description of plans to evaluate the implementation of the intervention including an assessment of recruitment, retention, and fidelity to the program.

Consortium/Contractual Arrangements

A list of the Community Advisory Board members, their current affiliations, and whether they are community or scientific representatives must be provided.

Letters of Support

Letters of support and/or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from each partnering community organization (or related entity) that describe the working relationships with the researcher must be provided.

Resource Sharing Plan

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the PHS398 Application Guide, with the following modification:

• All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, should address a Data Sharing Plan.

Appendix

Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix (please note all format requirements) as described in the PHS398 Application Guide.

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. 

Information on the process of receipt and determining if your application is considered on-time is described in detail in the PHS398 Application Guide.

Applicants may track the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

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.

Applications must be received on or before the due dates in Part I. Overview Information. If an application is received after that date, it will not be reviewed.

Key Personnel

Applications in which the PD(s)/PI(s) is not from a community-based organization, must include at least one personnel from the partnering community-based organization as key personnel with a minimum of 3 person months per calendar year or equivalent effort for academic calendars or other appointments (compensated or contributed).

Community Advisory Board

Applicants must have an established community advisory board (CAB) consisting of community members and scientific representation to facilitate dissemination, implementation, and evaluation efforts.

Meeting

Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD/PIs) will be expected to attend an investigator's meeting to share concerns, measurement and design strategies, and methods and approaches to disseminating and implementing interventions with health disparity communities. This meeting is expected to take place in the spring of 2014 in the Washington DC area. Funds for travel to this meeting should be included in the application budget request. Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to plan and budget for other senior/key staff to also attend the meeting.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by NIMHD, NIH. Applications that are incomplete and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed. Responsiveness criteria include:

• Evidence of significant intervention effect(s) (p<=.05) for the intended primary health outcome(s))
• Partnership or multi-institutional arrangement that includes a community-based organization or related entity and a scientific research partner
• Identification of a community representative as key personnel with a minimum of 3 person months per calendar year or equivalent effort for academic calendars or other appointments (compensated or contributed)
• Letters of Support and/or Memorandum of Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding from each partnering organization delineating their roles and responsibilities
• Evidence of an established Community Advisory Board consisting of both scientific and community representation.

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

For this particular announcement, note the following:

Community involvement is required as part of the CBPR approach. Applications must demonstrate how the community will be involved in every aspect of the project. Applications must also provide evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention (implemented during the NIMHD CBPR Intervention Phase). Because the ultimate goal of the NIMHD CBPR Initiative is to foster efforts at the community level that will accelerate the translation of research advances to health disparity populations, it is crucial that the application demonstrates the potential of the intervention to be accepted and adopted by the implementing organization as well as the targeted health disparity community.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, 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. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field? Does the proposed project have the potential to enhance the translation of science advances to health disparity populations? Will the project improve the methods of intervention approaches, particularly with vulnerable populations? What is the likelihood that the project will reduce health disparities via increased knowledge and/or social change resulting from community partnerships?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD(s)/PI(s), do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Does the investigative team have experience and successful outcomes in prior CBPR efforts? Are the community partners representative of the targeted community and do they have the potential to facilitate the community's adoption of the intervention?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed? Will innovative ideas and methods evolve from the community's involvement in the dissemination and implementation process? Will community input generate innovative approaches to overcoming dissemination and implementation challenges with health disparity populations?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? 

If the project involves clinical research, are the plans for 1) protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of minorities and members of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed? Will the strategy for community involvement enhance the implementing organization's ability to disseminate and implement the intervention? Is the intervention cost-effective? Is there a discussion of possible limitations of the study design and/or the CBPR approach and plans to address these concerns?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements? Will the proposed study take advantage of the unique features and assets of the community environment? Is there evidence of institutional and community support through letters or prior collaborations?

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/priority score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Translation Potential

Will the proposed project and plans for community involvement foster the community's acceptance and adoption of the intervention? What is the potential that the intervention will have real-world effectiveness and can be sustained at the community level? Are adequate supports and resources (including community compensations) in place to ensure that community partnerships will be sustained throughout the project? Will the proposed CBPR approach enhance the potential for successful dissemination, implementation, and long-term sustainability?

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six 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 six 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 Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children 

When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. 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

For Renewals, the committee will consider the progress made in the last funding period.

Revisions

Not Applicable.

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/priority score.

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).

Resource Sharing Plans

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) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS).

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.

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s)convened by the NIMHD, in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Review assignments will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer 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/priority score.
• Will receive a written critique.

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

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center and will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. 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.

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD(s)/PI(s) will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons. 

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

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 grantee’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 the DUNS, CCR Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

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, Grantees, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Not Applicable.

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final progress report, 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.

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

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: [email protected]

eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: [email protected]

Paula Y. Goodwin, PhD
Health Scientist Administrator
Division of Scientific Programs
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-594-8770
Email: [email protected]

Robert Nettey, MD
Chief, Scientific Review Branch
Office of Extramural research Administration
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-496-3996
Email: [email protected]

Priscilla Grant, JD
Chief Grants Management Officer
Grants Management Branch
Office of Extramural Research Administration
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-594-8412
Email: [email protected]

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 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.