and Human Services (HHS)
EXPIRED
Participating Organizations
National
Institutes of Health (NIH) (http://www.nih.gov )
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (http://www.ahrq.gov)
Components of
Participating Organizations
National Cancer Institute (NCI), (http://www.cancer.gov/)
National Institute on Aging (NIA) (http://www.nia.nih.gov)
National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (http://www.nimh.nih.gov)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS) (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/)
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) (http://www.ninr.nih.gov/)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (http://www.nida.nih.gov/)
Title: ARRAOS: Recovery Act Limited Competition: Behavioral Economics for Nudging the Implementation of Comparative Effectiveness Research: Clinical Trials (RC4)
Announcement Type
New
Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:
Request for Applications (RFA) Number: RFA-OD-10-001
NOTICE: Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Federal assistance must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED IN PAPER FORMAT.
This FOA must be read in conjunction with the application guidelines included with this announcement in Grants.gov/Apply for Grants (hereafter called Grants.gov/Apply).
A registration process is necessary before submission and applicants are highly encouraged to start the process at least four (4) weeks prior to the grant submission date. See Section IV.
Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.701
Key Dates
Release/Posted Date: December 28, 2009
Opening Date: March
7, 2010 (Earliest date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): Not Applicable
NOTE:
On-time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to
Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant
institution/organization).
Application Due Date(s): April 7, 2010
Peer Review Date(s): May/June 2010
Council Review Date(s): August 2010
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): August 31, 2010
Additional Information To Be
Available Date (Activation Date): Not Applicable
Expiration Date: April
8, 2010
Due Dates for
E.O. 12372
Not Applicable
Additional
Overview Content
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
Part I
Overview Information
Part II 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 - Required Federal Citations
Part
II - Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
1. Research
Objectives
This FOA invites applications proposing a large-scale clinical trial
whose primary outcome would be to determine whether a specific approach to
changing provider behavior based on the principles of behavioral economics
could enhance the uptake of the results of comparative effectiveness research
(CER) among health care providers in their practice. In addition, such trials could
also be designed to examine levels of patient compliance at a brief (e.g., 6
month) interval resulting from the level of CER uptake as a secondary outcome.
Research to foster the uptake of CER is seen to be necessary given the
surprisingly modest level of uptake and compliance of health care providers and
health care systems provided with information concerning comparatively
effective treatments and procedures. Given impressive previous success in
radically changing behavior in financial contexts, (e.g., Choi, Laibson, &
Madrian, 2004) behavioral economics is thought to provide potentially effective
tools to enhance the uptake of CER by health care providers. These techniques,
however, have not been studied adequately in the area of health services,
leaving a substantial opportunity for improvement that could be met in part through
research supported by this FOA.
2. Background
Comparative effectiveness research (CER) holds significant promise to improve health care quality and potentially lower costs. It appears that knowledge of which procedures and treatments are comparatively effective may not be sufficient to change critical provider practices and crucial patient behaviors. For example, although the prescription of aspirin, beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors/ARBs after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been shown to be extremely effective in clinical trials, strongly endorsed by professional societies such as the American College of Cardiology, and used as a quality indicator by government organizations including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), rates of prescription for these drugs in hospitals following AMI show substantial regional and institutional variation and are still below 100% according to the 2008 AHRQ National Healthcare Quality Report (NHRQ). Even when comparatively effective treatments are prescribed, adherence to treatment can be disappointingly low. For example, approximately 50 percent of all AMI patients stop taking prescribed statins within two years of their event as late as the beginning of this decade (Jackevicius et al., 2002). Among asthmatics, only 32% took their preventive asthma medicine daily. Similar adherence problems exist among diabetics, resulting in poor health outcomes. Fewer than 60% of all adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes have their blood sugar, cholesterol, or blood pressure under optimal control. Only 40.1% receive all three recommended services for diabetes, including an HbA1c measurement, a dilated eye examination, and a foot examination. (2008 AHRQ National Healthcare Quality Report)
It is generally presumed that both providers and patients respond to incentives and disincentives to change their behaviors, but to date, efforts to incentivize the uptake of CER have had only modest success. This funding opportunity seeks applications that will investigate whether the principles of behavioral economics could enhance the uptake of the results CER among health care providers and thus improve the health of patient populations.
For the purposes of this FOA, the definition of comparative effectiveness research will adhere to that adopted by the Federal Coordinating Council given at http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/cerannualrpt.pdf: Comparative effectiveness research is the conduct and synthesis of research comparing the benefits and harms of different interventions and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat and monitor health conditions in real world settings. The purpose of this research is to improve health outcomes by developing and disseminating evidence-based information to patients, clinicians, and other decision-makers, responding to their expressed needs, about which interventions are most effective for which patients under specific circumstances.
It should, however, be noted that applicants are not
restricted to focusing on CER from any one source. Valid CER findings can be
taken from a variety of sources including the recommendations from the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on Initial National Priorities for
Comparative Effectiveness Research (http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3809/63608/71025.aspx), AHRQ s
Effective Healthcare findings, (http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/), the
conclusions of NIH Consensus Conferences (http://consensus.nih.gov/), or other
sufficiently convincing CER results from literature. Note also that this FOA is
dedicated to enhancing the uptake of existing CER research rather than to finding
new comparatively effective treatments.
In the context of this FOA, behavioral economics refers
to the interdisciplinary efforts involving cognitive and social psychologists,
decision scientists, and other social scientists together with economists to
model economic decision-making and consequent actions. The approach is
inclusive, since at its heart it tries to take into account what is known about
how people actually make decisions rather than relying on the assumption that
economic agents are fundamentally rational in the sense of expected utility. As
a field, behavioral economics seeks to understand how human social, cognitive,
and emotional factors affect economic decisions. It considers the values
assigned to all aspects of a choice, including, but not limited to monetary
factors. In addition, behavioral economics acknowledges the important role that
a specific context (or frame) may have on decisions, and takes into account
people’s apparently irrational preferences (e.g., losses count more than gains,
an object that is owned is more valuable than the same object that is not
owned). For a recent review of behavioral economics from an economic
perspective, Dellavigna (2009) is useful; from a psychological standpoint,
Kahneman and Tversky (2000) and Kahneman (2003) provide useful data and
historical context. There is growing evidence that such approaches may hold
more promise than approaches based on either conventional theories of behavior
change or neoclassical economics. The application of approaches from behavioral
economics to the healthcare field could be valuable in the development of
incentives or disincentives to motivate sustainable changes in provider and
patient behavior.
It should be noted that the use of conventional economic
incentives to affect provider
behavior, including the uptake of CER, has been the subject of considerable
research. Perhaps most germane to the topic of this FOA is the literature on
pay for performance , also known as P4P. The logic of P4P is clear: rather
than paying physicians or other health care providers (just) for the specific,
billable, services they provide (which naturally incentivizes the ordering of
more tests and procedures), they should be paid based on patient outcomes or on
their achievement of other objective milestones that should be directly related
to patient outcomes. In a classical economic context, it would be a puzzle if
physicians and other treatment providers did not align their practice with the
procedures or guidelines for practice that are incentivized. Strikingly,
however, the evidence for the effectiveness of P4P schemes are often quite
modest (reviewed by, e.g., Petersen et al., 2006). Although there are
explanations in part for some of these incentive failures (e.g., the
principal-agent problem), it seems clear that the incentive system could be
improved. Further, many behavioral economists would argue that key improvements
could be made not only in the design and delivery of incentives but also in the
construction of the decision environment for the health care provider.
To date, implementation of behavioral economic approaches
to change decision-making and behavior has focused primarily on economic topics
such as behavioral finance (but see, e.g., Volpp et al., 2009 for a recent
trial involving smoking cessation). The underlying ideas would seem to have
much broader applicability. Behavioral economic interventions are generally of
two basic types: one can restructure the choice environment, or manipulate the
individual’s perceived incentives. One notable example of the former was Choi,
Laibson, and Madrian’s (2004) intervention to increase retirement savings
participation. By changing the default action to contribute they relied on
behavioral inertia to maintain that level of participation. This is an example
of altering behavior by manipulating the "choice architecture" that
confronts individuals in daily life (see also Thaler and Sunstein, 2008). By
structuring choice architectures to subvert individuals entrenched biases to
stick with the status quo and discount future benefits, a well-developed system
of so-called asymmetric paternalism (Loewenstein, Brennan, and Volpp, 2007)
could provide interesting opportunities to induce change in provider behavior
with respect to selecting a comparatively effective treatment while preserving
a clinician's freedom to choose an alternative treatment when the
CER-recommended treatment is counter-indicated. One relevant example of the use
of a default option approach that has been successfully implemented (albeit not
in the context of CER per se) can be seen in places where statute or policy allows
generic equivalents to be substituted for brand name drugs by pharmacists
unless a physician specifically notes (or checks off a box denoting that) the
prescription is to be dispensed as written (DAW). Here, the transaction
cost of over-riding the default is almost zero, but the effect on generic
dispensing rates can be quite large. In particular, generic drug utilization
rates varied from 37 percent to 83 percent among Medicare Part D plans
(Levinson, 2007), and it would appear that some of this variation is
attributable to systemic factors that could be manipulated.
In addition to these more passive, environmental
manipulations, behavioral economists have explored the manipulation of
incentives to alter behavior. There has been particular interest in the use of
deposit contracts, lotteries, and other monetary contingencies to effect
health-related behavior change (e.g., Volpp et al. 2008). (Also note that some
self-imposed commitment devices can be at least modestly effective at nearly
zero external cost, e.g., Ariely and Wertenbroch, 2002). The effect of these
devices is generally to allow individuals to overcome their own behavioral
inertia, or to make continued compliance with recommended courses of action
more attractive. Some of these techniques are similar in spirit to P4P, but the
design of the incentives can be very different, and reflects what is known by
psychologists about people’s preferences, and how those preferences can be
manipulated. Like P4P, however, there can be concerns about the efficiency of
providing incentives to reward behavior that would occur in any event, and
questions concerning the overall cost effectiveness of monetary incentives. Trials
supported by this funding opportunity will, of course, have the option to
directly compare rates of uptake in incentivized and non-incentivized
conditions, potentially leading to estimates of the marginal cost of the
incentive.
Overall, the possible contributions that behavioral economics could make to changing health care provider behavior have not improving health have not been systematically investigated at a large scale, which is the opportunity presented in this FOA by this Recovery Act FOA.
Priority-Setting Process and Inputs for use of ARRA OS Funds
There were four main inputs for priorities for ARRA OS CER funds: public input, an internal Departmental workgroup, the FCC report, and the IOM report. The FCC identified the following as minimum threshold criteria which must be met to be considered for funding:
1) Included within statutory limits of ARRA and the Council’s definition of CER;
2) Potential to inform decision-making by patients, clinicians or other stakeholders;
3) Responsiveness to expressed needs of patients, clinicians or other stakeholders;
4) Feasibility of research topic (including time necessary for research).
The CER-CIT will require the use of the FCC’s prioritization criteria for scientifically meritorious research and investments for all projects funded with OS ARRA funds. These criteria are:
1) Potential impact (based on prevalence of condition, burden of disease, variability in outcomes, costs, potential for increased patient benefit or decreased harm),
2) Potential to evaluate comparative effectiveness in diverse populations and patients sub-groups and engage communities in research,
3) Addresses existing uncertainty within the clinical and public health communities regarding management decisions and variability in practice,
4) Addresses a need or is unlikely to be addressed through other organizations,
5) Potential for multiplicative effect.
Finally, investments funded from this appropriation must address at least one of the following topic areas:
1) One of the 100 IOM topic recommendations or the 10 general recommendations and/or
2) An issue within one the MMA 14 priority conditions identified by AHRQ which are not currently addressed;
3) Fall into one of the AHRQ identified evidence gaps or be identified in the FCC report to the Congress.
The current list of priority conditions includes:
3. Scope and
Specific Requirements
This FOA solicits applications for large-scale,
multi-site, 3-year projects proposing randomized clinical trials (RCTs), cluster
randomized trials (CRTs), or other robust randomized trial designs from
multidisciplinary teams with relevant expertise in behavioral economics,
psychology, epidemiology, clinical and health services research targeting the
uptake of specific, previously identified CER. (Note: this FOA does not target
establishment of new CER findings, but the uptake of previously validated CER.)
As noted above, there are a wide range of valid sources for CER and substantial
evidence that in many areas of CER, uptake has been slow and uneven at best.
Broad areas of problematic uptake include (but are not limited to) the
prescription of comparatively more effective medications or procedures where
not directly counter-indicated, failures to schedule or execute indicated
screening tests (which also clearly have a patient component), inadequate
post-procedure follow-up assessment, failure to adopt education programs to
educate patients about effective options (such as smoking cessation after AMI,
weight loss programs for the obese, etc.), failure to use new management
technologies (such as electronic medical records), and failure to adopt new
training methods (such as surgery simulators, residents working past the
recommended 16-hour limit for shifts without naps, etc.). Some of the
potentially more applicable behavioral economic approaches to the general
problem are mentioned above. Applicants must provide a rationale for the
specific behavioral economic methods they propose to evaluate, and demonstrate
how they differ from currently implemented P4P methods.
Applicants might consider the advantages of factorial
designs that would allow for the testing of multiple interventions at levels
ranging from the patient to the system level. In all cases, applicants should
be careful to address whether participants (individual providers or health
systems) are representative and the fact that a truly blinded trial may not be fully
feasible in all cases. Given the structure of the problem proposed in this FOA,
a cluster randomized trial would appear to be a very attractive possibility,
although applicants should address the specific issues raised by this design
choice, including potential costs in statistical power and the practical
barriers and challenges faced in implementing such a trial, especially given
the time limitations imposed by this FOA (for a review of such challenges, see,
e.g., Mazor et al., 2007).
The overall intent of this FOA is to provide applicants maximum freedom in the
design of their proposed trial, limited only by the requirement that behavioral
economic techniques be used to change provider behavior and that the uptake of
validated CER results be the primary outcome. Applicants will need to weigh and
decide on a number of options and factors including (but not limited to): the
possibility of intervening with patients as well as providers, studying short
term maintenance in addition to uptake, determining trial type (e.g., cluster
or non-cluster), the factorial structure of the trial, the appropriate sample
sizes, and the number and identity of the behavioral economic principles to
incorporate.
Applicants should plan to attend an AHRQ CER conference of awardees supported under this RFA for dissemination purposes. For budgetary purposes, applicants should plan for two representatives to travel to the Washington, DC, area for conference presentations as arranged by AHRQ and NIA. To this end, applicants should present a relevant plan, to include involved personnel, budget justifications, and timetables appropriate to participating in such a conference.
In addition, applicants should plan to attend an annual
investigator’s meeting including grantees from this FOA and, the companion
Clinical Trials FOA, and other currently funded investigators working in the
areas of behavioral economics and increasing the uptake of CER.
References.
Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219-224.
Choi, J., Laibson, D., & Madrian, B. C. (2004). Plan
design and 401(k) savings outcomes. National Tax Journal, 57(2), 275-98.
DellaVigna, S. (2009). Psychology and economics: evidence from the field.
Journal of Economic Literature, 47(2), 315-372.
Jackevicius, C. A., Mamdani, M., & Tu., J. V. (2002). Adherence with statin therapy in elderly patients with and without acute coronary syndromes. JAMA 288(4), 462-467.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory:
an analysis of decision under risk. Econometrika, 47(2), 263-291.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (Eds.) (2000). Choices, Values and Frames. New York: Cambridge University Press and the Russell Sage Foundation.
Kahneman, D. (2003). Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. Americal Economic Review, 93, 1449-1475.
Levinson, D. R. (2007). Generic drug utilization in the Medicare Part D Program. OEI-05-07-00130.
Loewenstein, G., Brennan, T., & Volpp, K. G. (2007). Asymmetric paternalism to improve health behavior. JAMA, 298(20), 2415-2417.
Mazor, K. M., Sabin, J. E., Boudreau, D., Goodman, M. J.,
Gurwitz, J. H. and others. (2007). Cluster randomized trials: opportunities and
barriers identified by leaders of eight health plans. Medical Care, 45(10),
S29-S37.
National Healthcare Quality Report, 2008. AHRQ Publication No. 09-0001: Rockville, MD. March 2009. www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr08.htm
Petersen L. A., Woodward, L. D., Urech, T., Daw, C., & Sookanan, S. (2006). Does pay for performance improve the quality of health care? Annals of internal medicine, 145(4), 265-272.
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Volpp, K. G., Loewenstein, G., Troxel, A. B., Doshi, J.,
Price, M., and others. (2008). A test of financian incentives to improve
warfarin adherence. BMC Health Services Research, 23(8), 272-277.
Volpp, K. G., Troxel, A. B., Pauly, M. V., Glick, H. A. and others. (2009). A
randomized, controlled trial of financial incentives for smoking cessation. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(7), 699-709.
See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal
Citations, for laws and policies related to this
announcement.
Section
II. Award Information
1. Mechanism of Support
This FOA will
use the ARRA-specific RC4 award mechanism. The Project
Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) will be solely responsible for
planning, directing, and executing the proposed project.
This FOA uses Just-in-Time information concepts (see SF424 (R&R) Application Guide). It also uses the modular as well as the non-modular budget formats (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm).
2. Funds Available
This initiative is supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 ( Recovery Act or ARRA ), Public Law 111-5. The NIH has designated $15,000,000 in FY(s) 2010, 2011, and 2012 to fund 2 grants, contingent upon the submission of a sufficient number of scientifically meritorious applications.
The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed three years. Although the size of award may vary with the scope of research proposed, applications must stay within the budgetary guidelines for this FOA; total costs are limited to $7,500,000 over an RC4 three-year period. Grants that are awarded will have to use a non-modular budget. 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.
Because
the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to
application, it is anticipated that the size of each award will also vary.
Although the financial plans of the IC(s) provide support for this program,
awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon the
availability of funds.
All awards are subject to the availability of funds. The estimated amount of funds available for support of
projects awarded as a result of this announcement is $15,000,000 for
fiscal years 2010, 2011 and 2012. Future year amounts will depend on annual appropriations.
This program is supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the Recovery Act. The purpose of the Recovery Act is to stimulate the American economy through job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, and other means. Consistent with these goals, domestic (United States) institutions/organizations planning to submit applications that include foreign components should be aware that requested funding for any foreign component should not exceed 10% of the total requested direct costs or $25,000 per year (aggregate total for a subcontract or multiple subcontracts), whichever is less.
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.
Section III. Eligibility Information
1.
Eligible Applicants
1.A. Eligible Institutions
The following organizations/institutions are eligible to apply. Consistent with the purposes of the Recovery Act (in particular, to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery in the United States, and to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health), applicants must be a domestic (United States) institution/organization. The United States institution/organization must be located in the 50 states, territories and possessions of the U.S., Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or District of Columbia. NIH encourages applications from all interested organizations/institutions, including those from Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states and Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)-eligible institutions. Foreign organizations/institutions are not permitted as the applicant organization.
1.B. Eligible Individuals
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the PD/PI 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.
More than one PD/PI (i.e., multiple PDs/PIs), may be designated on the application for projects that require a team science approach and therefore clearly do not fit the single-PD/PI model. Additional information on the implementation plans and policies and procedures to formally allow more than one PD/PI on individual research projects is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi. All PDs/PIs must be registered in the NIH electronic Research Administration (eRA) Commons prior to the submission of the application (see http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm for instructions).
The decision of whether to apply for a grant with a single PD/PI or multiple PDs/PIs is the responsibility of the investigators and applicant organizations and should be determined by the scientific goals of the project. Applications for grants with multiple PDs/PIs will require additional information, as outlined in the instructions below. When considering the multiple PD/PI option, please be aware that the structure and governance of the PD/PI leadership team as well as the knowledge, skills and experience of the individual PDs/PIs will be factored into the assessment of the overall scientific merit of the application. Multiple PDs/PIs on a project share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PD/PI is responsible and accountable to the grantee organization, or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of required reports. For further information on multiple PDs/PIs, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi.
2. Cost
Sharing or Matching
This program does not require cost sharing as defined in the current NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
3. Other-Special
Eligibility Criteria
Number of Applications. Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each application is scientifically distinct.
Resubmissions. Resubmission applications are not permitted in response to this FOA.
Renewals. Renewal applications are not permitted in response to this FOA.
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
To
download a SF424 (R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application
Guide for completing the SF424 (R&R) forms for this FOA, use the Apply for
Grant Electronically button in this FOA or link to http://www.grants.gov/Apply/ and follow
the directions provided on that Web site.
Registration:
Appropriate registrations with Grants.gov and eRA Commons must be completed on or before the due date in order to successfully submit an application. Several of the steps of the registration process could take four weeks or more. Therefore, applicants should immediately check with their business official to determine whether their organization/institution is already registered with both Grants.gov and the Commons. All registrations must be complete by the submission deadline for the application to be considered on-time (see 3.C.1 for more information about on-time submission).
A one-time registration is required for institutions/organizations at both:
PDs/PIs should work with their institutions/organizations to make sure they are registered in the NIH eRA Commons.
Several additional separate actions are required before an applicant can submit an electronic application, as follows:
1) Organizational/Institutional Registration in Grants.gov/Get Registered
2) Organizational/Institutional Registration in the eRA Commons
3) Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Registration in the NIH eRA Commons: Refer to the NIH eRA Commons System (COM) Users Guide.
Both the PDs/PI(s) and AOR/SO need separate accounts in the NIH eRA Commons since both are authorized to view the application image.
Note: The registration process is not sequential. Applicants should begin the registration processes for both Grants.gov and eRA Commons as soon as their organization has obtained a DUNS number. Only one DUNS number is required and the same DUNS number must be referenced when completing Grants.gov registration, eRA Commons registration and the SF424 (R&R) forms.
1.
Request Application Information
Applicants must
download the SF424 (R&R) application forms and the SF424 (R&R)
Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.
Note:
Only the forms package directly attached to a specific FOA can be used. You
will not be able to use any other SF424 (R&R) forms (e.g., sample forms,
forms from another FOA), although some of the "Attachment" files may
be useable for more than one FOA.
For further assistance, contact GrantsInfo --
Telephone 301-710-0267; Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.
Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY:
(301) 451-5936
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
Prepare all applications using the SF424 (R&R) application forms and in accordance with the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.
The SF424 (R&R) Application Guide is critical to submitting a complete and accurate application to NIH. Some fields within the SF424 (R&R) application components, although not marked as mandatory, are necessary for processing (e.g., the Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component must contain the PD/PI’s assigned eRA Commons User ID). Agency-specific instructions for such fields are clearly identified in the Application Guide. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
The SF424 (R&R) application has several components. The forms package associated with this FOA in Grants.gov/APPLY includes all applicable components, required and optional. A completed application in response to this FOA includes the data in the following components:
Required Components:
SF424 (R&R) (Cover
component)
Research & Related
Project/Performance Site Locations
Research & Related Other Project Information
Research & Related Senior/Key Person
PHS398 Cover Page Supplement
PHS398 Research Strategy
PHS398 Checklist
Research & Related Budget
Optional Components:
PHS398 Cover Letter File
Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s)
Form
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Applications with Multiple PDs/PIs
When multiple PDs/PIs are proposed, NIH requires one PD/PI to be designated as the "Contact PI, who will be responsible for all communication between the PDs/PIs and the NIH, for assembling the application materials outlined below, and for coordinating progress reports for the project. The contact PD/PI must meet all eligibility requirements for PD/PI status in the same way as other PDs/PIs, but has no other special roles or responsibilities within the project team beyond those mentioned above.
Information for the Contact PD/PI should be entered in item 15 of the SF424 (R&R) Cover component. All other PDs/PIs should be listed in the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component and assigned the project role of PD/PI. Please remember that all PDs/PIs must be registered in the eRA Commons prior to application submission. The Commons ID of each PD/PI must be included in the Credential field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component. Failure to include this data field will cause the application to be rejected.
All projects proposing Multiple PDs/PIs will be required to include a new section describing the leadership plan approach for the proposed project.
Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan: For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, the Research Plan section and Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan must be included. A rationale for choosing a multiple PD/PI approach should be described. The governance and organizational structure of the leadership team and the research project should be described, and should include communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts. The roles and administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or program should be delineated for the PDs/PIs and other collaborators.
If budget allocation is planned, the distribution of resources to specific components of the project or the individual PDs/PIs should be delineated in the Leadership Plan. In the event of an award, the requested allocations may be reflected in a footnote on the Notice of Award (NoA).
Applications Involving a Single Institution
When all PDs/PIs are within a single institution, follow the instructions contained in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Applications Involving Multiple Institutions
When multiple institutions are involved, one institution must be designated as the prime institution and funding for the other institution(s) must be requested via a subcontract to be administered by the prime institution. When submitting a detailed budget, the prime institution should submit its budget using the Research & Related Budget component. All other institutions should have their individual budgets attached separately to the Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form. See Section 4.8 of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the subaward budget form.
When submitting a modular budget, the prime institution completes the PHS398 Modular Budget component only. Information concerning the consortium/subcontract budget is provided in the budget justification. Separate budgets for each consortium/subcontract grantee are not required when using the Modular budget format. See Section 5.4 of the Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the PHS398 Modular Budget component.
3.
Submission Dates and Times
See Section IV.3.A. for details.
3.A. Submission, Review, and Anticipated Start Dates
Opening Date: March 7, 2010 (Earliest date an application
may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): Not Applicable
Application Due Date(s): April 7,2010
Peer Review
Date(s): May/June 2010
Council Review
Date(s): August 2010
Earliest
Anticipated Start Date(s): August 31,
2010
3.B. Submitting an Application Electronically to the
NIH
To submit an application in response to
this FOA, applicants should access this FOA via http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp
and follow Steps 1-4. Note: Applications must only be submitted
electronically. PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. All
attachments must be provided to NIH in PDF format, filenames must be included
with no spaces or special characters, and a .pdf extension must be used.
Applicants are requested to notify the National Institute on Aging Referral Office by email (vemuriR@nia.nih.gov) when the application has been submitted. Please include the FOA number and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application.
3.C.
Application Processing
3.C.1
Submitting On-Time
Applications may be submitted on or after the opening date and must be successfully received by Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization) on the application due date(s). (See Section IV.3.A. for all dates.) If an application is not submitted by the due date(s) and time, the application may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed.
All applications must meet the following criteria to be considered on-time :
Please visit http://era.nih.gov/electronicReceipt/app_help.htm for detailed information on what to do if Grants.gov or eRA system issues threaten your ability to submit on time.
Submission to Grants.gov is not the last step applicants must follow their application through to the eRA Commons to check for errors and warnings and view their assembled application!
3.C.2 Two Day Window to Correct eRA Identified Errors/Warnings
IMPORTANT NOTE! NIH has eliminated the error correction window for due dates of January 25, 2011 and beyond. As of January 25, all corrections must be complete by the due date for an application to be considered on-time. See NOT-OD-10-123.
Once an application package has been successfully submitted through Grants.gov, NIH provides applicants a two day error correction window to correct any eRA identified errors or warnings before a final assembled application is created in the eRA Commons. The standard error correction window is two (2) business days, beginning the day after the submission deadline and excluding weekends and standard federal holidays. All errors must be corrected to successfully complete the submission process. Warnings will not prevent the application from completing the submission process.
Please note that the following caveats apply:
3.C.3 Viewing an Application in the eRA Commons
Once any eRA identified errors have been addressed and the assembled application has been created in the eRA Commons, the PD/PI and the Authorized Organization Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) have two weekdays (Monday Friday, excluding Federal holidays) to view the assembled application before it automatically moves forward to NIH for further processing.
Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the CSR and responsiveness by the IC. Incomplete and non-responsive applications will not be reviewed.
There will be an acknowledgement of receipt of applications from Grants.gov and the Commons. The submitting AOR/SO receives the Grants.gov acknowledgments. The AOR/SO and the PI receive Commons acknowledgments. Information related to the assignment of an application to a Scientific Review Group is also in the Commons.
Note: Since email can be unreliable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to check periodically on the application status in the Commons.
The NIH will not accept any application in response to this funding opportunity that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. However, when a previously unfunded application, originally submitted as an investigator-initiated application, is to be submitted in response to a funding opportunity, it is to be prepared as a NEW application. That is, the application for the funding opportunity must not include an Introduction describing the changes and improvements made, and the text must not be marked to indicate the changes from the previous unfunded version of the application.
4.
Intergovernmental Review
This initiative
is not subject to intergovernmental
review, as indicated in the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
5. Funding Restrictions
All NIH awards
are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other
considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Pre-award
costs are allowable. A grantee may, at its own risk and without NIH prior
approval, incur obligations and expenditures to cover costs up to 90 days
before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new award if such
costs: 1) are necessary to conduct the project, and 2) would be allowable under
the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior approval. If specific expenditures
would otherwise require prior approval, the grantee must obtain NIH approval
before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval is required for any costs to be
incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget
period of a new award.
The incurrence of pre-award costs in anticipation of a
competing or non-competing award imposes no obligation on NIH either to make
the award or to increase the amount of the approved budget if an award is made
for less than the amount anticipated and is inadequate to cover the pre-award
costs incurred. NIH expects the grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs
result in borrowing against future support and that such borrowing must not
impair the grantee's ability to accomplish the project objectives in the
approved time frame or in any way adversely affect the conduct of the project
(see the NIH
Grants Policy Statement).
6. Other Submission Requirements
PD/PI Credential (e.g., Agency Login)
The NIH requires the PD(s)/PI(s) to fill in his/her Commons User ID in the PROFILE Project Director/Principal Investigator section, Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component.
Organizational DUNS
The applicant organization must include its DUNS number in its Organization Profile in the eRA Commons. This DUNS number must match the DUNS number provided at CCR registration with Grants.gov. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
Special Instructions for PHS398 Research Strategy Component (Section 5.5 of SF424 (R&R) Application)
Research Strategy Page Limitation: The Research Strategy is limited to a total of 12 pages.
PHS398 Research Strategy Component Sections
Item Number and Title |
Instructions |
1. Introduction to Application |
Omit (N/A: Resubmissions and Revisions not allowable) |
2. Specific Aims |
One page maximum. Separate PDF attachment |
3. Research Strategy |
Limited to 12 pages. Attach the 12- page Research Strategy as a single PDF document. Figures and illustrations may be included but must fit within the 12-page limit. Do not include links to Web sites for further information. Do not include animations. |
Excluded from the 12-page Research Strategy limitation are the following items:
Appendix Materials
Appendices are not permitted.
No supplemental/update information will be accepted.
Resource Sharing Plan(s)NIH considers the sharing of unique research resources developed through NIH-sponsored research an important means to enhance the value and further the advancement of the research. When resources have been developed with NIH funds and the associated research findings published or provided to NIH, it is important that they be made readily available for research purposes to qualified individuals within the scientific community. If the final data/resources are not amenable to sharing, this must be explained in the Resource Sharing section of the application (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_faqs.htm).
(a) Data Sharing Plan: Regardless of the amount requested, applicants under this FOA are expected to include a brief 1-paragraph description of how final research data will be shared, or explain why data-sharing is not possible. Applicants are encouraged to discuss data-sharing plans with their NIH program contact (see Data-Sharing Policy or http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-032.html.)
(b) Sharing Model Organisms: Regardless of the amount requested, all applications where the development of model organisms is anticipated are expected to include a description of a specific plan for sharing and distributing unique model organisms and related resources, or state appropriate reasons why such sharing is restricted or not possible. See Sharing Model Organisms Policy, and NIH Guide NOT-OD-04-042.
(c) Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS): Regardless of the amount requested, applicants seeking funding for a genome-wide association study are expected to provide a plan for submission of GWAS data to the NIH-designated GWAS data repository, or provide an appropriate explanation why submission to the repository is not possible. A genome-wide association study is defined as any study of genetic variation across the entire genome that is designed to identify genetic associations with observable traits (e.g., blood pressure or weight) or the presence or absence of a disease or condition. For further information see Policy for Sharing of Data Obtained in NIH Supported or Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies (go to NOT-OD-07-088, and http://grants.nih.gov/grants/gwas/.)
Section V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process.
2. Review and Selection Process
Review Process
The mission of the NIH is to support science in pursuit of knowledge about the biology and behavior of living systems and to apply that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. As part of this mission, applications submitted to the NIH for grants or cooperative agreements to support biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.
Applications that are complete and responsive to this FOA will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review groups convened by National Institute on Aging and in accordance with NIH peer review procedures (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/peer/), using the review criteria stated below.
As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will:
The NIH RC4 grant is a mechanism for supporting research under ARRA.
Overall Impact. 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 five core review criteria, and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).
Scored Review Criteria. Reviewers will consider each of the five review criteria below in the determination of scientific and technical 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, technological advances, technical capability, clinical practice, and/or health be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field? Would this project help establish the likelihood that behavioral economic approaches can enhance the rate of uptake of CER by providers or the maintenance of such treatment in patients?
Investigator(s). Are the PD/PIs, collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, 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/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Does the research team include sufficient expertise in the areas of behavioral economics and the uptake of CER to allow adequate progress in the accelerated time line required by this FOA?
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, technological developments, 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? Does the application specifically propose the use of an intervention strategy based on behavioral economic principles rather than the use of more conventional incentives?
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?
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 applicants be able to obtain access to either
provider populations or the appropriate data sources to complete the proposed
work in the time allowed for by this FOA?
2.A.
Additional Review Criteria
As applicable
for the project proposed, reviewers will consider the
following additional items in the determination of scientific and technical
merit, but will not give separate scores for these items.
Protections for Human Subjects. For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the 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.
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.
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, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/VASchecklist.pdf.
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.
2.B. Additional Review Considerations
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will address 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.
Select Agents 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:
Budget and Period Support. Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.
Selection Process
Applications submitted in response to this FOA will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
Appeals will not be permitted. See NOT-OD-09-054, Recovery Act of 2009: NIH Review Criteria, Scoring System, and Suspension of Appeals Process.
3.
Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Not
applicable
Section
VI. Award Administration Information
1.
Award Notices
After the peer review of the application
is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement
(written critique) via the NIH eRA Commons.
If
the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request
"just-in-time" information from the applicant. For details,
applicants may refer to the NIH
Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards,
Subpart A: General. In addition, as part of just-in-time information
for those Recovery Act awards, for any modular budget application, a detailed
budget will be required prior to award.
A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award
(NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization. The NoA signed by the
grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative
and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email
notification from the awarding component to the grantee business official.
The terms of the NoA will reference the requirements of the Recovery Act.
In addition to the standard NIH terms of award, all awards will be subject to the HHS Standard Terms and Conditions for Recovery Act awards. The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found in the following document: Standard Terms and Conditions for AARA Awards.
Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs. See Section IV.5., Funding Restrictions.
Applicants should plan to attend an AHRQ CER conference of awardees supported under this FOA for dissemination purposes. For budgetary purposes, applicants should plan for two representatives to travel to the Washington, DC, area for conference presentations as arranged by AHRQ and NIA. To this end, applicants should present a relevant plan, to include involved personnel, budget justifications, and timetables appropriate to participating in such a conference.
In addition, applicants should plan to attend an annual investigator’s meeting including grantees from this FOA, the companion Clinical Trials FOA, and other currently funded investigators working in the areas of behavioral economics and increasing the uptake of CER.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
All NIH grant
and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH
Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards,
Subpart A: General and Part
II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions
for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities.
3.
Reporting
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.
In addition, grantees must comply with the requirements set forth in the Recovery Act, including, but not limited to, the reporting requirements described in Section 1512 of the Act, as well as applicable OMB guidance regarding the use of Recovery Act funds. As noted above, grantees must also comply with the HHS Standard Terms and Conditions for Recovery Act awards. The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found in the following document: Standard Terms and Conditions for AARA Awards.
Recovery Act-related reporting requirements will be incorporated as a special term of award.
A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are required when an award is relinquished when a recipient changes institutions or when an award is terminated. Until such time as HHS has migrated to the SF 425 FFR, award recipients will utilize the SF 269 FSR.
This funding announcement is subject to restrictions on oral conversations during the period of time commencing with the submission of a formal application[1] by an individual or entity and ending with the award of the competitive funds. Federal officials may not participate in oral communications initiated by any person or entity concerning a pending application for a Recovery Act competitive grant or other competitive form of Federal financial assistance, whether or not the initiating party is a federally registered lobbyist1. This restriction applies unless:
(i) the communication is purely logistical;
(ii) the communication is made at a widely attended gathering;
(iii) the communication is to or from a Federal agency official and another Federal Government employee;
(iv) the communication is to or from a Federal agency official and an elected chief executive of a state, local or tribal government, or to or from a Federal agency official and the Presiding Officer or Majority Leader in each chamber of a state legislature; or
(v) the communication is initiated by the Federal agency official.
[1] Formal application includes the preliminary application and letter of intent phases of the program.For additional information see http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-24.pdf
We encourage your inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Inquiries may fall into three areas: scientific/research (program), peer review, and financial or grants management issues:
1. Scientific/Research Contact(s):
Jonathan
W. King, Ph.D.
Division of Behavioral and Social Research
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Ave. #533
Bethesda, MD 20892-9205
Telephone: (301) 402-4156
Fax: (301) 402-0051
Email: kingjo@nia.nih.gov
Bill
Encinosa, Ph.D.
Center for Delivery, Organization and Markets
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
Telephone: 301-427-1437
Fax: 301-427-1430
Email: William.encinosa@ahrq.hhs.gov
2. Peer Review
Contact(s):
Ramesh
Vemuri, Ph.D.
Scientific Review Branch
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Ave. #2C212
Bethesda, MD 20892-9205
Telephone: (301) 402-7700
Email: VemuriR@mail.nih.gov
3. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s):
Lesa
McQueen, M.Sc.
Grants & Contracts Management Branch
National Institute on Aging
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2N212
Bethesda, MD 20892-9205
Telephone: (301) 496-1472
Fax: (301 402-3672
Email: McQueenL@nia.nih.gov
Section VIII. Other Information
Required Federal Citations
The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5): http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1enr.pdf
Standard Terms and Conditions for Recovery Act Awards: The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found in the following document: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/NIH_HHS_ARRA_Award_Terms.pdf
Use of Animals
in Research:
Recipients of PHS support for activities involving
live, vertebrate animals must comply with PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of
Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/PHSPolicyLabAnimals.pdf)
as mandated by the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/hrea1985.htm),
and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm)
as applicable.
Human Subjects
Protection:
Federal regulations (45 CFR 46) require that
applications and proposals involving human subjects must be evaluated with
reference to the risks to the subjects, the adequacy of protection against
these risks, the potential benefits of the research to the subjects and others,
and the importance of the knowledge gained or to be gained (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm).
Data and Safety
Monitoring Plan:
Data and safety monitoring is required for all types
of clinical trials, including physiologic toxicity and dose-finding studies
(Phase I); efficacy studies (Phase II); efficacy, effectiveness and comparative
trials (Phase III). Monitoring should be commensurate with risk. The
establishment of data and safety monitoring boards (DSMBs) is required for
multi-site clinical trials involving interventions that entail potential risks
to the participants ( NIH Policy for Data and Safety Monitoring, NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-084.html).
Sharing Research Data:
Investigators submitting an NIH application seeking
$500,000 or more in direct costs in any single year are expected to include a
plan for data sharing or state why this is not possible (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing). Investigators should seek guidance from their
institutions, on issues related to institutional policies and local
institutional review board (IRB) rules, as well as local, State and Federal
laws and regulations, including the Privacy Rule.
Policy for Genome-Wide
Association Studies (GWAS):
NIH is interested in advancing genome-wide association
studies (GWAS) to identify common genetic factors that influence health and
disease through a centralized GWAS data repository. For the purposes of this
policy, a genome-wide association study is defined as any study of genetic
variation across the entire human genome that is designed to identify genetic
associations with observable traits (such as blood pressure or weight), or the
presence or absence of a disease or condition. All applications, regardless of
the amount requested, proposing a genome-wide association study are expected to
provide a plan for submission of GWAS data to the NIH-designated GWAS data
repository, or provide an appropriate explanation why submission to the
repository is not possible. Data repository management (submission and access)
is governed by the Policy for Sharing of Data Obtained in NIH Supported or
Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies, NIH Guide NOT-OD-07-088.
For additional information, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/gwas/.
Sharing of Model Organisms:
NIH is committed to support efforts that encourage
sharing of important research resources including the sharing of model
organisms for biomedical research (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/model_organism/index.htm).
At the same time the NIH recognizes the rights of grantees and contractors to
elect and retain title to subject inventions developed with Federal funding
pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act (see the NIH
Grants Policy Statement. Beginning October 1, 2004, all investigators
submitting an NIH application or contract proposal are expected to include in
the application/proposal a description of a specific plan for sharing and
distributing unique model organism research resources generated using NIH
funding or state why such sharing is restricted or not possible. This will
permit other researchers to benefit from the resources developed with public
funding. The inclusion of a model organism sharing plan is not subject to a
cost threshold in any year and is expected to be included in all applications
where the development of model organisms is anticipated.
Access to Research Data through the Freedom of
Information Act:
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular
A-110 has been revised to provide access to research data through the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) under some circumstances. Data that are: (1) first
produced in a project that is supported in whole or in part with Federal funds;
and (2) cited publicly and officially by a Federal agency in support of an
action that has the force and effect of law (i.e., a regulation) may be
accessed through FOIA. It is important for applicants to understand the basic
scope of this amendment. NIH has provided guidance at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm.
Applicants may wish to place data collected under this funding opportunity in a
public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the
distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should
include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include
information about this in the budget justification section of the application.
In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent
statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider
use of data collected under this award.
Inclusion of Women And Minorities in Clinical Research:
It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of
minority groups and their sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported
clinical research projects unless a clear and compelling justification is
provided indicating that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health
of the subjects or the purpose of the research. This policy results from the
NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43). All
investigators proposing clinical research should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-001.html);
a complete copy of the updated Guidelines is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm.
The amended policy incorporates: the use of an NIH definition of clinical
research; updated racial and ethnic categories in compliance with the new OMB
standards; clarification of language governing NIH-defined Phase III clinical
trials consistent with the SF424 (R&R) application; and updated roles and
responsibilities of NIH staff and the extramural community. The policy
continues to require for all NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials that: a) all
applications or proposals and/or protocols must provide a description of plans
to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by sex/gender
and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable; and b)
investigators must report annual accrual and progress in conducting analyses,
as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences.
Inclusion of Children as Participants in Clinical Research:
The NIH maintains a policy that children (i.e.,
individuals under the age of 21) must be included in all clinical research,
conducted or supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical
reasons not to include them. All investigators proposing research involving
human subjects should read the "NIH Policy and Guidelines" on the
inclusion of children as participants in research involving human subjects (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/children/children.htm).
Required Education on the Protection of Human Subject Participants:
NIH policy requires education on the protection of
human subject participants for all investigators submitting NIH applications
for research involving human subjects and individuals designated as key
personnel. The policy is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-039.html.
Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC):
Criteria for Federal funding of research on hESCs can
be found at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp and at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-116.html.
Only research using hESC lines that are registered in the NIH Human Embryonic
Stem Cell Registry will be eligible for Federal funding (http://escr.nih.gov/). It is the responsibility
of the applicant to provide in the project description and elsewhere in the
application as appropriate, the official NIH identifier(s) for the hESC line(s)
to be used in the proposed research.
NIH Public Access Requirement:
In accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy, investigators
funded by the NIH must submit or have submitted for them to the National
Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central (see http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/), an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed
manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no
later than 12 months after the official date of publication. The
NIH Public Access Policy is available at (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html). For more
information, see the Public Access webpage at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/.
Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
issued final modification to the "Standards for Privacy of Individually
Identifiable Health Information", the "Privacy Rule", on August
14, 2002. The Privacy Rule is a federal regulation under the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 that governs the protection
of individually identifiable health information, and is administered and
enforced by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Decisions about applicability and implementation of
the Privacy Rule reside with the researcher and his/her institution. The OCR
website (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/)
provides information on the Privacy Rule, including a complete Regulation Text
and a set of decision tools on "Am I a covered entity?" Information
on the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on NIH processes involving the review,
funding, and progress monitoring of grants, cooperative agreements, and
research contracts can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-025.html.
URLs
in NIH Grant Applications or Appendices:
All applications and proposals
for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. For
publications listed in the appendix and/or Progress report, Internet addresses
(URLs) or PubMed Central (PMC) submission identification numbers must be used
for publicly accessible on-line journal articles. Publicly accessible
on-line journal articles or PMC articles/manuscripts accepted for publication
that are directly relevant to the project may be included only as URLs or PMC submission identification numbers accompanying the full reference
in either the Bibliography & References Cited section, the Progress Report
Publication List section, or the Biographical Sketch section of the NIH grant application.
A URL or PMC submission identification number citation may be repeated in each
of these sections as appropriate. There is no limit to the number of URLs or
PMC submission identification numbers that can be cited.
Healthy People 2010:
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to
achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of
"Healthy People 2010," a PHS-led national activity for setting
priority areas. This FOA is related to one or more of the priority areas.
Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.
Authority
and Regulations:
This program is described in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance at http://www.cfda.gov/ and is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive
Order 12372. Awards are made under Sections 301 and 405 of
the PHS Act, as amended (42
USC 241 and 284) and are subject to 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. All
awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other
considerations described in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
The PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to
provide a smoke-free workplace and discourage the use of all tobacco products.
In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits
smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in
which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care, or early
childhood development services are provided to children. This is consistent
with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the
American people.
Loan Repayment Programs:
NIH encourages applications for educational loan
repayment from qualified health professionals who have made a commitment to
pursue a research career involving clinical, pediatric, contraception,
infertility, and health disparities related areas. The LRP is an important
component of NIH's efforts to recruit and retain the next generation of
researchers by providing the means for developing a research career unfettered
by the burden of student loan debt. Note that an NIH grant is not required for
eligibility and concurrent career award and LRP applications are encouraged.
The periods of career award and LRP award may overlap providing the LRP
recipient with the required commitment of time and effort, as LRP awardees must
commit at least 50% of their time (at least 20 hours per week based on a 40
hour week) for two years to the research. For further information, please see: http://www.lrp.nih.gov/.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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