Participating Organization(s)	National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Components of Participating Organizations	This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is developed as a Common Fund initiative (http://commonfund.nih.gov/) through the NIH Office of the Director, Office of Strategic Coordination (http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/osc/). The FOA will be administered by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) on behalf of the NIH.
Funding Opportunity Title	Planning Grants for the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative (P20)
Activity Code	P20 Exploratory Grants
Announcement Type	New
Related Notices	NOT-RM-13-008 April 18, 2013 - Clarification of Research Objectives in RFA-RM-13-001. See NOT-RM-13-015. April 12, 2013 - See Notice NOT-RM-13-017. Notice Announcing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Archived Technical Assistance Webinar.
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number	RFA-RM-13-001
Companion Funding Opportunity	RFA-RM-13-002, P20 Exploratory Grants
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)	93.310
Funding Opportunity Purpose	The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage institutions with expertise and innovative strategies for developing research and mentoring opportunities for undergraduate students from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research to submit applications for 6 month planning grants for the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative. The BUILD initiative aims to increase the diversity of the NIH-funded workforce by supporting collaborative programs that include novel approaches for enhancing undergraduate education, training, and mentorship, as well as infrastructure support and faculty development to facilitate those approaches. BUILD planning grants are intended to help institutions develop the necessary partnerships and infrastructure needed to be competitive for the BUILD initiative.

Posted Date	March 7, 2013
Letter of Intent Due Date(s)	April 10, 2013
Application Due Date(s)	May 10, 2013
AIDS Application Due Date(s)	Not Applicable
Scientific Merit Review	July 2013
Advisory Council Review	August 2013
Earliest Start Date	September 2013
Expiration Date	May 11, 2013
Due Dates for E.O. 12372	Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the PHS 398 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.

Looking ahead: NIH is committed to transitioning all grant programs to electronic submission using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) format and is currently investigating solutions that will accommodate NIH’s multi-project programs. NIH will announce plans to transition the remaining programs in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts and on NIH’s Applying Electronically website.

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

The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the NIH-funded biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences workforce. The NIH expects efforts to diversify the workforce to lead to the recruitment of the most talented researchers from all groups, improve the quality of the educational and training environment, balance and broaden the perspective in setting research priorities, improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols, and improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities.

With this need in mind, the NIH Director requested input from the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director regarding actions that the NIH should take to make transformative progress in this area. In 2012, the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce explored ways to improve the recruitment and retention of individuals from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research including persons from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. See http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2&SubID=27, and the most recent report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/women/. The Working Group provided concrete recommendations about how to develop and support individuals from diverse backgrounds across the lifespan of a research career, from undergraduate study to acquisition of tenure in an academic position or the equivalent in a non-academic setting. In response to these recommendations, NIH is establishing the "Enhancing Diversity in the NIH-Funded Workforce Program" to unify and strengthen institutions and faculty that are dedicated to the recruitment and retention of diverse scientists (see http://commonfund.nih.gov/diversity/).

This program, to be launched and piloted through the NIH Common Fund, will extend from and enhance the many existing programs that currently support students, faculty, and institutions to increase diversity in the scientific workforce. It will create an integrated consortium of institutions and organizations working together to establish a community of diverse scientists, strengthening ties between mentors and mentees at all career stages, and building effective collaborative networks.

The Enhancing Diversity in the NIH-Funded Workforce Program will consist of a series of coordinated initiatives: the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative, the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), and a Coordination and Evaluation Center. This FOA addresses the first initiative and is a call for planning grants to enable institutions to form partnerships and enhance infrastructure to place them in a better position to apply for awards for the BUILD initiative.

The BUILD Initiative will support training for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research and promote faculty development at comparatively under-resourced institutions with a track record of producing and supporting scientists from diverse backgrounds.

The BUILD Initiative is expected to include five integrated components:

• Tuition scholarships, including stipends, for up to two years of undergraduate studies for motivated science students with an interest in research, and once accepted to a PhD program of their choice, the possibility for additional loan repayment funds to enable these students, to be known as BUILD scholars, to pay off any additional educational-related debt.
• Rigorous mentored research experiences for BUILD scholars, and potentially additional undergraduate students, during two summers while in college and up to two years post baccalaureate at participating institutions (see below). BUILD institutions and their partners are expected to provide training and mentorship experiences for students across a wide range of disciplines in the biomedical and social/behavioral sciences.
• Salary offset and other infrastructure support for key faculty responsible for research training (e.g., acquisition of key equipment for research training purposes, release time and supplies for summer student research projects, and supplements for sabbatical training to augment the research environments).
• Resources for highly effective mentors to train new mentors.
• Support for an innovation space environment for BUILD awardee institutions to develop additional creative and novel approaches to increase the diversity of the student pool that enters the PhD training pathway relevant to biomedical research. These innovative methods may include novel curricula, training, mentoring, peer networking and support, social media campaigns, faculty-led research, or other activities that the institution considers fundamentally important for its ability to prepare students for research careers.

The purpose of this FOA is to solicit applications for six-month planning grants to support the preparation of an application for the multi-year BUILD award. These one-time, six month awards will support the development of consortia that can transform participating institutions ability to recruit and retain scientists from backgrounds under-represented in biomedical research into research careers through the program activities outlined above. This includes assessing relevant research resources and training programs already in place at consortium sites and formulating plans to leverage those resources to have synergistic effects, which is expected to culminate in a competitive application for a multi year BUILD award. Planning grants will also support capacity-building and infrastructure needs assessments at participating institutions, and collaborative development of novel strategies and processes for recruiting and retaining BUILD scholars and providing innovative educational, mentorship, and research training opportunities.

Multi-institution partnerships involving a Primary Institution and one or more of the other institution types below are encouraged:

• Primary Institution The primary institution will be the awardee institution with primary responsibility for the conduct and oversight of the award. Primary Institutions are limited to baccalaureate-granting colleges/universities that receive less than $7.5 million (total costs) of NIH research project grant (RPG) funding annually and have an award-eligible pool of undergraduate students, at least 25% of whom are supported by Pell grants. Only institutions that meet these criteria are eligible to apply for BUILD Planning Grants. (See Eligibility Section for further details.) Primary Institutions will be required to address their past success in recruiting science students, preparing them for research careers, and steering them toward graduate level research training.
• Pipeline Partner Two- or four-year undergraduate institutions with student populations that will enrich and expand the pool of students eligible for the research scholarships at the Primary Institution. Primary Institutions and Pipeline Partners are expected to co-develop and implement any necessary tutoring programs or coursework to prepare students from Pipeline Partner institutions for participation as BUILD scholars.
• Research Partner - Research-intensive institutions with investigators who are committed and able to serve as effective research mentors for BUILD scholars. Research partnerships are intended to expand education, research and mentorship opportunities available to participating students. These partner institutions are expected to provide a scientifically rich environment, expanding the pool of potential scientific mentors to include additional NIH-funded investgators and expanding the available curricula and hands-on research experiences. Partnerships with industry, NIH intramural research laboratories, or other research institutions may be established.
• Graduate/Medical Partner Institutions - Medical and graduate institutions that do not have undergraduate programs but do have a pool of doctoral-level students and that receive less than $7.5M in NIH funding (total costs) through Research Project Grants (calculated as described for Primary Institutions in the Eligibility Section below). Primary Institutions and Graduate/Medical Partner Institutions will work collaboratively to provide joint programs for both undergraduate and graduate students.

It should be noted that primary institutions are not required to partner to attain the goals of the BUILD program. However, primary institutions are encouraged to develop appropriate partnerships in order to optimally position themselves to provide the best environment for research training.

Successful planning grant activities that provide the framework for the BUILD initiative include, but are not limited to:

• Meetings or conferences that are required to develop consortium partnerships.
• Surveys or other means of identifying infrastructure needs of faculty across participating institutions, as well as ensuring maximum synergy for the BUILD program in relation to other existing pipeline programs at their institution.
• Development of strategies to enhance mentoring and research training skills at participating institutions; preliminary implementation and/or assessment of these strategies may also be included.
• Establishment of plans for enhanced tutoring/mentoring programs; preliminary implementation and assessment of these programs may also be undertaken.
• Establishment of processes for selecting undergraduate students that might be supported via BUILD scholarships.
• Initiation of other activities to plan and/or test novel and creative activities for student recruitment and retention.
• Identification and/or development of the research and administrative structure needed to manage a multi-year BUILD award.

Note: The planned competition for multi-year BUILD awards in FY 2014 will be open to all eligible applicants and will not be limited to recipients of BUILD planning grants. Therefore, organizations that consider themselves ready to submit a multi-year BUILD application without the need for a planning grant are not required to apply to this FOA, but are encouraged to submit a letter of intent for the multi-year BUILD FOA when published.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in one or more pre-application Technical Assistance webinars, which will provide an opportunity to clarify expectations for the RFA so applicant organizations can present their strongest case for support. Webinar information will be posted on the Common Fund website (http://commonfund.nih.gov/diversity/).

Funding Instrument	Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
Application Types Allowed	New The OER Glossary and the PHS 398 Application Guide provide details on these application types.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	The NIH Common Fund intends to commit approximately $3,000,000 in FY 2013. Up to 15 awards are anticipated in fiscal year 2013, contingent upon availability of funds and receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Award Budget	Award budgets for BUILD planning grants may not exceed $150,000 in direct costs.
Award Project Period	The project period is six months.

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
• Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Applicant Primary Institutions are limited to baccalaureate-granting colleges/universities that receive less than $7.5 million (total costs) of NIH research project grant (RPG) funding annually and have an award-eligible pool of undergraduate students, at least 25% of whom are supported by Pell grants. All students attending the primary institution who meet the institution s academic criteria are eligible to participate in the activities supported by the BUILD initiative.

For the purposes of determining eligibility as a Primary Institution, the annual level of NIH RPG funding received will be the average level calculated over the preceding three fiscal years (FY 2010, FY 2011 and FY 2012), excluding SBIR/STTR funding and RPGs received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as reported on the NIH RePORT website under NIH Awards by Location & Organization. The percentage of undergraduates with Pell grants will be based on 2011 student financial aid data for the applicant institution, as reflected in the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS Data Center website, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/Default.aspx. See Section IV.2, Content and Form of Application Submission, for instructions on certification of eligibility.

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 PHS 398 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.

• System for Award Management (SAM) must maintain an active entity registration (formerly CCR registration), to be renewed at least annually. Use the Sam.gov Manage Entity function to manage your entity registrations. See the Grants Registration User Guide at SAM.gov for additional information.
• eRA Commons

All Program Directors/Principal Investigators (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 least6 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 PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the PHS 398 Application Guide.

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

Only one application per institution, identified by a unique DUNS number, is allowed.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement), except for submission:

• To an RFA of an application that was submitted previously as an investigator-initiated application but not paid;
• Of an investigator-initiated application that was originally submitted to an RFA but not paid; or
• Of an application with a changed grant activity code.

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 PHS 398 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 activity
• Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
• Names of other key personnel
• Participating institution(s)
• Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

Michael H. Sayre, PhD
Division of Scientific Programs
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: 301-435-0962
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 five 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)

All page limitations described in the PHS 398 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed, with the following modification:

• The Research Strategy section is limited to 12 pages.

All instructions in the PHS398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions, as noted.

Face Page

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Description, Project/Performance Sites, Senior/Key Personnel, Other Significant Contributors, Human Embryonic Stem Cells

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Table of Contents

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following modification:

Planning grant funds may be used to support staff time, travel, face-to-face and virtual meeting costs, technical support or services, or related expenses required to develop multi-year BUILD applications. Student support and research activities will not be supported through these planning grants.

Funds for travel to the Planning Grantees Meeting, held in Bethesda, MD in October 2013, should be included in the budget request.

Budget for Entire Proposed Period of Support

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following modification:

Planning grant funds may be used to support staff time, travel, face-to-face and virtual meeting costs, technical support or services, or related expenses required to develop multi-year BUILD applications. Student support and research activities will not be supported through these planning grants.

Biographical Sketch

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Resources

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Research Plan

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: This section should provide a general vision for how the planning grant will allow the Primary Institution and its partners to develop a consortium capable of transforming their ability to recruit and retain scientists from underrepresented groups into research careers. It should contain the following elements:

• Describe existing resources/grants/awards at the Primary and Partner institutions that aim to support the recruitment and retention of scientists in underrepresented groups, and describe planning activities that will be required to ensure that the BUILD award will leverage existing resources to have a synergistic effect.
• Describe past success of the Primary, and Graduate/Medical Partner Institution (if applicable), in recruiting science students into research careers and preparing them to be successful in research.
• Identify proposed partners, if any, that have already agreed to participate in the multi-year BUILD award, and identify partners that still need to be recruited. Provide the rationale for participation of all partner institutions. Each partner institution should contribute substantially to the goals of the program. Describe the criteria and process for identifying and developing collaborations with additional partner institutions.
• Describe proposed approaches to conduct an assessment of capacity building and infrastructure needs of the Primary Institution and partner institutions (e.g., administrative structure, key equipment or laboratory space for research training purposes, faculty release time, local mentor capacity, mentor development, support for summer student research projects, and support for sabbatical training to augment the research environments).
• Describe the factors that will be considered as a selection process is developed for the BUILD scholarships.
• Describe the process for identifying and developing new and innovative educational, mentorship, or training opportunities for BUILD participants. Include a timeline of proposed activities.

Letters of Support: Letters of collaboration must be provided by officials from partner institutions, addressing the intended institutional commitments during the planning phase for a BUILD application and ultimately, to the goals of the program should a BUILD award be provided.

Certification of Eligibility: Applicant institutions are required to include a letter certifying institutional eligibility as Primary Institutions for the BUILD program. The certification letter must be on institutional letterhead and signed by the authorized institutional official.

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 PHS 398 Application Guide, with the following modification:

• Generally, Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and GWAS Sharing Plan) are expected, but they are not applicable for this FOA.

Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix (please note all format requirements) as described in the PHS 398 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 PHS 398 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.

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.

The PD/PI is expected to attend the Planning Grantees Meeting, held in NIH, Bethesda, MD in October 2013. Other members of the project team may also attend as needed. Funds for travel to this meeting should be included in the budget request.

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.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to result in a powerful consortium of institutions working together to engage diverse students from under-represented groups and prepare them for careers in research. They will also assess the likelihood of the project to synergize with ongoing and current efforts and 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 applicant convey a vision of building a consortium that will substantially improve the recruitment and retention of scientists from diverse backgrounds into research careers? Do the planning activities suggest that the program to be developed will build from and synergise with existing resources? Are ongoing activities taken into account such that the program to be developed will allow the Primary Institution and its partners to reach many more students than are currently reached and/or to dramatically improve the research training to be provided?

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/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Do the investigators show evidence of the ability to lead, develop, and direct a program focused on biomedical/behavioral education, training and mentorship for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds? Are the key personnel committed to research training for underrepresented student groups and is there evidence of past success in recruiting students from diverse backgrounds into research careers and preparing them to be successful? Will planning activities ensure active engagement of faculty from all partner institutions?

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? Are ideas for the development of innovative approaches to enhancing diversity compelling? Will the planning activities be likely to lead to novel and creative approaches to research training and/or mentoring?

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? Is an appropriate rationale for the selection and inclusion of partner organizations provided? Does the application describe a process for developing a selection process for BUILD scholars? Are plans described to ensure that students will be appropriately tutored and mentored prior to being eligible for BUILD scholarships? Is the approach for assessing the capacity building and infrastructure needs of the Primary Institution and partner institutions feasible and inclusive? Is the process for identifying and developing new and innovative educational, mentorship, or training opportunities identified?

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? Are the combined environments of all partner institutions likely to foster effective collaborations for teaching and mentoring diverse students in coursework and in research? Are partnerships envisioned that will provide robust research experiences for BUILD scholars? Will the partnerships provide a robust mentoring pool for the students to integrate with and form long-lasting mentor/mentee relationships to help shape their future careers?

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

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the 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

Not Applicable

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 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 Center for Scientific Review, in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

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

Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in 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 NIMHD Advisory Council. 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.

The final funding decisions will be made by the Director, Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Director, NIH. Awards will be administered by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

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

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, SAM 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 or RPPR) 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]

Michael H. Sayre, Ph.D.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-435-0962
Email: [email protected]

Karyl Swartz, Ph.D.
Division of AIDS, Behavioral and Population Sciences
Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
Telephone: 301-435-1883
Email: [email protected]

Priscilla Grant, JD
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.