THE INTERNATIONAL BIOETHICS EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Release Date: March 13, 2000
RFA: TW-00-008
Fogarty International Center
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: April 7, 2000
Application Receipt Date: May 5, 2000
PURPOSE
The Fogarty International Center (FIC) in partnership with the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National
Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Heart Lung and Blood
Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the National
Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS),
and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM)invites applications from nonprofit, private or public, domestic
or international, educational and research institutions to develop or
expand on current graduate curricula in international bioethics related
to performing research in low- and middle-income nations. The
curricula will provide a core set of advanced study courses that
primarily focus on the internationally relevant aspects of the ethical,
legal and social principles guiding the responsible conduct of research
in developing countries, particularly on scientific integrity and the
protection of the interests of research participants. Support will be
provided for advanced multi-disciplinary training for developing
country health professionals working at institutions conducting
biomedical, behavioral or public health research involving human and
animal subjects as well as ethicists or philosophers from developing
countries with no prior experience in biomedical/clinical research.
Support may also be included for the development and implementation of
intensive short courses designed specifically for individuals directly
involved in human subjects research ethical review and in conducting
clinical trials in developing countries.
This RFA contributes to the FIC’s initiative to strengthen research
bioethics training for individuals from the developing world. The FIC
recognizes that highly trained individuals from a number of disciplines
are needed in order to provide guidance to the research community on
ethical questions that arise during the conduct of transcultural
research. This RFA is intended to stimulate the development of new
didactic programs in relevant issues in international bioethics at
institutions that either do not currently offer such programs or at
institutions with existing didactic programs in international bioethics
to support or expand their programs to include a major focus on issues
relevant to developing countries. It is expected that such high-
quality, didactic training for career development of individuals from
developing countries will strengthen bioethical expertise at the
trainees host institutions as well as within national governments and
international bodies. Trainees may also subsequently pursue culturally
relevant studies on ethical practice in biomedical and behavioral
research. The goal of this initiative is to increase the cadre of
developing country biomedical and behavioral scientists, clinical
investigators, nurses and other health professionals and relevant
academics and to provide them with state-of-the-art knowledge of
ethical considerations, concepts and methods in research involving
human and animal subjects. Upon completion of their training,
developing country participants supported by this RFA are expected to
return to independent and productive careers, including training and
consultation and/or research in bioethics within their home
institutions.
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 Request for
Applications (RFA), International Bioethics Education and Career
Development Award, is related to the priority area of human resource
development. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People
2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Institution: Applications may be submitted by nonprofit public or
private, international and domestic, non-Federal organizations, such as
medical schools or schools of public health, or from comparable
institutions of higher education, or research institutions that have
strong, well-established graduate bioethics and/or ethics research
training programs. The applicant institution must have a faculty that
is active in ethics research, as evidenced by current research support
and research publications. Applicant institutions should have a
substantial biomedical and clinical research portfolio including
faculty conducting significant biomedical or behavioral research in
developing countries. An institution may submit only one application.
Applicants are encouraged to develop consortia with other U.S. or
international institutions to enhance the depth of their faculty and
participant pool, or to improve the quality of the educational
experience.
Participants: Developing country candidates for international
bioethics training will be selected by the applicant institutions.
Since ethics is a multidisciplinary field, it is expected that trainees
supported in each training program will represent diverse academic
backgrounds. Trainees may include post-doctoral behavioral or
biomedical scientists, physicians, dentists, nurses, midwives, ethics
review committee members, hospital directors and health policy-makers
as well as ethicists or philosophers with no prior experience in
biomedical/clinical research from the developing world.
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
This RFA will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) education
project grant (R25) award mechanism that limits facilities and
administrative (F & A) costs to eight percent. Responsibility for the
planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project will be
solely that of the applicant. The total project period for an
application submitted in response to this RFA cannot exceed four years.
Continued support during this period depends on satisfactory
performance as judged by annual progress reports, site visits, meetings
with program directors, career progress of trainees and the development
of institutional capacity for international bioethics related training.
Although the intent of this RFA is for long-term capacity development
in research bioethics, at this time, the FIC has not determined whether
this solicitation will be continued beyond the present RFA. The FIC
will conduct a program evaluation by the end of the third year that
will assist the NIH in determining whether to reissue the RFA. If, by
the end of the third year of the award, the FIC has not announced its
intent to reissue the RFA, incumbents should contact program staff for
instruction as to how to proceed.
The applicant organization must provide the necessary management for
the transfer of funds and materials to the consortial institutions.
Allowable Costs
All budget items related to trainee participation in the program should
be itemized on the PHS Form 398 NRSA substitute budget pages OO and PP.
All budget items related to faculty participation in the program should
be itemized on the PHS Form 398 budget pages DD and EE. Allowable
costs requested for training at international institutions should
follow the guidelines specified for U.S. institutions.
Stipend/Salary/Consultant Fees
Program Director: The program director may receive salary and fringe
benefits compensation for 10-25% professional effort devoted to the
international bioethics curriculum and training program creation during
the first year of the award. The compensation for the program director
must not exceed the actual institutional salary rates. Salary must not
exceed the annual salary cap level (currently $141,300 plus fringe
benefits) from federal sources
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-011.html).
(Use 398 form page DD.)
Faculty: Faculty at the applicant institution who provide critical
design, development, implementation and refinement of essential
components of the international bioethics curriculum or extended long-
term training or conduct collaborative research with the trainees may
receive salary and fringe benefits. The total amount of salary and
fringe benefits requested for all applicant faculty, including the
program director in the second and subsequent years of the award, may
not exceed 20% of direct costs in the budget. The responsibilities and
time commitment for faculty receiving salary should be thoroughly
described. (Use 398 form page DD.)
o Faculty from consortia institutions involved in curriculum
development and training, invited speakers and consultants who provide
essential programmatic functions may receive consultant fees not to
exceed $2,000 per year, in accordance with the applicant’s
institutional policies. No more than ten percent of the direct costs
in the budget may be used for consultant fees. The teaching
responsibilities and time commitment for faculty receiving consultant
fees should be thoroughly described. (Use 398 form page DD.)
o Developing country trainees may be paid a stipend comparable to
their professional experience similar to other equivalent trainees at
the U.S. institution but not exceeding $45,000 per year in accordance
with the U.S. institutional policies while involved in long-term
training in the U.S. Applicants may wish to refer to the NRSA stipend
levels as a guide. These are described on the web site
http://www.nih.gov/fic/opportunities/index.html. (Use 398 form
substitute page OO.)
o Up to ten percent direct costs may be used to provide salary and
fringe benefits for clerical support staff for the program at the U.S.
institution. The responsibilities and time commitment for personnel
receiving salary support should be thoroughly described. (Use 398 form
page DD.)
Tuition, Fees and Insurance
o Funds for tuition, academic fees and self-only medical insurance for
developing country trainees at the applicant and consortia institutions
may be requested. Programs are encouraged to seek cost sharing
arrangements with the participating institutions in order to provide
reduced tuition for long-term trainees and tuition-free short courses.
(Use 398 form substitute page OO.)
Trainee Travel
o Funds may be requested for one round trip economy class airfare per
year on U.S. carriers (to the maximum extent possible) and local ground
transportation for each long-term developing country trainee to travel
to the applicant institution and return to their home country. Funds
may also be requested for developing country trainees to participate in
short courses or attend bioethics conferences. (Use 398 form
substitute page OO.)
o Funds may be requested for per diem and lodging for developing
country trainees to participate in short courses or attend bioethics
conferences. (Use 398 form substitute page OO.)
Faculty Travel
o Funds may be requested for round trip economy airfare year on U.S.
carriers (to the maximum extent possible) per diem and lodging for
consortia faculty participants to travel to the applicant institutions
and U.S. or developing country sites of short courses. (Use 398 form
page DD.)
o Funds should be requested for airfare, per diem and lodging for two
days comparable to U.S. government rates
(http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC)
for the Program Director, foreign co-PIs, if appropriate, and
selected trainees to attend an annual bioethics network meeting in the
Washington, D.C. area. (Use 398 form page DD.)
Training related expenses
o Funds to support curriculum development related costs at the
applicant institution (such as books, printed materials, audiovisual
materials, computer software, etc.) as well as administrative expenses
(such as photocopying, long distance phone and shipping costs, etc.)
may be requested. (Use 398 form substitute page OO.)
o No more than 20% of total direct costs per year may be requested to
support intensive short courses.
o Reentry grants for trainees may be requested for the first year.
The amount of salary support at the home institution for returning
trainees may not exceed 20% of their full-time salary.
FUNDS AVAILABLE
FIC and partners have committed approximately $1,600,00 in FY 2000 to
fund an estimated five to six new grants in response to this RFA. An
applicant may request a project period of up to four years and a budget
for total costs of up to $300,000 per year maximum (including eight
percent F & A costs). Facilities and administrative costs are not
allowed at international institutions. Because the nature and scope of
the curriculum development and training proposed may vary, it is
anticipated that the size of each award will also vary. Although the
financial plans of the FIC provide support for this program, awards
pursuant to this RFA are contingent upon the availability of funds and
the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Educational Objectives
Background: This initiative is intended to attract talented
individuals in developing countries to the challenges of transcultural
bioethics and to equip them with the critical skills that are needed to
enable them to provide expertise and leadership to their institutions,
national governments and international bodies and potentially, to
pursue culturally relevant studies on ethical practice in biomedical
and behavioral research. Few developing country institutions provide
formal training in bioethics. Few U.S. advanced bioethics training
programs focus in depth on the internationally relevant aspects of
bioethics, particularly those related to clinical investigations in
developing countries. While other NIH programs support some short-term
training courses in research bioethics, only a few trainees are from
the developing world. Few developing country health professionals
conducting laboratory or clinical investigations have received
extensive formal training in the principles of bioethics, the primary
rules and codes of ethical research, ethical experimentation on
vertebrate animals, the components of informed consent in transcultural
settings, decision-making related to collaborative agreements between
host and sponsors of clinical research, elements of study design that
affect the ethical conduct of clinical trials, or interventions that
should be provided to study participants. Therefore the specific
objectives of this initiative are:
1) To improve the quality of international ethics training by
supporting the development of didactic courses in fundamental areas
needed to provide skills for teaching and research related to bioethics
and the conduct of medical research in developing countries.
2) To support advanced training for a cadre of developing country
professionals who could assume the roles and responsibilities of
bioethicists involved in ethics review or clinical trial design in the
academic, laboratory, clinical or public health settings of research
and clinical investigations in their countries.
A) Program: This award provides support for up to four years to allow
institutions to develop a comprehensive ethics curriculum with a focus
on the ethics of conducting research in developing countries and to
train a cohort of developing country participants. Applications may be
submitted from educational and research institutions that do not
currently provide such a didactic program, as well as to those that
propose to expand well-established international ethics training
programs. Applicants must provide a detailed description of the
proposed program including courses offered, frequency of classes,
selection criteria for participants entering the program, and target
goal of enrollment into the program. If planned activities include
short courses, applicants should provide detailed descriptions of well-
justified, specifically targeted, intensive curricula designed for
individuals directly involved in human subjects research ethical review
or in conducting clinical trials in developing countries.
B) Program Director: The award will support the Principal
Investigator/Program Director to manage, coordinate and evaluate and,
with associated faculty, to design, develop, implement and refine as
needed, an international bioethics curriculum. The Program Director
should possess the international bioethics expertise, leadership and
administrative capabilities required to create an interdisciplinary
didactic program. He or she should be currently engaged in ethics
research as well as in the mentoring of new investigators. A minimum
of 10-25% of the program director’s professional effort is required
during the first year.
C) Faculty: Sufficient numbers of faculty should be involved in the
proposed curriculum development and training who have a record of
providing the type of instruction required under this award. Faculty
trained in ethics, philosophy, clinical research and public health are
recommended. Faculty should also be accomplished investigators and
graduate training mentors. The proposed faculty should be actively
engaged in the design and conduct of bioethical research, and also have
demonstrated a successful record in obtaining peer reviewed Federal and
non-Federal funding for such activities. The capability of the
participating faculty to develop advanced curricula, instruct and fully
train individuals to pursue careers in international bioethics must be
documented. The training faculty are encouraged to consult with at
least one individual from a developing country with expertise in
conducting research or who is familiar with ethics review procedures in
their home country. Training faculty should also include individuals
with experience in the design of biomedical (including clinical) or
behavioral research in developing countries. The percent of faculty
effort planned for course development, instruction and mentoring
trainees should be described.
D) Curriculum: The curriculum should be designed to provide a maximum
of two years, master’s degree level graduate training but could also
accommodate non-degree seeking participants with other professional
degrees and different levels of experience in bioethics. The core
curriculum developed should ideally be case-based. It may include an
array of bioethics-related topics of general interest such as the
history and principles of human and animal subjects research, ethical
perspectives on the use of human biological materials in research, the
ethics of designing clinical research protocols and ethical
considerations in performing research in vulnerable populations with an
emphasis on transcultural research. Other topics may include
international codes and guidelines, informed consent, collaborative
agreements between host and sponsor countries, the role of ethics
review committees in the developing world and in cross-cultural
research and ethnographic research. The curriculum should include
training in the methodology to pursue culturally relevant studies on
ethical theory and practice in biomedical and behavioral research. The
scope and format for presenting the core curriculum can be flexible to
meet the perceived needs of the trainees and faculty. The program may
also include advanced, specialized courses in ethics related to
epidemiology, public health, human rights, justice and economics. The
detailed description of the content of proposed courses and the
potential benefit to developing country trainees should be included in
the training plan. The curriculum developed must begin to be offered
to trainees within one year of the award and should be initiated during
the first year of support, if feasible
E) Training: The award provides support for up to two years and no
less than 12 months of advanced bioethics training for developing
country trainees. In addition, institutions may propose providing
support for appropriate candidates to earn a master"s degree in a
relevant area - e.g., public health research bioethics, clinical
research. The proposed program should also have the flexibility to
accommodate participants with different levels of experience.
Individuals selected for training should demonstrate a high level of
interest and the potential to pursue culturally relevant studies on
ethical practice in biomedical and behavioral research or the potential
to become leaders and provide expertise to their host institutions,
national governments and international bodies. Applicants should
describe how the proposed training will advance the career development
of prospective trainees. Candidates selected for training should
document that they can return to a position in their country of origin
that will permit them to pursue an independent and productive career
that includes training, consultation and/or research on bioethics.
Grantees are encouraged to include plans for enabling the trainees to
develop and sustain bioethics programs on return to their home country.
Applicants are encouraged to select candidates associated with
supported international research efforts.
Plans for recruiting and the process and criteria for selecting
participants to enter the program and the countries to be involved
should be described. Applicants should describe the criteria for
selecting particular developing countries or developing country
institutions for recruiting trainees. Applicants should describe how
participants from diverse professional backgrounds (postdoctoral
behavioral and biomedical scientists, physicians, nurses, midwives,
ethics review committee members, hospital directors and health policy-
makers as well as ethicists or philosophers with no prior experience in
biomedical/clinical research) will be recruited and selected as
participants in both long-and short-term training.
A faculty mentor with appropriate research and training experience in
ethical issues related to biomedical research must be identified for
each potential candidate. Trainees cannot receive concurrent salary
support from any other PHS sources while being supported by this award
and must be willing to commit at least 75% of their full-time
professional effort to training activities for the entire period of
support.
F) Environment: The institution should develop an innovative,
multidisciplinary program to maximize the available research and
educational resources. The opportunities for trainees to participate
in research and other activities related to the institution’s clinical
research portfolio and with faculty conducting significant biomedical
or behavioral research in developing countries should be described in
detail. The opportunities for trainees to participate in activities
through consortia established with other U.S. or international
institutions to enhance the depth of their faculty or to improve the
quality of the educational experience should be described. Applicant
institutions must describe the pool of trainees and their career
development that previously received bioethics training in existing
programs.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
1) Advisory Committee: The Program Director must establish an
Advisory Committee for this program to provide ongoing assessment and
monitoring. Bioethics divisions in the School of Public Health,
Medicine or Nursing, as well as members of institutional ethics review
committees and developing country representatives should be represented
on the committee. The committee"s responsibilities might include
recruitment and selection of faculty, selecting trainees, evaluating
trainee progress, and monitoring and evaluation of the overall
effectiveness of the didactic program and suggesting revisions as
needed. A detailed description should be provided of the committee"s
composition, function, and organizational structure.
2) Evaluation: A plan must be provided for the evaluation of the
curriculum developed and training provided. Benchmarks should be
specified as well as detailed plans and procedures to identify, analyze
and report results to the FIC program staff.
3) Dissemination: Grantees will be encouraged to share educational
tools and curricula and to make them publicly accessible.
4) Trainee Tracking System: Applicants should describe their plan to
track the short- and long-term impact of research bioethics training on
their trainees. Awardees will be required to implement a system to
track and document the long-term impact of this training program on:
(1) the careers of all trainees, (2) the research capacity at the
collaborating developing country institution of trainees, (3) positions
trainees assume upon completion of training, (4) the contributions of
trainees to future NIH-supported and other international research and
intervention trial efforts. Examples of training impact include: how
training enabled participants to assume more responsible positions upon
returning home, how collaborations with former trainees resulted in the
funding of collaborative research projects for which trainees were
either Principal Investigators or co-Investigators, and publications of
research results authored by trainees supported by this program.
During the first year after the awards are made, program staff at the
FIC will work with grantees to standardize tracking systems among
programs for annual progress reporting based on the ideas presented in
their applications and experience with similar programs. It is
expected that the standardized tracking system developed will be
implemented in all programs. The impact of training resulting from
each program will be an important criteria considered in determining
whether this RFA will be recompeted.
5) Program Directors will attend an annual meeting of all directors
supported by this RFA in Washington, D.C. organized by the FIC.
URLS IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES
All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained
within specified page limitations. Unless otherwise specified in an
NIH solicitation, Internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to
provide information necessary to the review because reviewers are under
no obligation to view the Internet sites. Reviewers are cautioned that
their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an
Internet site.
LETTER OF INTENT
Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by April 7, 2000, a letter
of intent that includes a descriptive title of the proposed program,
the name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and E-mail address of the
Program Director, the identities of other key personnel, the
participating institutions and the number and title of the RFA in
response to which the application may be submitted. Although a letter
of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not affect the
review of the application submitted, the information that it contains
permits the NIH to estimate the potential application review workload
and avoid conflict of interest during the review of applications.
The letter of intent is to be sent to the program staff listed under
INQUIRIES by the letter of intent receipt date listed in the heading of
this RFA.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
It is strongly recommended that prospective applicants contact the
staff person listed under INQUIRIES early in the planning phase of the
application. Such contact will help ensure that applications are
responsive to the overall intent of this award.
The grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) is to be used in
applying for these grants. Additional instructions for submitting a
training program application can be found on pages V-1 to V-8 in the
instructions for form PHS 398. These forms are available at most
institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of
Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of
Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910,
telephone 301/710-0267, email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.
The RFA label available in the PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) application form
must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application.
Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing of the
application such that it may not reach the review committee in time for
review. In addition, the RFA title and number must be typed on line
two of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be
marked.
The sample RFA label available at:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/labels.pdf has been
modified to allow for this change. Please note this is in pdf format.
Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the
Checklist, and four 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
BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)
At the time of submission, one additional copies of the application
should be sent to:
Barbara Sina, Ph.D.
Division of International Training and Research
Fogarty International Center
Building 31, Room B2C39, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Applications must be received by the application receipt date listed in
the heading of this RFA. If an application is received after that
date, it will be returned to the applicant without review.
The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will not accept any application
in response to this RFA that is essentially the same as one currently
pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending
application. The CSR will not accept any application that is
essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude
the submission of substantial revisions of applications already
reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction addressing
the previous critique.
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
Applications will be reviewed for completeness by the CSR and
responsiveness by FIC. Incomplete applications will be returned to the
applicant without further consideration. Applications that are
complete and responsive will be evaluated for scientific and technical
merit by a peer review group convened by CSR in accordance with the
standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit
review, all applications will receive a written critique. Applications
may undergo a streamlined review process. In this process, only those
applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the
top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a
priority score, and receive a second level review by the FIC Advisory
Board.
Review Criteria
The goals of NIH-supported research and training are to advance our
understanding of biological systems, improve the control of disease,
and enhance health. In the written comments reviewers will be asked to
discuss the following aspects of the application in order to judge the
likelihood that the proposed curricula and training will have a
substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these
criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall
score, weighting them as appropriate for each application. Note that
the application does not need to be strong in all categories to be
judged likely to have major scientific impact and thus deserve a high
priority score. For example, an investigator may propose to carry out
important work that by its nature is not innovative but is essential to
move a field forward.
Significance
1. The need for the specific international bioethics curriculum and
training proposed to fill specific gaps in expertise for perspective
developing country trainees.
2. The expected public health contributions to the trainees
developing country institution, national government or an international
institution related to the proposed curriculum and training.
3. The demonstrated capacity or potential to achieve independent and
sustainable developing country capacity in bioethics through the
proposed curriculum and training efforts.
Approach
1. The clarity and feasibility of the curriculum development and
training objectives.
2. Adequacy of the program plan to achieve the proposed curriculum
development and training objectives including:
o Quality and content of the proposed courses and other didactic
components of the training curriculum.
o A trainee recruiting, application and selection process that
captures the most qualified individuals with a variety of professional
backgrounds from developing countries who could most benefit from the
training proposed including the potential impact of training on their
developing country institution. (The proposed qualifications of
potential candidates should be well described in terms of academic
status and previous accomplishments and/or experience in bioethics.)
o A process for matching trainees to appropriate mentors or
instructors, new skills to be acquired and participation in research
related ethical design and review activities.
o Balance in the proposed curriculum to provide a breadth of knowledge
in international bioethics related to either academic based laboratory,
clinical or public health studies while providing focused training to
fill recognized gaps in expertise.
o If short courses are proposed, the adequacy of the mixture of long
and short-term training opportunities within the program as a means to
achieve the overall objectives stated.
o Provision of training in related skills such as bioethics research
methodology, technical writing, statistical methods, good clinical
practice, medical informatics, English as a second language (if
necessary).
o Process for periodic evaluation and revision of curriculum
developed.
o Process for periodic evaluation of trainee progress including
academic achievement, assistance with common trainee problems and
mentorship for successful trainee participation in research related
ethical design or review activities.
o Adequacy of the methods to monitor the long-term impact of the
training experience on the subsequent careers of the trainees and
capacity for ethical review of research in the trainees home
countries.
o Adequacy of plans to include an adequate representation of women
among the developing country trainees.
Innovation
o Innovation in the international bioethics curriculum designed for
developing country trainees.
o Innovation in strategies for training participants to become
actively involved in the ethical design and review of laboratory,
clinical or public health research or intervention trials conducted at
their home countries.
o Creativity of plans to include modern information technology
training to facilitate trainee access to electronic information
resources, distance learning and collaborative interaction.
Investigators
o Qualifications of the program director to lead and other faculty to
participate in the proposed curriculum development and training
program. (The bioethics research experience and training
accomplishments should be included in addition to Biographical Sketch
and Other Support forms for each faculty participant.)
o The extent and effectiveness of previous efforts made by applicants
in developing bioethics-training programs to support biomedical and
behavioral research efforts.
Environment
The adequacy of the teaching facilities and other training resources
including possible research related opportunities and the overall
training environment at the applicant and consortia institutions.
In addition to the above criteria, in accordance with NIH policy, all
applications will also be reviewed with respect to the following:
o The reasonableness of the proposed budget and duration in relation
to the proposed research.
o The adequacy of the proposed plan to share data.
Schedule
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: April 7, 2000
Application Receipt Date: May 5, 2000
Peer Review Date: June/July 2000
Council Review: September 2000
Earliest Anticipated Start Date: September 29, 2000
AWARD CRITERIA
In addition to the outcome of the initial scientific peer review, the
following may also be considered in making funding decisions:
o The extent to which proposed training programs support and
complement other FIC or NIH efforts in international bioethics.
o The availability of funds.
o Program balance among critical research and public health training
areas of emphasis.
o The geographic distribution among proposed trainees included in
applications under consideration, including the need for a given
program to work with trainees from a specific country.
INQUIRIES
Written and telephone inquiries concerning this RFA are strongly
encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from
potential applicants is welcome.
Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:
Barbara Sina, Ph.D.
Division of International Training and Research
Fogarty International Center
31 Center Drive, Room B2C39, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: (301) 402-9467
FAX: (301) 402-0779
E-mail: barbara_sina@nih.gov
Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:
Ms. Susan Bettendorf
Grants Management Specialist
Fogarty International Center
31 Center Drive, Room B2C39, MSC 2220
Bethesda, MD 20892-2220
Telephone: (301) 496-7614
FAX: (301) 402-0779
E-mail: susan_bettendorf@nih.gov
AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS
Awards are made under authorization of Sections 301 and 405 and Title IV,
Part A, (42 USC 241, 284 and 287) of the Public Health Services Act, as
amended, and administered under NIH grants policies and Federal Regulations
42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92s. This program is not subject to the
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or to Health
Systems Agency review.
The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-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.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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