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:  [email protected].

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:  [email protected]

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:  [email protected]

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

			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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