NINDS FY2009 Program for Administrative Supplements Utilizing Recovery Act Funds: Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; Public Law 111-5) was signed on February 17, 2009, with the purpose of job preservation and creation, investment in infrastructure, energy efficiency and science. The act provides NIH with up to $10.4 billion over two years for a variety of biomedical research, behavioral research and infrastructure support activities. This administrative supplement opportunity is one part of the overall NIH Recovery Act investment strategy, which is described at www.hhs.gov/recovery/.

NIH has published a Notice (NOT-OD-09-060, http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/ describing this opportunity. What follows is further information for potential applicants about how NINDS is implementing the ARRA Administrative Supplement program for Summer Research Experiences.

Purpose

The overall purpose of the supplement programs is to provide researchers additional funds that can be used to accelerate the tempo of scientific research on active grants, with the ultimate goal of promoting job creation and economic development. Summer Research Experience supplements will specifically encourage students to pursue research careers in the health related sciences, and provide elementary, middle school, and high school teachers, community college faculty, and faculty from non-research intensive institutions with short-term research experiences in NIH-funded laboratories.

Funding Priorities:

Overall, NINDS estimates that it will allocate approximately $ 40 million to the ARRA supplement program, which includes opportunities for competitive revision supplements, administrative supplements and supplements for summer research.

To be eligible, the parent grant must be active and the research proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the current competitive segment. The proposed supplement MUST be within the general scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved for the parent grant, including projects on a no-cost extension. While in rare cases supplemental funds may be awarded during a no cost extension, the period of support cannot extend beyond the award period for the additional time that was granted.

Applications from foreign institutions are not permitted. Consistent with the goals of the Recovery Act to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery in the United States, applicant must be domestic (United States) institutions/organizations (i.e., located in the 50 states, territories and possessions of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or District of Columbia).

IMPORTANT: The funds requested by the NINDS grantee in the administrative supplement application must be within the general scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved within the parent grant. These supplements should be used to cover cost increases that are associated with enhancing summer employment opportunities in the conduct of NINDS supported research, as long as they are within the original scope of the project and are used to expand employment opportunities in the conduct of NINDS-supported research. NINDS will not consider requests that are solely to restore previously applied budget adjustments to a project nor to replace previously dedicated institutional commitments to that project. NINDS will not consider requests which are solely to restore previously applied budget adjustments to a project or to supplant institutional commitments supporting individuals and other cost previously committed to projects.

Applications that fit into the 4 categories below will be considered. Where the word "students" is used below, this refers to high school students, undergraduates or medical school students. Some priority may be given to applications that fall into categories 2 and 3, which outline a plan for a group approach to providing a summer research experience for the cohort. In addition, priority may be given, as applicable, to applicants who have prior experience in mentoring undergraduates, high school students or Science Educators. This experience should be described.

1. Applicants with active NINDS research grants may request a supplement for one or more students to work in the lab during the summer. Applicants should provide a brief description of the student, his/her qualifications, and the program designed to give this student a high quality research experience.
2. In many cases, bringing a larger cohort of students to a single department or center might provide a better, more comprehensive summer experience. A single supplement request can be made which lists a group of faculty mentors who will participate in this larger effort. The application should list the NINDS research grants, associated with the participating faculty members, to which the supplements will be made. A student can only go into a lab of a faculty member who is supported by an active NINDS research grant. A center or program project grant, which supports several faculty members, may also be used as the grant to which the supplement award is made. Applications should briefly describe the summer research experience provided, and clearly describe the involvement of each laboratory and any planned oversight of the group.
3. NINDS also invites applications for supplements to R15 AREA grants. Applicants should briefly describe the on-going program, how many students are currently supported, and how the additional students to the program will be accommodated.
4. Finally, support may be requested for summer research experience for Science Educators (see NIH notice NOT-OD-09-060 for definition). For support in 2009, priority will be given to applications that have identified an Educator to be supported, and which provide a compelling argument for the benefits to be derived from this experience. Applications may be made for supplements to a single grant (as in #1 above) or for multiple grants (as in #2 above).

Principal Investigators who participate as part of a group when applying for summer supplements (e.g. approach 2, above) should not also apply individually, even if the students being requested are different. There can only be one summer supplement per grant requested. Moreover, the intent of this mechanism is to provide an opportunity for students to work in a lab. Consequently, if individual Principal Investigators have multiple grants and they would like to support summer students on these projects, each grant from a single lab should be bundled into a single supplement request (either a single Principal Investigator with multiple grants in a single request or a single Principal Investigator including multiple grants as part of the group application).

NINDS intends to accept applications for administrative supplements in all scientific areas relevant to our mission. NINDS will accept supplement applications to the following types of active awards:

1. Research Project Grants (P01, R01, R00, R15, R21, R33, R34, R37, R41, R42, R43, R44, R56, U01, and P30). Applications for supplements may request salary support for summer employment, as long as the request is reasonable, consistent with institutional salary policies and within the limits described in Section 4c. Supplement requests may request support for up to two consecutive summers. For purposes of this announcement, NINDS will treat P30 grants as single-component awards.
2. Research Center Grants (P50, U24, U44, and U54). Applications for supplements may request salary support for multiple summer appointments, not to exceed 3 per center. The requests may include salary support, as long as the request is reasonable, consistent with institutional policies and adheres to the limits described in Section 4c. Supplement support may be requested for up to two consecutive summers.
3. Other (K01, K08, K23, K25, R24, R34, S11, T35). Applications for supplements may request salary support for summer employment as long as the request is reasonable, consistent with institutional policies and adheres to the limits described in Section 4c. Supplement support may be requested for up to two consecutive summers.

Application Receipt Dates for Administrative Supplements:

To be considered for funding in FY2009, applications must be received by 5PM, EDT, April 22, 2009. Due to the rapid timeline of the review process (review will be completed by May 17, 2009), we expect students will already have been identified if support is requested for the summer of 2009. If students have not been identified, applicants should describe their plans for recruitment of summer trainees and the expected timeline of the recruitment process. We also anticipate that a significant number of awards will be made for support of students during the summer of 2010. Applicants may request funding for summer research supplements for the summer of 2009 and 2010 in a single application. Depending on availability of funds, it is anticipated that additional receipt dates may be added for applications to be considered for FY 2010 funding.

Address for sending Administrative Supplement Applications:

Do not send The Administrative Supplement Applications to the NIH Center for Scientific Review.

Applications must be signed by the authorized institutional official and should be submitted to NINDSARRAAdminSupplements@ninds.nih.gov.
The preferred format for the subject line of the e-mail submission message is:
Application for NINDS ARRA summer supplement.
Applicants should submit applications electronically as an e-mail attachment in PDF format; however the signature of the institutional official must be clearly visible.

Timeline for Review of Administrative Supplements:

For FY 2009, administrative supplements will be reviewed within 4 weeks of the receipt date and awarded by early summer. All successful FY09 supplement applications will receive notification of award by June 1, 2009.

Submitting an Administrative Supplement Request

Applications for NINDS Administrative Supplements should be submitted to NINDSARRAAdminSupplements@ninds.nih.gov, not to the Center for Scientific Review, NIH.

The request must be signed by the authorized institutional official and describe the need for additional funding and the categorical costs. Requests under this program should use the PHS 398 forms (rev. 11/2007; available at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html) and include the elements listed below in the request packet. Font size restrictions apply as designated within the PHS398 (rev. 4/2006) instructions.

1. Cover Letter - Citing the NIH Notice (NOT-OD-09-060), a request for a Recovery Act Administrative Supplement, and the following information:
   • Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) name
   • Parent grant number and title
   • Amount of the requested supplement
   • Name and title of the authorized institutional official, and
   • Phone, email, and address information for both the PD/PI and the institutional official.
   The cover letter must be signed by the authorized organizational representative.
2. PHS 398 Form Page 1 (Face page) MS Word | PDF
   • The title of the project (Box 1) should be the title of the parent award.
   • The NIH Notice (NOT-OD-09-060 and title, "Notice of Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements") should be cited in Box 2, and the "yes" box should be checked.
   • The Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) must be the same as the PD/PI on the parent award. For Multiple PD/PI parent awards, the Contact PD/PI must be the PD/PI listed on the supplement request, and the supplement cannot change the Multiple PD/PI team.
   • The remaining items on the face page should be filled out in accordance with the PHS 398 application instructions.
3. PHS 398 Form Page 2 MS Word | PDF
   Note: The project "summary" is that of the administrative supplement, not the parent grant. All other requested information should be provided.
4. A brief proposal describing the project, including:
   1. Scope of the overall project and the anticipated contribution of the requested supplement (not to exceed five pages). Summarize the activities that were included in the parent grant that encompass those proposed in the supplemental request. This section should include a description of the supplement's specific aims, including research design and methods and data analysis. Describe the relationship of the supplement request to the parent grant, and include any recent progress not previously reported that is relevant to the requested supplement.
   2. The research project plan should discuss how the supplement will accelerate the tempo of scientific research and/or allow for job creation and retention.. In order to ensure that all expenditures in support of an administrative supplement advance the objectives of the Recovery Act, all applications must address ARRA justifications, including how the supplement is expected to stimulate the economy by:
      1. Enabling hiring of additional staff;
      2. Enabling increased hours of current part-time staff;
      3. Contracting for additional needed skills.
   3. Budget for the supplement with a justification that details the items requested, including Facilities and Administrative costs and a justification for all personnel and their role(s) in this project.. Note the budget should be appropriate for the work proposed in the supplement request. To meet the various transparency, accountability, and reporting requirements of ARRA, all applications must include detailed budgets on the PHS 398 Form Pages 4 (MS Word | PDF) and 5 (MS Word | PDF). Modular budget pages will not be accepted even when the parent grant was funded as a modular grant.
   4. Biographical Sketch for all new Senior/Key Personnel. There is no need to repeat information previously provided for other Senior/Key Personnel. MS Word | PDF
   5. Human Subjects/ Vertebrate Animal documentation (if applicable). Include a current Human Subjects/IRB or Vertebrate Animals/IACUC approval letter, if available. Otherwise, this will be required at the time of funding. All appropriate IRB and IACUC approvals must be in place prior to a supplement award being made.
      Any differences in the involvement or use of human subjects or specimens, or use of vertebrate animals, between the administrative supplement activity and the parent grant should be noted. When appropriate, details should be provided on the protection of human subjects and inclusion of women, children, and minorities. Additional guidance on Human Subjects Research and Vertebrate Animals is provided under Part II of the PHS 398 instructions (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html).
   6. PHS 398 Checklist Form MS Word | PDF
   
   

   Selection Factors

   Administrative supplement requests will be reviewed administratively by NINDS Program and Grants Management Staff with expertise relevant to the proposal but who have no conflict of interest with the proposal. Awards will be determined on the basis of the merit of the proposal, its applicability to the goals of the ARRA, and the availability of funds. Applicants will be notified regarding the review outcome.

   Selection factors will include the following:

   • Relevance of the proposed activities to the parent grant and determination that the proposed activities are within the existing peer-reviewed and approved scope of the project.
   • Progress of the parent grant appropriate to the current stage of the project.
   • Appropriate and well-described plan to accomplish the goals within the timeframe proposed.
   • Expertise of the research team proposed to conduct and achieve the goals of the supplemental study or accelerate the tempo of scientific research.
   • Appropriateness of the request to achieve ARRA goals in promoting job creation, economic development, and accelerating the pace and achievement of scientific research.
   • Availability of funds and program balance and priorities.

   NINDS also requires an update of active and pending "other support," including other ARRA supplement requests being submitted to the NIH, and a description of any scientific or budgetary overlap with the current request. This update should include:

   • A statement regarding currently available unobligated grant funds. You must describe plans to spend remaining funds in order to support the need for additional funds.
   • Justification that the proposed activity does not reflect a change in the parent project's IRG-approved scope.
   
   

   Terms of Award

   A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the grantee organization. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email notification from the awarding component to the grantee business official.

   The terms of the NoA will reference the requirements of the Recovery Act.

   In addition to the standard NIH terms of award, all funding provided under the Recovery Act will be subject to the HHS Standard Terms and Conditions for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found in the following document: Standard Terms and Conditions for ARRA Awards.

   Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

   Administrative and National Policy Requirements

   A NINDS Program Director will be assigned to each funded application and will assume responsibility for normal stewardship of the awards.

   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.

   In addition, recipients of ARRA funds are reminded that such funds must be separately tracked and monitored independently of any non-ARRA funding.

   Reporting

   Awarded administrative supplements that include a commitment for funding in FY2010 will be required to submit a separate Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) and financial statement as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. This will be in addition to any annual progress report required for the parent grant. The funded ARRA administrative supplement will also require separate closeout reports.

   In addition, grantees must comply with the requirements set forth in the Recovery Act, including, but not limited to, the quarterly reporting requirements of Section 1512 of the Recovery Act as specified in HHS Standard Terms and Conditions for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The full text of these terms approved for NIH awards can be found at the following document: Standard Terms and Conditions for AARA Awards.

   Recovery Act-related reporting requirements will be incorporated as a special term of award.

   Inquiries

   For scientific or technical questions relating to research that would be supported by this solicitation, contact the NINDS Director of Training and Career Development:

   Stephen J. Korn, Ph.D.
   Director of Training and Career Development
   NINDS, NIH
   Neuroscience Center, Rm 2186
   6001 Executive Blvd.
   Bethesda, MD 20892-9531
   (Courier: Rockville, MD 20852)
   Phone: (301) 496-4188
   Fax: (301) 480-1080
   Email: korns@ninds.nih.gov

   For administrative questions related to this solicitation, contact the NINDS grants management specialist currently administering the funded grant that you would like to supplement.