NINDS FY2009 Program for Administrative Supplements Utilizing Recovery Act Funds

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-09-056, 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.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to provide researchers supplementary funds that can be used to accelerate the tempo of scientific research on active grants, with the ultimate goal of promoting job creation and retention and economic development. The program allows investigators and institutions with active NIH funding to request administrative supplements to increase the pace of currently approved and funded projects. Support for these supplements will come from funds available through the ARRA.

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. Please note that, in general, NINDS expects to award supplements that do not, in any year, exceed 50 percent of the costs of the parent grant for that year. The requested budget must be reasonable and appropriate for the work being proposed. In addition, no single item of equipment should be requested that exceeds $100,000 in cost.

For each single-component grant, NINDS will award no more than one supplement (i.e. either administrative supplement or competitive revision but not both - note that this does not include administrative supplements for summer research). For multi-component grants (e.g. P01s, P50s, U54s), up to one supplement will be awarded to each subproject or core (please note that such multiple requests should be submitted together). Proposed supplements MUST be within the general scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved for the parent grants, 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, the applicant organization must be domestic institutions/organizations (i.e., located within the 50 states, territories and possessions of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the District of Columbia). In addition, domestic institutions planning to submit supplement requests that include foreign components should be aware that requested funding for any foreign components should not exceed 10% of the total requested directed costs or $25,000 per year (per subcontract/sub-award or in aggregate for multiple subcontracts/sub-awards), whichever is less.

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. The funding method being used to support this program, administrative supplements, can be used to cover costs associated with increasing the tempo of scientific research funded under the initial grant and/or achieving certain new research objectives as long as they are within the original scope of the project. Examples include additional personnel and investments in equipment and technology to achieve the goals of the project more quickly. Additionally, NINDS anticipates that funds will be used to enhance employment opportunities in the conduct of NINDS supported research. NINDS will not consider requests which are intended solely to restore previously applied budget adjustments to a project or to supplant institutional commitments supporting individuals and other cost previously committed to projects.

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 Research Center Grants (P30, P50, U24, U44, and U54). The supplement budget requested must be consistent with the scope of the project, be for work that can be realistically accomplished within the period of the award, and must be thoroughly justified. As stated above, NINDS does not expect to award administrative supplements that exceed, in any given year, 50 percent of the costs of the parent grant for that year. For multi-component grants up to one supplement will be awarded to each subproject or core. For purposes of this announcement, NINDS will treat P30 grants as single-component awards.
2. Other Research (K01, K08, K23, K25, R24, R25, R34, T32, S11). In general, applications up to $50,000, direct costs, will be considered for these mechanisms. In unusual circumstances, and with a compelling justification, larger requests may be considered. Funds requested for R24, U19 and R34 grants should be commensurate with the scope of the funded project, be for work that can realistically be accomplished within the period of the award, and must be thoroughly justified.

Application Receipt Dates for Administrative Supplements:

To be considered for funding in FY2009, applications must be received by 5PM, EDT, May 1, 2009. Applications received after that time and before 5PM, EDT, July 1, 2009 will be considered for funding either in FY2009 or FY2010. 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 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:
ARRA Administrative Supplement; followed by parent grant number (i.e., 2R01NS020246-22A2); followed by Notice number (i.e., NOT-OD-09-056).
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 4-6 weeks of the receipt dates and awarded by mid - to late summer. All successfulFY09 supplement applications will receive notification of award by September 30, 2009.

Contact Information:

Grants Management Contact: Please contact the NINDS Grants Management Specialist currently administering the grant that you would like to supplement.

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-09-056), 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-09-056 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 proposed 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 or retention. In order to ensure that all expenditures in support of an administrative supplement are consistent with the goals of the ARRA, each application must explain how the supplement will stimulate the U.S. economy. Examples include:
      1. Enabling hiring of additional staff;
      2. Enabling increased hours of current part-time staff;
      3. Procuring additional needed equipment (costing under $100,000); and/or
      4. 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. To meet the various transparency, accountability, and reporting requirements of the 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 programmatic 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

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