Administrative Supplements to Expand NCI-supported Community Outreach Capacity through Community Health Educators (CHE) of the National Outreach Network

Notice Number: NOT-CA-10-030

Key Dates
Release Date: July 9, 2010
Request Submission Deadline: August 6, 2010
Earliest Anticipated Start Date for Supplement Awards: September 30, 2010

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI) (http://www.nci.nih.gov)

Purpose

The Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces the availability of administrative supplements to NCI-sponsored grants and cooperative agreement awards that are pertinent to the NCI National Outreach Network (NON). The purpose of the supplements is to support new Community Health Educators (CHE) positions at the institutions that hold eligible parent NCI awards (see below). Through these new CHE positions, the NCI intends to expand community outreach capacity, such that cancer information is relevantly disseminated to diverse communities. These activities should help researchers interacting with diverse communities (e.g., engaging study participants to foster recruitment and retention) to use optimal, culturally-sensitive approaches, as well as gain insights to adapt research strategies to enhance inclusion of underrepresented groups.
Requests for these administrative supplements must adhere to all the requirements specified in this Notice.

Background

CHEs located at various NCI awardee institutions play a significant role in achieving the goals of the NCI National Outreach Network. NON is involved in multidisciplinary, research-based approaches to understand tailored communication, outreach and education effectiveness in prevention, health promotion, and health protection in underserved and at-risk communities. NON activities combine communications, information dissemination, community outreach, and public health promotion strategies to guide priorities for local interventions and communication campaigns that effectively distribute NCI and other relevant cancer information to communities in order to enhance decision-making and coping strategies. Key to the program is strategies to enhance researchers understanding of neighborhood communities.

CHE responsibilities include oversight, coordination, support, and logistical services needed to optimize communication, education and outreach/dissemination local activities by incorporating national cancer information and training knowledge. The goal is to match these activities to the identified cancer burden and specific health disparities issues and, ultimately, promote effectively the health of the community served.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility is limited to the current NCI awardees of the following specific programs with a distinct community focus (respective funding mechanisms are given in the parenthesis):

  • Community Networks Program (CNP) (U01, U54);
  • Comprehensive Partnerships to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CPRCHD)(U54) (formerly known as Minority Institutions/Cancer Center Partnership - MI/CCP);
  • Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP) (U01);,
  • Community Cancer Oncology Program (CCOP) (U10);
  • Minority Based Community Cancer Oncology Program (MB-CCOP) (U10); and
  • NCI-Designated Cancer Centers (P30)

These awardees may apply for an administrative supplement provided all of the following conditions are met:

  1. The topic of the administrative supplement must be related to the focus of research proposed and conducted under the auspices of the original ( parent ) award;
  2. The parent award must remain active during the entire funding period of the supplement (requests for no-cost extensions on the parent grant to accommodate an administrative supplement will not be granted);
  3. The Principal Investigator (PI) designated for the administrative supplement request and any subsequent administrative supplement award must also be the PI of the parent award;
  4. Eligible PIs may apply for this administrative supplement opportunity if he/she does not have a previous supplement supporting a CHE by NCI/NIH with ARRA fund; and
  5. The supplemental funds cannot be requested to support an already established CHE position (and supported on another grant).

Scope of Activities

Relevant CHE activities that may be proposed for the administrative supplement include, but are not limited to, four key areas referred to as CHE Core Activities :

  • Activity 1: Conducting an assessment of national and local resources and networks;
  • Activity 2: Participating in training (national and local); and
  • Activity 3: Developing a long-term education/outreach plan to optimally address a local cancer health disparity issue via a CHE.

Optional CHE Activity:

  • Optional Activity 4: Initiating education/outreach activities to address local cancer burden/disparity.

The education/outreach efforts will ideally draw upon specific local assessments, for example, to identify a pressing local cancer health disparities problem that could be resolved by a CHE intervention. From this assessment, a strategic plan to resolve the issue will guide the NON CHE activities.

An optional activity is to initiate one education/outreach intervention addressing a local cancer problem by the end of the supplement funding period in a timely manner to demonstrate progress towards resolution.

Eligible investigators interested in applying for these supplements are encouraged to contact the CRCHD program staff members indicated below for further details about the program and expected content of the requests.

Note: Priority in funding will be given to requests that address the needs of low income, disparate populations and/or ethnically diverse populations with regard to a local cancer health disparities problem.

The NCI intends to commit approximately $2,850,000 in FY 2010 to fund up to 17 CHE administrative supplements for one year in response to this initiative.

Applicants may request an administrative supplement project period of up to one (1) year. Applicants that propose only the required Activities 1-3 can request up to $150,000 in total costs (direct and all F&A costs) for up to one (1) year. Applicants that propose the required Activities 1-3 and Optional Activity 4 can request up to $200,000 in total costs for up to one (1) year.

Although the financial plans of NCI provide support for this program, administrative supplement awards pursuant to this initiative are contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious requests.

IMPORTANT: The research proposed by an NCI grantee in the supplement application must be within the original scope of the NCI-supported grant project. The funding mechanism being used to support this program, administrative supplements, can be used to cover cost increases that are associated with achieving certain new research objectives as long as they are within the original scope of the project. Any cost increases need to result from making modifications to the project in order to take advantage of opportunities that would increase the value of the project consistent with its originally approved objectives and purposes.

Submission of Requests

Requests for these administrative supplements must be submitted to the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) (see address below).

Note that the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is NOT involved in receipt and processing of these requests.

Application Procedure

All requests must include the following:

Cover Letter -- Citing this Notice (NOT-CA-10-030), a request for an Administrative Supplement, and the following information:

  • Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) name (Must be the same as the parent grant PI);
  • Parent grant number and title (There must be an active parent grant during the entire funding period);
  • Request up to a single year of support and provide the amount of the requested supplement (include direct and indirect costs);
  • Name and title of the institutional official;
  • Phone, e-mail, and address information for both the PI and institutional official; and
  • The cover letter must be signed by the authorized organizational representative/institutional official.

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.
  • This Notice NOT-CA-10-030 Notice (number and title, Administrative Supplements to Expand NCI-supported Community Outreach Capacity through Community Health Educators (CHE) of the National Outreach Network should be cited in Box 2, and the yes box should be checked.
  • The Principal Investigator (PI) must be the same as the PI on the parent award. For Multiple PI parent awards, the Contact PI must be the PI listed on the supplement request, and the supplement cannot change the Multiple PI team.
  • The remaining items on the face page should be filled out in accordance with the PHS 398 application instructions.

PHS 398 Form Page 2 (Project Summary) MS Word PDF

  • Provide the Summary of the proposed supplement (NOT the summary for the parent award).

Budget for the Budget Period

All requests must include a budget in detailed format. Applicants that propose only the required Activities 1-3 can request up to $150,000 in total costs for up to one (1) year. Applicants that propose the required Activities 1-3 and Optional Activity 4 can request up to $200,000 in total costs for up to one (1) year. Use standard PHS 398 form budget pages.

A brief proposal describing the Supplemental Activities, including:

    • Introduction (limit 1 page) - Describe how the proposed supplemental activities relate to the parent award. Identify the local cancer health disparity that the CHE can address.
    • Specific Aims for the supplement (limit 1 page) - Explain the relation to the parent grant, incorporation of NON strategies and goals to address the cancer health disparity via a CHE. Site specific aims can be included.
    • CHE Strategy (limit 5 pages, see detailed instructions below).

CHE Strategy

Address at a minimum the following specific aspects:

  1. Identify the key cancer health disparity issue(s) relevant to the context of the parent award that will be the focal point of the CHE activities.
  2. Define how the CHE will be engaged in the research activities of the parent project and within the community networks and settings, including the specific roles the CHE will play in the process.
  3. Describe how the CHE is expected to participate in the three key CHE activities as part of the national and local program coordinated activities: (a) assessment of national and local resources and networks; (b) training (national and local); and (c) development of a long-term education/outreach plan. The education/outreach plan is expected to cover a period of at least four-years. The plan is expected to be fully developed by the end of supplement funding period. All requestors are encouraged to plan for the long-term sustainability of these activities.
  4. Describe your understanding for the need of the CHEs in the National Outreach Network to divide their efforts between nationally coordinated activities and local program activities. (As a guideline, it is expected that nationally-coordinated activities may account for approximately 50% CHE effort.) Describe how this division could play out at your site.
  5. Depict a strategy for assessing CHE progress, reduction of the disparity, and achievement of the key CHE activities.
  6. If the parent award is a U01, U10, or U54 cooperative agreement award, explain how the CHE addition will fit within the cooperative agreement terms and conditions of award.

If the optional activity (activity 4) is to be addressed, describe potential strategies to be utilized by the proposed CHE to address the cancer health disparity identified in the community. Propose a potential strategy that will be initiated within a timeframe to demonstrate progress towards reducing the cancer health disparity described above in #1.
The CHE Strategy section should contain sufficient detail to allow assessment of the scientific merit of the proposed plans and the appropriateness of the request for supplemental funding in order to determine relationship to parent grant, incorporation of NON strategies, and feasible CHE strategies to address relevant disparity issues.

Biographical Sketch for all new key personnel (those who are additions on the supplemental project, specifically a CHE candidate, if such individual has already been identified) MS Word PDF
If a CHE candidate has not yet been identified, provide a brief description of the qualifications/experience sought.

Human Subjects/ Vertebrate Animal documentation (if applicable).

  • 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.
  • 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).

Requests Review and Selection Process

Administrative supplement requests will be reviewed administratively and for their scientific merit by NCI CRCHD Program and Grants Management staff persons. Selection factors will include the following:

  • Relevance: Is the disparity issue proposed as a focal point for CHE strategies a reasonable extension of the research activities supported by the parent grant?
  • Approach: Do the proposed activities to assess national and local resources and networks; secure a qualified CHE; and develop communications, education and outreach strategies to address the disparity include appropriate design, methodologies, collaborations, and analytic/evaluative considerations?
  • Quality: How well will the proposed CHE strategies support the mission of NON, enhance the parent grant activities, and add significantly to the scientific knowledge addressing how to reduce the cancer health disparity identified?
  • Feasibility: Can the proposed CHE project be conducted with the resources and within the timeframe proposed?

Requests must be signed by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) at the grantee institution.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit requests electronically as an e-mail attachment in pdf format; however, the signature of the AOR must be clearly visible. The e-mail address for electronic submission is: hadleyj@mail.nih.gov.

Applicants may also submit a hard copy to:

James Hadley
Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 602
Bethesda, MD 20892-7338 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPS delivery)

Requests will be evaluated by NCI program staff, who have expertise in the areas of community health education, communication and outreach strategies as related to cancer and diverse populations. Awards will be determined based on relevance, potential impact, and availability of funds. For all funded supplement awards, information on the progress of the supplement activities will have to be included as a separately identified section of the regular annual progress report of the parent grant.

Anticipated Award Date

The earliest anticipated supplemental award date for this program will be September 30, 2010.

Inquiries

Before submitting a request, each PI is encouraged to discuss their plans for supplemental research with the NIH Program Director (i.e., Program Official) who is responsible for the particular parent award.

General inquiries concerning the supplement program and the detailed content of the request should be directed to:

James Hadley, M.A.
Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: 301-496-8680
E-mail: hadleyj@mail.nih.gov

Mary Ann Van Duyn, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D.
Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: 301-451-4284
E-mail: vanduynm@mail.nih.gov

Inquiries regarding administrative and fiscal matters should be directed to:

Crystal Wolfrey
Office of Grants Administration
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: 301-496-8634
E-mail: crystal.wolfrey@nih.gov