NOT-OH-15-001: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers (T42)

Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers (T42)

Notice Number: NOT-OH-15-001

Key Dates
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: May 2015
First Estimated Application Due Date: November 2015
Earliest Estimated Award Date: June 2016
Earliest Estimated Start Date: July 2016

Related Announcements
None

Issued by
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Purpose

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), intends to publish a funding opportunity announcement for Education and Research Centers (ERCs) that are focused on occupational safety and health training and research training.

NIOSH is mandated to provide an adequate supply of qualified personnel to carry out the purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the ERCs are one of the principal means for meeting this mandate. ERCs are academic institutions that provide high-quality interdisciplinary graduate training, continuing education, and outreach in the core occupational safety and health disciplines of industrial hygiene (IH), occupational health nursing (OHN), occupational medicine residency (OMR), and occupational safety (OS), as well as closely related allied disciplines. Research and research training are integral components of ERCs, with ERC faculty and NIOSH trainees conducting research on issues related to the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). The ERCs also serve as regional resources for industry, labor, government, and the public.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

The FOA is expected to be published in May 2015 with an expected application due date in November 2015.

This FOA will utilize the T42 activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

Approach
ERCs are located in accredited academic institutions across the country and provide graduate degree and certificate training in core and allied disciplines of OSH. ERCs also provide interdisciplinary research training to identify, assess, address, and improve OSH. ERCs conduct outreach to help improve knowledge and awareness of work-related safety and health issues, and they provide continuing education for OSH professionals. Through comprehensive, integrated programs, ERCs improve the safety and health of our nation’s workers.

Needs Assessment. ERCs must document that their proposed academic and research training programs meet specific regional or national workforce need and demand.

Regional Presence. ERCs should demonstrate collaborative efforts by working with a diverse and broad range of organizations to enhance worker safety and health in their region.

This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insights in the area of occupational safety and health to begin to consider applying for this new FOA.

Components and Programs
The following table lists required and optional ERC components and budget information.

TOTAL FUNDS THAT CAN BE REQUESTED	Up to $1,800,000/year total costs
ERC Components	Funding Information (Total Costs)
Evaluation and Planning Core (Required)	Up to $370,000/year
Center Administration, Evaluation and Planning	Up to $250,000/year
Interdisciplinary Activities	Up to $30,000/year
Diversity Recruitment and Retention	Up to $5,000/year
Outreach in Occupational Safety and Health	Up to $35,000/year
Developmental Program Support (Optional)	Up to $50,000/year
Academic Training Core (Required)	Up to $930,000/year with 70% to Direct Trainee Costs
Required minimum of 3 Academic Training Programs. At least 2 from the core disciplines of IH, OHN, OMR, or OS, and 1 may be a core or allied discipline. There is no minimum number of trainees required for any one academic program. Applicants must fully justify need for all programs and their capacity to meet training demand. NIOSH will consider applications for Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs. Complementary and Special Pathways for OMRs are eligible for NIOSH support if administered by an OMR Program accredited by the ACGME. Applicants may request trainee support for academic certificate training programs in approved core and allied disciplines. Trainee support is limited to tuition only and is included in the minimum 70% allocation toward Direct Trainee Costs. Certificate trainees should be clearly identified in academic training program budgets.	There are no budget limits for individual academic training programs. Applicants must stay within the total $1.8 million per year request in total costs. A minimum of 70% of the overall Academic Training Core budget must go to Direct Trainee Costs that provide stipends, tuition and fees, research support, and travel. A maximum of 30% of the overall Academic Training Core budget may go to support Training-related Expenses that include support for faculty and staff salaries, supplies, equipment and non-trainee travel. This 70%/30% allocation of funding may be applied across all academic training programs in aggregate, and need not be applied to each individual academic training program.
Research Training Core (Optional)	Up to $400,000/year with 70% of Collaborative Research Training (CRT) to Direct Trainee Costs
Pilot Projects Research Training (Optional)	Up to $100,000/year
Collaborative Research Training (Optional)	Up to $300,000/year CRT supports the research training needs of NIOSH trainees and students from other disciplines who receive NIOSH support during their academic training program. A minimum of 70% of requested funds must go to support Direct Trainee Costs that provide stipends, tuition and fees, research supplies, and travel; a maximum of 30% may go to support Training-related Expenses that include support for faculty and staff salaries, supplies, equipment and non-trainee travel.
Continuing Education Program (Required) Needs-based training should be offered to safety and health practitioners and allied disciplines to have a positive impact on workplace practices and policies	Up to $100,000/year

The purpose of this program is to support existing NIOSH ERCs and establish new ones, to address the burden of OSH in the United States by providing state-of-the-art interdisciplinary graduate and research training for the next generation of OSH practitioners and researchers

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Elizabeth H. Maples, PhD
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Telephone: 404-498-2557
Email: emaples@cdc.gov