Department of Health and Human Services
Part 1. Overview Information
Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Funding Opportunity Title

Administrative Supplements for Ebola Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response Training (Admin Supp)

Activity Code

Administrative Supplement

Additional funds may be awarded as supplements to parent awards using the following Activity Code(s):

Administrative supplement requests must be submitted on paper for the following activity codes:

U45 Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type

New

Related Notices

None

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number

PA-15-148

Companion Funding Opportunity

None

Number of Applications

Only one application per institution is allowed. See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)

93.142

Funding Opportunity Purpose

This supplement is to provide support to conduct worker-based training to prevent and reduce exposure of hospital employees, emergency first responders, and other workers who are at risk of exposure to Ebola through their work duties. The NIEHS Superfund Worker Training Program (WTP) will work collaboratively to develop and target safety and health training for those workers supporting the national Ebola response. Using our hazmat trainers understanding of worker safety and health protection issues, knowledge of personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, and experience in training disaster workers, WTP will coordinate with CDC, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to provide awardees with material to develop an evidence-based curriculum that addresses the science of Ebola (clinical symptoms, mode of transmission, persistence in the environment, and treatment); infection control and worker protection (isolation/quarantine and PPE); working in the contaminated environment (sampling and decontamination); and behavioral health resiliency. The funding for this supplement is provided from the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2015.

Key Dates
Posted Date

March 19, 2015

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

March 20, 2015

Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Application Due Date(s)

April 20, 2015 by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Scientific Merit Review

Not Applicable

Advisory Council Review

Not Applicable

Earliest Start Date

May 2015

Expiration Date

April 21, 2015

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Application Guide (SF424 (R&R) Application Guide or PHS 398 Application Guide, as appropriate) except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) requests applications for FY 2015 Administrative Supplements to provide support to conduct worker-based training to prevent and reduce exposure of hospital employees, emergency first responders, and other workers who are at risk of exposure to Ebola through their work duties. The NIEHS Superfund Worker Training Program (WTP) will work collaboratively to develop and target safety and health training for those workers supporting the national Ebola response. Using our hazmat trainers understanding of worker safety and health protection issues, knowledge of personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, and experience in training disaster workers, WTP will coordinate with CDC, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to provide awardees with material to develop an evidence-based curriculum that addresses the science of Ebola (clinical symptoms, mode of transmission, persistence in the environment, and treatment); infection control and worker protection (isolation/quarantine and PPE); working in the contaminated environment (sampling and decontamination); and behavioral health resiliency.

NIEHS WTP program has over 20 years of experience providing workers health and safety training related to potential exposures to biological hazards as they perform their job duties.  Many of the training courses provided by WTP grantees are based off of OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134), OSHA’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standard (29 CFR 1910.132) and Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, and  OSHA Best Practices for Hospital-Based First Receivers of Victims.  WTP grantees have been involved in providing biosafety health and safety training to workers during the H5N1 outbreak, the 2001 Anthrax attacks, the H1N1 Avian Influenza 2009, mold remediation from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, to Ebola starting in 2013.  Their audiences have spanned the worker population from healthcare workers to volunteers.

Since September 2014, current NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) grantees have re-programmed existing extramural funds to provide Ebola preparedness training to almost 7,000 workers in 18 states. The newly proposed training under this announcement would be utilized to award supplemental funding to expand these ongoing Ebola response training efforts.

Specific Areas of Training

The NIEHS WTP Ebola Bio-Safety Training initiative include a mix of health and safety training that should include awareness and operations level training either directly with specific organizations and agencies or through Train-the-Trainer methods as required. A standard process is required by all applicants in collaboration with NIEHS to ensure that the quality and content of information is consistent and takes into consideration organization’s administrative, engineering, and personal protection policies, procedures, and supplies.

The skills of the instructor to assess their audience for tasks to be performed, literacy level, cultural or language needs is critical to conveying information that is relevant for the worker. In addition this program is strongly encouraged to engage a whole community approach which promotes improved communications and integration of activities with local response organizations, both inside and outside of hospitals and health care facilities.

For purposes of this administrative supplement (and within the parent application) the following approaches are considered responsive to the intent of the supplement.

  • Specifically, applicants should develop safety and health training for those workers supporting the national Ebola response by developing targeted pilot training for those at high risk of accepting or potentially being closely exposed (such as transport cabin crew) to Ebola-exposed patients, waste and bodily fluid through air transport, medical treatment, environmental services, waste handling and cleanup. Applicants must have direct access to the target training population and can initiate training immediately. Using our hazmat trainers understanding of worker safety and health protection issues, knowledge of PPE usage, and experience in training disaster workers, WTP would coordinate with CDC, ASPR, OSHA and NIOSH to develop an evidence-based curriculum that addresses the science of Ebola (clinical symptoms, mode of transmission, persistence in the environment, treatment); infection control and worker protection (isolation/quarantine, PPE); working in the contaminated environment (sampling and decontamination); and behavioral health resiliency.
  • The competency-based curriculum would include a training-of-trainers component that would permit the creation of a large cadre of trainers who could then provide local/regional training to impacted populations in the eight target states as needed. Locations for the pilot bio-safety training will be targeted in consultation with HHS, CDC and other state and local bio-safety response organizations. The proposed training program will build substantial capacity for pandemic preparedness and response for a broad spectrum of infectious disease conditions.
  • Through the HHS ASPR-led Interagency working group, a matrix of potentially exposed populations for Ebola response training and protection has been constructed. The NIEHS Ebola Training Plan is focused on reaching the at-risk populations which have been identified by the interagency working group. The link to the Ebola PPE matrix is: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3761.pdf. This would involve all of the target populations in both health care and non-health care that have been outlined.
  • Appropriate infection control recommendations from CDC and appropriate occupational safety recommendations from OSHA and CDC/NIOSH are to be incorporated into the resources and other training materials developed based on the needs of the target population being trained. Those resources can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/Ebola/, http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/healthcare-us/preparing/current-treatment-centers.html https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/Ebola/index.html, and http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/Ebola/ .

Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Model

WTP grantee instructors will provide a TTT to representative healthcare instructors' local emergency response teams selected by parent organizations to attend a TTT with the objectives of providing prospective instructors with tools needed to return to their organizations and provide awareness or operations level training to their members.

Awareness level will provide audiences with basic information on recognizing and mitigating hazards (if appropriate) associated with activities that maybe impacted by a potential Ebola exposure, but not have direct contact with infected body fluids. This training emphasizes recognition and the use of universal precautions, hand washing, and current immunizations, and self-care (diet, exercise, rest, etc.).

Operations level will provide audiences with information on recognizing and mitigating hazards associated with activities that include direct contact with infected body fluids. This training emphasizes hands on putting on and removing PPE and personal medical surveillance.

WTP Direct Training Model

WTP grantee instructors will provide training to designated healthcare audiences utilizing site specific information with regards to protocols, supplies, and job tasks. This may be conducted at the sponsor s location with smaller groups where operations level training is desired with hands on activity to include putting on and taking off PPE.

The process to conduct such training would include, but not limited to, the following elements:

  • Outreach to stakeholder organizations in each of the target pilot sites for site-specific and facility-specific issues affecting Ebola response workers with the formation of local advisory groups.
  • Development of curriculum and materials in collaboration with CDC, NIOSH, OSHA and ASPR subject matter experts (SME s)
  • Creation of course modules and learning activities for a 4-8 hour awareness-level training course
  • Creation of course modules and learning activities for a 32 hour operations-level training course which will include a full PPE dress-out.
  • Facilitator and Participants handbook
  • Train-the-trainer curriculum and handbook
  • Pilot testing in selected locations
  • Pilot testing in selected WTP grantee training facilities
  • Evaluation of training effectiveness and quality

The WTP has developed a series of PowerPoint slides for awareness and operation level training that will be used by instructors after identifying the training needs of the organization and the targeted training population. Training curriculum can then be developed incorporating hands on and small group activities encouraging participant engagement to promote and demonstrate understanding and proficiency. The training will incorporate an evaluation process that will include a pre and post training assessment. In addition follow up evaluation maybe performed to measure training benefit and information retention in an effort to improve training and presentation methodologies.

Section II. Award Information
Funding Instrument

The funding instrument will be the same as the parent award.

Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities.

Application Types Allowed

Non-competing Administrative Supplements

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

NIEHS intends to commit $650,000 in FY 2015 to fund 4-6 awards.

Award Budget

Application budgets are limited to no more than the amount of the current parent award, and must reflect the actual needs of the proposed 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 the research objectives are within the original scope of the peer reviewed and approved project, or the cost increases are for unanticipated expenses within the original scope of the project. Any cost increases need to result from making modifications to the project that would increase or preserve the overall impact of the project consistent with its originally approved objectives and purposes.

Award Project Period

The project and budget periods must be within the currently approved project period for the existing parent award.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
Eligible Organizations

All organizations administering an eligible parent award may apply for a supplement under this announcement.

Higher Education Institutions

  • Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

    • Hispanic-serving Institutions
    • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
    • Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
    • Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
    • Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

This announcement is for supplements to existing projects. To be eligible, the parent award must be active and the research proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the competitive segment. The proposed supplement must be to provide for an increase in costs due to unforeseen circumstances. All additional costs must be within the scope of the peer reviewed and approved project.

IMPORTANT: The research proposed by the NIH grantee in the supplement application must be within the original scope of the NIH-supported grant project.

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

  • Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
  • System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly CCR) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
  • eRA Commons - Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the eRA Commons registration. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants.gov registration. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
  • Grants.gov Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account.  PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons.If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Individual(s) must hold an active grant or cooperative agreement, and the research proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the competitive segment of the active award. Individuals are encouraged to work with their organizations to develop applications for support.

For supplements to parent awards that include multiple PDs/PIs, the supplement may be requested by any or all of the PDs/PIs (in accordance with the existing leadership plan) and submitted by the awardee institution of the parent award. Do not use this administrative supplement application to add, delete, or change the PDs/PIs listed on the parent award. Visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for more information.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility
Number of Applications

Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique DUNS number or NIH IPF number) is allowed.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Requesting an Application Package

Applicants must prepare applications using current forms in accordance with the Application Guide.

For electronic submissions, applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this announcement, or use the eRA Commons streamlined submission process.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

All forms must be completed for the supplemental activities only and must not reflect funding or activities for the previously awarded parent award.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Application Guide (PHS 398 Application Guide) including Supplemental Grant Application Instructions except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed, with the following exceptions or additional requirements: The Research Strategy section of the administrative supplement may not exceed 12 pages.

Application Submission

Electronic submission of request for administrative supplements is only available for single-project activity codes for which competing applications are submitted electronically. Visit the list of single-project Activity Codes Processed Electronically by eRA to determine if the single-project activity code of the parent award has transitioned to electronic submission. Submission of requests for administrative supplements for all other activity codes must use paper.

If the administrative supplement may be submitted electronically, then you may either (A) submit using the SF424 (R&R) Application Forms and Grants.gov/Apply, (B) submit using the streamlined submission process of eRA Commons, or (C) submit using the paper-based PHS 398 Application forms and the PHS 398 Application Guide.

Applicants submitting paper applications must use the PHS 398 Application Forms and the PHS 398 Application Guide.

Instructions for Submissions using the PHS 398 Application Forms (for paper-based submissions)

Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research grant application forms and instructions for preparing a research grant application. The grantee institution, on behalf of the PD/PI of the parent award, must submit the request for supplemental funds directly to the awarding component that supports the parent award. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the checklist, to:

All supplements should be submitted electronically by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) to AdminSupplements@niehs.nih.gov. If an electronic submission is not possible, hard copies may be mailed to:

Mrs. Pamela Clark
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Grants Management Branch
P.O. Box 12233, Mail Drop K3-11
Research Triangle Park, NC USA 27709
Telephone: 919-541-7629
Email: evans3@niehs.nih.gov

Overnight/Special Delivery

Keystone Building
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
530 Davis Drive
Morrisville, NC 27560

On the face page of the application form, note that your application is in response to a specific program announcement, and enter the title and number of this announcement.

PHS 398 Research Plan (Research Plan)

All instructions in the Application Guide must be followed for all Research Plan sections applicable to the proposed supplement activities. At a minimum, the Research Strategy section should be completed and must include a summary or abstract of the funded parent award or project. Other sections should also be included if they are being changed by the proposed supplement activities.

Project/Performance Site Locations (Project/Performance Sites)

All instructions in the Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

  • Include the primary site where the proposed supplement activities will be performed.
  • If a portion of the proposed supplement activities will be performed at any other site(s), identify the locations in the fields provided.
Senior/Key Personnel Form

All instructions in the Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

  • List the PD/PI as the first person (regardless of their role on the supplement activities).
  • List any other Senior/Key Personnel who are being added through this supplement, or for whom additional funds are being requested through this supplement; include a biographical sketch for each.
Budget for the Entire Proposed Period of Support

A proposed budget should be submitted using the PHS 398 budget forms, in accordance with the PHS 398 Application Guide, and should only include funds requested for the additional supplement activities.

Appendix

All instructions in the Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

IACUC Documentation and IRB Documentation: If applicable, include documentation that the proposed research experience was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or human subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the grantee institution. Adherence to the NIH policy for including women and minorities in clinical studies must also be ensured, if additional human subjects involvement is planned for the supplement component.

3. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications as described above. Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

For paper-based application submission, information on the process of receipt and determining if your application is considered on-time is described in detail in the PHS 398 Application Guide.

4. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

5. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

6. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted using the instructions specified above.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Guidelines for Applicants Experiencing System Issues.

Important reminders:
For applications submitted electronically on the SF424 (R&R) Application forms, all PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form of the SF 424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the (SAM). Additional information may be found in the Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the NIEHS. Applications that are incomplete or non-compliant will not be reviewed

Post Submission Materials

Not Applicable

Section V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria

Administrative Supplements do not receive peer review. Instead, the administrative criteria described below will be considered in the administrative evaluation process.

The staff of the NIH awarding component will evaluate requests for a supplement to determine its overall merit. The following general criteria will be used:

Budget and Period of Support

NIH staff will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

Overall Impact

NIH staff will consider the ability of the proposed supplement activities to increase or preserve the parent award’s overall health and safety training impact within the original scope of award:

  • Will the administrative supplement increase or preserve the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the training field(s) involved?
  • Will the administrative supplement increase or preserve the likelihood that the fellowship will enhance the candidate's potential for, and commitment to, a productive, independent scientific research career in a health-related field?
  • Will the administrative supplement increase or preserve the likelihood for the candidate to maintain a strong training program?
  • Will the administrative supplement increase or preserve the likelihood for the program to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the training field(s) involved?
  • Will the administrative supplement increase or preserve the potential benefit of the instrument requested for the overall training community and its potential impact on NIH-funded research and training?

In addition, each of the following criteria will be evaluated as applicable for the proposed supplement.

Protections for Human Subjects:

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, NIH staff will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, NIH staff will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of children to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.

Vertebrate Animals

NIH staff will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

NIH staff will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

2. Review and Selection Process

Administrative supplement requests will undergo an administrative evaluation by NIH staff, but not a full peer review. Applications submitted for this funding opportunity will be assigned to the awarding component for the parent award and will be administratively evaluated using the criteria shown above.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Not Applicable

Section VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. This may be as an NoA for the supplemental activities only; alternatively, it may be as either a revision to the current year NoA or included as part of a future year NoA. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. 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.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.  This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website. When calculating the award for additional funds, NIH will 1) prorate funding if the requested budget period is adjusted at the time of award, and 2) use the institution’s current F&A rate; i.e., the rate in effect when the new funding is provided.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

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. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

Any supplements to Cooperative Agreements will be subject to the same Cooperative Agreement terms and conditions as the parent award.

3. Reporting

Reporting requirements will be specified in the terms and conditions of award as applicable to the supplemental activities. In most non-competing continuation applications, the progress report and budget for the supplement must be included with, but clearly delineated from, the progress report and budget for the parent award. The progress report must include information about the activities supported by the supplement even if support for future years is not requested. Continuation of support for the supplement activities in the remaining years of the competitive segment of the grant will depend upon satisfactory review by the NIH awarding component of progress for both the parent award and the supplement project, the research proposed for the next budget period, and the appropriateness of the proposed budget for the proposed effort. This information is submitted with the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Application Submission Contacts

eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, submitting and tracking an application, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, post submission issues)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
Finding Help Online: http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html
Email: commons@od.nih.gov

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading forms and application packages)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Web ticketing system: https://grants-portal.psc.gov/ContactUs.aspx
Email: support@grants.gov

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-710-0267

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Sharon D. Beard, MS
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Telephone: 919-541-1863
Email: beard1@niehs.nih.gov

Joseph T. Hughes, Jr., MPH
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Telephone: 919-541-0217
Email: hughes3@niehs.nih.gov

James Remington, RN
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Telephone: 919-541-0035
Email: remingtonj@niehs.nih.gov

Peer Review Contact(s)

Not Applicable

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Pamela Clark
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Telephone: 919-541-7629
Email: evans3@niehs.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 75 and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), Section 126(g) and the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2015

NIH Office of Extramural Research Logo
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - Home Page
Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
USA.gov - Government Made Easy
NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health®


Note: For help accessing PDF, RTF, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Audio or Video files, see Help Downloading Files.