Full Text PAR-96-047 MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION GRANTS NIH GUIDE, Volume 25, Number 14, May 3, 1996 PA NUMBER: PAR-96-047 P.T. 34 Keywords: Emotional/Mental Health Biomedical Research Training National Institute of Mental Health Letter of Intent Receipt Date: August 1 Application Receipt Date: October 1 PURPOSE National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Education Grants provide a flexible mechanism for developing innovative educational programs to encourage individuals to pursue mental health research or to enhance research and career skills in critical areas of need. To meet its programmatic needs, the NIMH will accept grant applications in response to this announcement that propose one or more of the following educational objectives: o Providing experiences to motivate high school, college, graduate, postgraduate students, and scientists to pursue careers in mental health research o Teaching research and other related skills that can aid in enhancing the participants' research and career success, and aid the advancement of mental health research o Developing and evaluating new curricula or approaches to advance either of the above goals HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This PA, Mental Health Education Grants (R25), is related to the priority area of mental health and mental disorders. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-512-1800). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Any not-for-profit or for-profit organization engaged in health-related education or research and located in the United States, its possessions, or territories may apply for a Mental Health Education Grant. Since this is a short-term educational program, citizenship requirements do not apply to participants. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT The mechanism of support for this program announcement is the education project grant (R25). FUNDS AVAILABLE Funds requested under this mechanism are limited to $100,000 per year in direct costs. Requests for lower direct costs, as well as matching funds from the applicant institution, are encouraged. Indirect costs are payable at the rate of eight percent of total direct costs. The NIMH anticipates making approximately three to five R25 awards each year. Education Grants may be made for one to five years; the length of the grant period should be consistent with the objectives of the program. In some cases, these awards will be made to develop new educational approaches for which the institution will subsequently assume support. In other cases, the awards will strengthen ongoing activities that the NIMH will support over periods of one to five years. Applications for shorter project periods (i.e., for or one or two years of support) are encouraged, but programs proposed for three to five years may also be considered. Mental Health Education Grants are renewable (see "additional considerations for competitive renewals"). RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The activities supported by Mental Health Education Grants typically involve educational experiences shorter in duration than those funded under training grants such as National Research Service Awards (NRSA) or NIH career development (K) awards, which cover several months to a number of years. However, no use of this mechanism to circumvent or supplement existing training mechanisms will be allowed. Mental Health Education Grants support only educational activities focused on mental health research, and may not be used for support of clinical training or clinically oriented continuing education programs in the mental health professions. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact appropriate NIMH staff (listed under INQUIRIES) to ascertain whether their application meets the program priorities of the particular Institute funding component. If applications do not address an identified educational need of the NIMH, as stated above, applications may be returned without review. Mental Health Education Grants may support a variety of educational activities, including: o Short courses, workshops, or seminars o Structured short-term (less than three months duration) research experiences o Projects designed for curriculum development or the design, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs Examples of educational programs that would be desirable include, but are not limited to, the following: o Seminars, workshops, or short-term courses about research career opportunities designed specifically for students enrolled in graduate school degree programs and/or postdoctoral fellows o Structured short-term research experiences for promising predoctoral students interested in research involving any of the areas covered within the mission of the NIMH, such as neuroscience and behavioral science, clinical and treatment studies, epidemiology and mental health services research, and AIDS (see "INQUIRIES") o Summer courses or workshops designed to facilitate careers in mental health research for young scientists at the intersection of basic and clinical research o Short-term courses or seminars designed to increase awareness about ethical issues surrounding scientific research o Short-term courses or seminars to address issues of relevance to women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in scientific careers o Structured summer research experiences, workshops, or seminars for undergraduate or high school students interested in pursuing research careers in neuroscience or behavioral science o Seminars designed to facilitate research experiences among child clinical psychology interns or child psychiatry fellows o Workshops focusing on designing improved or "model" training programs in clinical child psychology o Workshops to identify areas of need in mental health services and/or prevention research and research training, including areas such as managed care, cost-effectiveness, social work, and public-academic liaison issues INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the research. This new policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43) and supersedes and strengthens the previous policies (Concerning the Inclusion of Women in Study Populations, and Concerning the Inclusion of Minorities in Study Populations) which have been in effect since 1990. The new policy contains some new provisions that are substantially different from the 1990 policies. All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which have been published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513), and reprinted in the NIH GUIDE FOR GRANTS AND CONTRACTS of March 18, 1994, Volume 23, Number 11. Investigators may obtain copies from these sources or from program staff or contact person listed under INQUIRIES. Program staff may also provide additional relevant information concerning the policy. LETTER OF INTENT Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by August 1, a letter of intent that includes a descriptive title of the proposed research, the name, address,and telephone number of the Principal Investigator, the identities of other key personnel and participating institutions, and the number and title of this program announcement. Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows NIMH staff to estimate the potential review workload and avoid conflict of interest in the review. The letter of intent may be sent to either of the program staff listed under INQUIRIES. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 5/95). Applications kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Grants Information Office, Office of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone 301/710-0267, email: ASKNIH@odrockm1.od.nih.gov. Applicants must use the forms for regular research grants and follow the specific instructions on pages 6-20 in the PHS 398 application kit, with the exceptions listed below. As in the standard PHS 398 instructions, sections "a-d" of the Research Plan in R25 applications are limited to 25 pages. Specific Instructions for R25 Applications: 1. Application face page: item number two on this page must include the program announcement number and the title, Mental Health Education Grants (R25). 2. Resources (Form page 8): describe the educational environment; include a description of the facilities, laboratories, participating departments, computer services, and any other resources to be used in the conduct of the proposed program. Use continuation pages, as necessary. 3. Research Plan: part "c" of this section should be retitled "Preliminary Data and Activities" and included if applicable. This section should contain information on steps that have led to the proposed Education project. A section entitled "Progress Report" is required for competing continuation and supplemental applications. 4. Research Plan: part "d" of this section should be retitled "Education Program Plan" and should contain material organized under the following subheadings, as appropriate to the specific project: a) Program Direction - describe arrangements for administration of the program; provide evidence that the Program Director is actively engaged in research and/or teaching in an area related to mental health, and can organize and administer the education program, as well as evidence of institutional commitment and support for the proposed program. b) Program Faculty/Staff - describe the characteristics and responsibilities of the faculty; provide evidence that participating faculty and preceptors are actively engaged in research or other scholarly activities related to mental health. c) Proposed Education Program - provide programmatic detail on the special activities proposed (e.g., courses, curricula), including description of plans to provide education to participants regarding the responsible conduct of research. d) Program Participants - provide detail about the proposed participants; include a description of plans for recruiting as participants individuals from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. e) Education Evaluation Plan - include evaluation plans for determining success of the program in achieving its goals and objectives. 5. Research Plan: if applicable, under part ~h~ of this section, "Consortium/Contractual Arrangements," include a description of plans for collaborating with other institutions for purposes of exchange and sharing of resources, including faculty, equipment, and facilities. Allowable Costs Allowable costs must be consistent with PHS policy and be reasonable, allocable, and well documented and justified for the education program. Specifically, funds may be requested for: Personnel costs - faculty members participating in the design and implementation of the education program may request salary and fringe benefits appropriate for the percent of time devoted to the program. Salaries requested may not exceed the levels commensurate with the institution's policy for similar positions. (Mentoring interactions and activities with students are considered a regular part of a faculty member's academic duties and are non-reimbursable). Administrative and clerical salary costs associated with the program may be direct charges to the grant only when specifically identified and justified as reflecting significantly greater effort than the level of such services routinely provided by academic departments. Requests for consultant costs, equipment, supplies, necessary travel, and other project related expenses must be justified as specifically required by the program proposed and not duplicate items generally available at the institution for educational programs. Participants in the education program may receive only per diem living (necessary lodging and meals) and domestic travel expenses associated with attendance at the education programs. Unallowable costs: Tuition costs are not allowed under this program nor can the participants receive any payments or remuneration for attendance. Funds from this program may not be used to supplement stipends or provide other individual compensation to trainees supported by PHS training grants. An original and five legible copies of the completed and signed application are to be sent or delivered to: DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710 BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710 BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service) REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines. Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the NIMH in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a second level review by the appropriate national advisory council or board, when applicable. The review committee will assess the educational, scientific, and technical merit of any application assigned to and accepted by the NIMH. These applications should be of high quality and responsive to the stated purpose of this program announcement. Grant applications to the Mental Health Education Program should be characterized by innovation, scholarship, and responsiveness to the special and/or changing needs of mental health research. To ensure that these objectives are met, applications will be evaluated by the following criteria, depending upon the nature and complexity of the proposed program. Review Criteria o Novelty and significance of the education program to mental health research o Quality of the program leadership, including the participating faculty, both in terms of past records of achievement and qualifications to implement future plans as proposed o The overall quality and adequacy of the design of the program to achieve its short-term objectives and long-term goals o Adequacy of the specialized curriculum to augment the research education o Evidence of the institution's commitment to the program o Adequacy of the program's plan to evaluate its effectiveness in achieving the proposed objectives o When appropriate, adequacy of plans to disseminate knowledge learned from the program to the mental health research community through a variety of routes including appropriate publication in professional periodicals and journals, and presentations at national meetings o Appropriateness of the budget and the duration of the support needed to achieve the stated goals and objectives o In addition to the criteria stated above, applications seeking a continuation of support will be evaluated by peer reviewers in terms of the progress reported from prior support, the viability of the proposed program extension, and continuing curriculum needs in the particular area of specialization in which the grant application is focused. AWARD CRITERIA Applications will compete for available funds with all other approved applications assigned to NIMH. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: Quality of the application as determined by peer review, availability of funds, program priority, and balance among types of grants supported by NIMH. Schedule Applications for Mental Health Education Grants will be accepted and reviewed once a year only according to the following schedule: Letter of Receipt Date: August 1 Application Receipt Date: October 1 Review Meeting: February/March NIMH Council Meeting: May Earliest Possible Start Date: July 1 INQUIRIES Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIMH staff for technical assistance and information concerning current program priorities before applying for an award. Requests for program information about Mental Health Education Grants may be addressed to: Henry Khachaturian, Ph.D. Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11-103 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-8033 FAX: (301) 443-1731 Email: hkhach@helix.nih.gov Kenneth G. Lutterman, Ph.D. Division of Epidemiology and Services Research National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-95 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-3373 FAX: (301) 443-4045 Email: klutterm@nih.gov Leonard Mitnick, Ph.D. Office of AIDS Programs National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-75 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-9719 FAX: (301) 443-9719 Email: lmitnick@nih.gov George Niederehe, Ph.D. Division of Clinical and Treatment Research National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18-101 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-3264 FAX: (301) 594-6784 Email: gniedere@nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Diana S. Trunnell Grants Management Branch National Institute of Mental Health Parklawn Building, Room 7C-08 Bethesda, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-3065 FAX: (301) 443-6885 Email: diana_trunnell@nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.242. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99- 158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. Awards will be administered under PHS grants policy as stated in the Public Health Service Grants Policy Statement (April 1, 1994). PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the nonuse of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103- 227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early childhood development services are provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American people. .
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