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 Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Funding Opportunity Title

Human Islet Research Network (HIRN)
Coordinating Center (U01)

Activity Code

U01 Research Project Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type

New

Related Notices

  • July 25, 2018 - This RFA has been reissued as RFA-DK-18-012.
  • November 27, 2013 - See Notice NOT-DK-14-002. This Notice provides corrections to the language used to describe the limitations on Award Budgets in Section II. Award Information.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number

RFA-DK-13-013

Companion Funding Opportunity

RFA-DK-13-014, U01 Research Project Cooperative Agreements
RFA-DK-13-015, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs
RFA-DK-13-016, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs
RFA-DK-13-017, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs
RFA-DK-13-018, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs

Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

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

93.847

Funding Opportunity Purpose

This Funding Opportunity Announcement will provide support for a Coordinating Center that will provide the administrative infrastructure for the NIDDK funded Human Islet Research Network (HIRN).

Key Dates
Posted Date

September 26, 2013

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

January 27, 2014

Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

January 27, 2014

Application Due Date(s)

February 27, 2014, 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

June/July 2014

Advisory Council Review

October 2014

Earliest Start Date

December 2014

Expiration Date

February 28, 2014

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, 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


Purpose

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) requests applications for a Coordinating Center to provide the administrative infrastructure for the Human Islet Research Network (HIRN), a new collaborative activity being launched by NIDDK to support translational research in Type 1 Diabetes. At its inception, HIRN will include four research consortia and an Administrative Hub composed of a Bioinformatics Center (HIRN-BC) and a Coordinating Center (HIRN-CC). HIRN's overall mission is to support innovative and collaborative translational research to understand how human beta cells are lost in T1D, and to find innovative strategies to protect and replace functional beta cell mass in humans. In order to maximize scientific exchange and accelerate research in that field, it is expected that all information, data, biomaterials, models, protocols, reagents, resources and methods developed by HIRN investigators will be shared in a timely way with other investigators in the network and with the research community at-large.

Within the Administrative Hub, the HIRN-CC will provide the administrative infrastructure needed to organize interactions and facilitate collaborations between HIRN investigators, oversee HIRN's opportunity pool programs, and enable the timely sharing of HIRN-generated data and reagents between HIRN investigators and with the research community.

Background

The NIDDK Human Islet Research Network (HIRN)

Starting in 2014 NIDDK will establish a new team science program, the Human Islet Research Network (HIRN), to help organize and support collaborative translational research related to the loss of functional beta cell mass in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). HIRN will be jointly supported by NIDDK and the type 1 diabetes special funding program, and its overall mission will be to better understand how human beta cells are lost in T1D, and to find innovative strategies to protect or replace functional beta cell mass in diabetic patients. This program will be configured as a modular network of small research consortia, each defined by a specific set of research priorities. The network structure will help to facilitate interactions between small communities of investigators organized around common biological and/or technological challenges, with the overall goal of developing innovative strategies for the treatment, prevention and monitoring of T1D.

HIRN will be initiated through issuance of six related funding opportunity announcements, and will use a Cooperative Agreement funding mechanism. Two complementary initiatives will provide the administrative structure needed to support HIRN activities through the creation of an Administrative Hub (HIRN-AH) composed of a Coordinating Center (HIRN-CC; RFA-DK-13-013) and a Bioinformatics Center (HIRN-BC; RFA-DK-13-014). Four independent research initiatives will invite four founding consortia, each supporting investigator-initiated projects in the following areas: Targeting and Regeneration (CTAR; RFA-DK-13-015), Human Islet Biomimetics (CHIB; RFA-DK-13-016), Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI; RFA-DK-13-017) and Beta Cell Death and Survival (CBDS; RFA-DK-13-018).

All HIRN research initiatives put a strong emphasis on human disease biology, the use of human cells and tissues, and the development of reagents, tools and disease-modeling platforms that can help further our understanding of the human disease process, or lead to innovative treatment strategies for patients with severely depleted beta cell mass. Beyond the set of six founding FOAs issued in 2014, it is anticipated that additional HIRN initiatives may be issued in future years, provided availability of funds, to support the evolution of the program over time, and in response to emerging scientific and technological advances.

HIRN-Coordinating Center (HIRN-CC)

The special appropriation for Type 1 Diabetes has supported several consortial efforts designed to propel advances in Type 1 Diabetes research. These team-science programs bring together investigators from potentially disparate fields to focus on emerging opportunities or compelling needs in Type 1 diabetes research. Central to all of these large consortia is an associated infrastructure that provides a framework for promoting synergy between investigators, and for enhancing communication between the consortium and the scientific community. This framework is often provided by a coordinating center designed to enhance and extend the impact of research carried out by the network by providing needed organizational and bioinformatics support. The HIRN-CC will be designed to address these needs.

HIRN-Coordinating Center (HIRN-CC): Objectives and Scope

The HIRN-CC will consist of a single U01 award led by a Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) with expertise in the administrative management of resource-based operations that serve the biomedical research community, such as reagent-generating or service-providing consortia, or organ procurement networks. In its initial phase, the HIRN-CC will be charged with coordinating the activities of the four HIRN founding consortia described above. However, HIRN will be designed as a flexible network that will be responsive to emerging needs in future years. Its composition and scientific scope may change over time, through issuance of additional initiatives, which may result in changes in the number, size and nature of the member consortia. It is therefore expected that the HIRN-CC should be designed with this future flexibility in mind.

The primary mission of the HIRN-CC will be to promote communication and collaboration among current and future network participants, and to help develop an environment of trust between HIRN investigators that can facilitate the early disclosure of scientific advances and the sharing of tools and reagents between HIRN investigators, and between HIRN and the research community at large. This will be accomplished through facilitating scientific interactions using regular teleconferences of committees, sub-committees and scientific working groups; organizing annual face-to-face meetings of the network; developing web-based communication tools; and managing the invitation review and award of subcontracts for HIRN's opportunity pool programs that will support new investigator-initiated collaborative projects. The HIRN-CC will also partner with the HIRN Bioinformatics Center (HIRN-BC), forming the HIRN Administrative Hub, to ensure the rapid and timely sharing of HIRN-generated data and reagents within the network, and with the community at large. In that regard, it is expected that the HIRN-BC will be mostly responsible for developing an accessible archive of HIRN research data (including omics-based and high-content image-based datasets), while the HIRN-CC will be responsible for building a user-friendly interface to facilitate the dissemination and sharing of these data, as well as the sharing of HIRN-generated reagents, resources and protocols through a central HIRN website. The HIRN-CC will also be tasked to facilitate interactions between HIRN investigators and relevant funded efforts outside of HIRN, such as clinical studies, bio-repositories or public databases. Applicants should describe how their administrative team proposes to handle the following required functions:

Activities of the CC will be undertaken with input from, and through cooperation with, the Steering Committees of individual HIRN consortia, the HIRN Trans-Network Committee, and with feedback from the HIRN External Scientific Panel. It is expected that the CC will make necessary adjustments to accommodate changes to research projects, new collaborations and new research needs as research advances, and as the composition and membership of HIRN evolves over time.

Meeting of HIRN CC and HIRN

The HIRN-CC PD/PI must organize (and participate in) an initial HIRN meeting soon after the HIRN awards are made, in the annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreats, and in the HIRN-AH Steering Committee meetings and teleconferences. HIRN-AH teleconference meetings will be held at least quarterly, and will involve at least the voting members of the HIRN-AH Steering Committee. In addition, the HIRN-CC PD/PI will meet at least once a year with the HIRN-CC Program Officer, the HIRN-CC Project Scientist and the HIRN-CC Expert Scientific Panel to review the progress of HIRN-CC activities. In the application, budget requests must include costs for the PD/PI and up to three other members of the HIRN-CC to attend both the initial in-person HIRN meeting and the annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreat. The annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreat will last 2-3 days. All HIRN-AH teleconferences will be organized and administered by the HIRN-CC. The HIRN-CC will support costs of all HIRN-related meetings, except for costs for the HIRN investigative teams (UC4s) and the HIRN-BC team to travel and attend the meetings. The HIRN-CC is also responsible for providing and maintaining a record of minutes of all HIRN-AH meetings.

Section II. Award Information
Funding Instrument

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

New

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

NIDDK intends to commit $1,000,000 Total Costs to fund one award in FY 2014.

Award Budget

Application budgets are limited to $1,000,000 total costs. This limit is inclusive of any direct and F&A costs associated with consortium or subcontract arrangements.

Award Project Period

The maximum project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity is five years.

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

Higher Education Institutions

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

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

For-Profit Organizations

Governments

Other

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.

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

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account and should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate an existing account with the applicant organization’s eRA Commons account. 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)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

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

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement), except for submission:

Section IV. Application and Submission Information


1. Requesting an Application Package

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, 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.

Letter of Intent

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 IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

The letter of intent, preferably electronically, should be sent to:

Francisco O. Calvo, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Room 752
Bethesda, MD 20892-5452
(for express/courier service: Bethesda, MD 20817)
Telephone: 301-594-8897
Email: calvof@mail.nih.gov

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Required and Optional Components

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, required and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this FOA. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional components.

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

R&R Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Opportunity pool: Budget requests should be structured to provide $300,000 in direct costs plus associated institutional F&A, as required to execute approximately 3 subawards of $100,000 per year from the HIRN opportunity pool fund.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: The applications sought in this FOA will propose to provide the administrative infrastructure for a network of consortia. In order to fully assess the potential of the applicant to fulfill this important responsibility, the following information is required:

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following modification:

Appendix: Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Planned Enrollment Report

When conducting clinical research, follow all instructions for completing Planned Enrollment Reports as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

PHS 398 Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report

When conducting clinical research, follow all instructions for completing Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

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 to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). 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. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late.

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

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) 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 electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

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.

Important reminders:
All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(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. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.

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 System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by NIDDK, NIH. Applications that are incomplete and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

In order to expedite review, applicants are requested to notify the NIDDK Referral Office by email at calvof@mail.nih.gov when the application has been submitted. Please include the FOA number and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application..

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-13-030.

Section V. Application Review Information


1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Does the PD/PI provide evidence of experience working productively in collaborative environments? Does the PD/PI provide evidence of experience with the administrative management of resource-based operations that serve the research community, such as reagent-generating or service-providing consortia, or organ procurement networks?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed?

If the project involves clinical research, are the plans for 1) protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of minorities and members of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

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, the committee 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, the committee 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 clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee 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

Reviewers 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.

Resubmissions

Not Applicable

Renewals

Not Applicable

Revisions

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Not Applicable

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1) Data Sharing Plan; 2) Sharing Model Organisms; and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)..

Budget and Period of Support

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

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the NIDDK, in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA. .

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council (NDDKAC). The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information


1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. 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 the DUNS, SAM Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

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

The following special terms of award are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable OMB administrative guidelines, HHS grant administration regulations at 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 (Part 92 is applicable when State and local Governments are eligible to apply), and other HHS PHS, and NIH grant administration policies.

The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative agreement U01, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an "acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic involvement with the awardees is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the NIH purpose is to support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the awardees for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the awardees and the NIH as defined below.

The PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility for:

NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:

Areas of Joint Responsibility include:

Through the Awardee and NIH staff, HIRN-CC will determine criteria and processes for quality control of information and data to be posted for the research community, consistent with NIH policies and achieving the goals of the program as described in the Funding Opportunity Announcement. There will be an initial face-to-face meeting of HIRN and at least one HIRN-CC meeting (teleconference or face-to-face meeting) annually. The HIRN-CC PI, the HIRN-CC Project Scientist, and the HIRN-CC Program Official and the Chair of the HIRN-CC Expert Scientific Panel are expected to attend these meetings.

Steering Committee

The HIRN-CC Awardee agrees to the governance of the HIRN-CC through a Steering Committee that is responsible for joint governance of the HIRN Administrative Hub (HIRN-AH).

HIRN Trans-Network Committee (HIRN-TNC)

The HIRN-TNC will consist of: the PI of the HIRN-CC, the PI of the HIRN-BC, and the Steering Committee Chairs and Project Scientists of the HIRN scientific topic consortia (CHIB, CTAR, CMAI, and CBDS); the TNC is not a governing body and does not cast votes.

Expert Scientific Panel (ESP)

An independent panel of 2-5 External Experts will be appointed by the NIDDK and meet by teleconference with the HIRN-CC Project Scientist and the HIRN-CC Project Officer at least once a year. The HIRN-CC-ESP will be updated on progress and give feedback to NIH on adjustments and future directions for HIRN-CC activities. On an annual basis, and following input from the HIRN-CC-ESP members, NIDDK staff will appoint a HIRN-CC-ESP Chair who will be required to attend the annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreat, to participate to the HIRN-AH Steering Committee meetings as ex-officio, and to serve as the HIRN-CC-ESP representative to the larger HIRN-ESP that will also meet once a year. All HIRN-CC-ESP members will also be invited to listen as ex-officio to HIRN-AH Steering Committee meetings. HIRN-CC will support costs for teleconferences between the HIRN-CC-ESP and the HIRN-AH Steering Committee, will arrange the HIRN-CC-ESP and HIRN-ESP teleconferences, maintain a record of minutes, and support costs for the HIRN-CC-ESP chair to participate in the annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreat.

Dispute Resolution

Disagreements that may arise in scientific/technical matter or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between award recipients and the NIDDK may be brought to arbitration after first attempting to resolve the issue through the Steering Committee or its subcommittees, as appropriate. An Arbitration Panel composed of three members will be convened. It will have three members: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual awardee. This special dispute resolution procedures in no way affect the awardee's right to appeal an adverse action in accordance with PHS regulations at 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D, and HHS regulations at 45 CFR Part 16.

3. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the annual Non-Competing Progress Report (PHS 2590 or RPPR) and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final progress report, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described 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)

Web ticketing system: https://public.era.nih.gov/commonshelp
TTY: 301-451-5939
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)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Corinne M. Silva, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: (301) 451-7335
Email: silvacm@mail.nih.gov


Peer Review Contact(s)

Francisco O. Calvo, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: (301) 594-8897
Email: calvof@mail.nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Christina Coriz
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: (301) 594-8848
Email: corizc@mail.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 Parts 74 and 92.


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