Participating Organization(s)	National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Components of Participating Organizations	This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is developed as a Common Fund initiative (http://commonfund.nih.gov/) through the NIH Office of the Director, Office of Strategic Coordination (http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/osc/). The FOA will be administered by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) on behalf of the NIH.
Funding Opportunity Title	Planning Grants for the NIH National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) (P20)
Activity Code	P20 Exploratory Grants
Announcement Type	New
Related Notices	NOT-RM-13-009 April 12, 2013 - See Notice NOT-RM-13-016. Notice Announcing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Archived Technical Assistance Webinar.
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number	RFA-RM-13-002
Companion Funding Opportunity	RFA-RM-13-001, P20 Exploratory Grants
Number of Applications	Only one application per institution is allowed, as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)	93.310
Funding Opportunity Purpose	The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage organizations with experience in the mentorship of individuals underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce to submit planning grant applications for the NIH National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). The NRMN will establish a nationwide consortium to provide networking and mentorship experiences for individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research from the undergraduate to junior faculty level. Planning grant applications must propose a plan to develop the partnerships and infrastructure needed to be competitive for the NRMN initiative.

Posted Date	March 7, 2013
Letter of Intent Due Date(s)	April 10, 2013
Application Due Date(s)	May 10, 2013
AIDS Application Due Date(s)	Not Applicable
Scientific Merit Review	July, 2013
Advisory Council Review	August, 2013
Earliest Start Date	September, 2013
Expiration Date	May 11, 2013
Due Dates for E.O. 12372	Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the PHS 398 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. While some links are provided, 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.

Looking ahead: NIH is committed to transitioning all grant programs to electronic submission using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) format and is currently investigating solutions that will accommodate NIH’s multi-project programs. NIH will announce plans to transition the remaining programs in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts and on NIH’s Applying Electronically website.

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of 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

The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the NIH-funded biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences workforce. The NIH expects efforts to diversify the workforce to lead to the recruitment of the most talented researchers from all groups; improve the quality of the educational and training environment; balance and broaden the perspective in setting research priorities; improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols; and to improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities.

With this need in mind, the NIH Director requested input from the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director regarding actions that the NIH should take to make transformative progress in this area.

In 2012, the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce explored ways to improve the recruitment and retention of individuals from diverse backgrounds that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis, including persons from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds (see http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2&SubID=27, and the most recent report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/women/ ). The Working Group provided concrete recommendations about how to develop and support individuals from diverse backgrounds

across the lifespan of a research career, from undergraduate study to acquisition of tenure in an academic position or the equivalent in a non-academic setting. In response to these recommendations, NIH is establishing the "Enhancing Diversity in the NIH-Funded Workforce Program" to unify and strengthen institutions and faculty that are dedicated to the recruitment and retention of diverse scientists (see http://commonfund.nih.gov/diversity/).

This program, to be launched and piloted through the NIH Common Fund, will extend from and enhance the many existing programs that currently support students, faculty, and institutions to increase diversity in the scientific workforce. It will create an integrated consortium of institutions and organizations working together to establish a community of diverse scientists, strengthening ties between mentors and mentees at all career stages, and building effective collaborative networks.

The Enhancing Diversity in the NIH-Funded Workforce Program will consist of a series of coordinated initiatives: the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative, the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), and a Coordination and Evaluation Center. The NRMN is intended to augment local mentoring efforts for undergraduate students through junior faculty members by creating a single, nationwide consortium of scientific leaders across a range of biomedical and behavioral/social science disciplines who are willing to serve as external mentors.

Goals for the NRMN include the following:

• Connecting students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty from groups underrepresented in the biomedical or behavioral research workforce with experienced mentors, both in person and through online networks.
• Developing standards and metrics for effective face-to-face and online mentoring.
• Providing training to individuals interested in learning how to become better mentors.
• Providing or facilitating participation in relevant workshops and training opportunities in grantsmanship (grant writing; mock study sections; feedback on grant applications) and biomedical research career survival strategies.
• Creating effective networking opportunities for students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty from diverse backgrounds with the larger biomedical research community.

The NIH plans to provide a single, multi-year award for the NRMN, to begin in 2014. The NRMN multi-year FOA is expected to be issued in the fall of 2013. The NRMN grantee will be expected to establish robust partnerships with various organizations through which mentors may be recruited. The NRMN will collaborate with institutions in the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) program, a related initiative in the Enhancing Diversity in the NIH-funded Workforce Program, to provide mentorship to participating BUILD students. However, mentees are not limited to students, fellows, and faculty from within the BUILD initiative. The NRMN is expected to establish a national network that incorporates mentees from the many existing NIH-funded programs that aim to recruit and retain scientists from diverse backgrounds. Recognizing that mentoring programs already exist at many institutions, the NRMN is expected to leverage existing resources and expertise to expand and enhance local efforts to reach mentees across the country. Both NRMN and BUILD will work with a Coordination and Evaluation Center to ensure appropriate coordination between the two programs, as well as other NIH diversity programs. Rigorous evaluations will be conducted to assess whether the program as a whole is achieving transformative change.

The goal of this FOA is to solicit applications for six month planning grants to support the preparation of an application for the multi-year NRMN award that encompasses the program activities outlined above. These one-time, six month awards will support planning activities necessary to pursue the goals described above, but will not support direct mentoring activities. Applications should decribe the vision for the NRMN and how existing or to-be-recruited partners will contribute, how their activities will be coordinated, and any tools, curricula, courses, or other items that will have to be developed during the planning phase. Applications should describe the relevant resources and capabilities that the applicant instution and identified partners (if any) already possess, as well as the approach for identifying additional mentorship and infrastructure needs. If successful, planning activities pursued through these awards will enable institutions to be capable of launching the mentoring network at the beginning of the multi-year NRMN award period, without the need for additional planning.

Planning grants are expected to include the following activities, but participants are encouraged to propose additional planning activities if they will contribute to the development of a robust NRMN application:

• Development of partnerships between relevant organizations, including academic institutions, professional societies, student organizations, and/or mentoring organizations, for the purposes of establishing a single, unified health research mentoring network
• Assessment of the existing mentoring and training capacity of institutions and/or organizations within the proposed network and an analysis of how successful activities may be effectively extended through the NRMN award
• Identification and/or development of new mentorship activities, such as novel mentoring courses, online tools, social media applications, or other relevant activities, to be included in the multi-year NRMN award application
• Development of strategies to adapt local or small-scale activities for use at a national scale
• Identification and/or development of the infrastructure necessary to conduct or coordinate mentorship activities, including mentor/mentee databases, websites, and virtual meeting capabilities.

Note: The competition for the multi-year NRMN award will be open to all eligible applicants and will not be limited to recipients of NRMN (P20) planning grants. Therefore, organizations that consider themselves ready to submit a multi-year NRMN award application without the need for a planning grant are not required to apply to this FOA, but are encouraged to submit a letter of intent for the multi-year NRMN FOA when published.

Potential applicants are encouraged to seek out other potential applicants and work together, because only one award will be issued under the multi-year NRMN FOA.

The NIH Common Fund strongly encourages all potential applicants to participate in one or more pre-application Technical Assistance webinars, which will provide an opportunity to clarify expectations for the FOA so applicant organizations can present their strongest case for support. Webinar information will be posted on the Common Fund program website (http://commonfund.nih.gov/diversity/).

Funding Instrument	Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
Application Types Allowed	New The OER Glossary and the PHS 398 Application Guide provide details on these application types.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	The NIH Common Fund intends to commit approximately $1,000,000 in FY 2013. Up to 5 awards are anticipated in fiscal year 2013, contingent upon availability of funds and receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Award Budget	Award budgets for NRMN planning grants may not exceed $130,000 in direct costs.
Award Project Period	The project period is six months.

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.

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)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Governments

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Special District Governments
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)
• U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

• Independent School Districts
• Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
• Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
• Regional Organizations

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.

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the PHS 398 Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

• System for Award Management (SAM) must maintain an active entity registration (formerly CCR registration), to be renewed at least annually. Use the Sam.gov Manage Entity function to manage your entity registrations. See the Grants Registration User Guide at SAM.gov for additional information.
• eRA Commons

All Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least6 weeks prior to the application due date.

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 PHS 398 Application Guide.

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

Only one application per institution, identified by a unique DUNS number, is allowed.

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:

• To an RFA of an application that was submitted previously as an investigator-initiated application but not paid;
• Of an investigator-initiated application that was originally submitted to an RFA but not paid; or
• Of an application with a changed grant activity code.

Applicants are required to prepare applications according to the current PHS 398 application forms in accordance with the PHS 398 Application Guide.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the PHS 398 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.

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:

• Descriptive title of proposed activity
• Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
• Names of other key personnel
• Participating institution(s)
• Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

Jennifer Alvidrez, PhD
Division of Scientific Programs
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: 301-594-9567
Email: alvidrezjl@mail.nih.gov

Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research grant application forms and instructions for preparing a research grant application. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the checklist, and five signed photocopies in one package to:

Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710 (U.S. Postal Service Express or regular mail)
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service; non-USPS service)

All page limitations described in the PHS 398 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed. with the following modification:

• The Research Strategy section is limited to 12 pages.

All instructions in the PHS398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions, as noted.

Face Page

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Description, Project/Performance Sites, Senior/Key Personnel, Other Significant Contributors, Human Embryonic Stem Cells

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Table of Contents

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Planning grant funds may be used to support staff time, travel, meeting costs, technical support or services, or related expenses required to develop multi-year NRMN award applications. Funds may not be used to support mentoring directly, unless it is within the context of evaluation so that efficacy may be established prior to the submission of an NRMN application.

Funds for travel to the Planning Grantees Meeting, held in Bethesda, MD in October 2013, should be included in the budget request.

Budget for Entire Proposed Period of Support

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Planning grant funds may be used to support staff time, travel, meeting costs, technical support or services, or related expenses required to develop multi-year NRMN award applications. Funds may not be used to support mentoring directly, unless it is within the context of evaluation so that efficacy may be established prior to the submission of an NRMN application.

Biographical Sketch

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Resources (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed.

Research Plan (Overall)

All instructions in the PHS 398 Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: Describe the overall approach being proposed. Identify proposed partners, if any, that have already agreed to participate in the multi-year NRMN award and provide the rationale for their participation. Describe the criteria and process for identifying and developing collaborations with additional partner organizations. Describe the vision for the NRMN and how the existing or to-be-recruited partners will contribute, how their activities will be coordinated, and any tools, curricula, courses, or other items that will have to be developed during the planning phase. Describe the expertise and track record of the applicant organization in providing or coordinating mentorship activities. Describe proposed approaches to conduct an assessment of mentorship and infrastructure needs of the applicant and partner organizations (e.g., mentoring capacity, mentor training resources, database resources, virtual meeting capabilities, etc.). Describe the process for identifying and developing new and innovative mentorship activities for NRMN participants. Include a timeline of proposed activities.

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 PHS 398 Application Guide, with the following modification:

• Generally, Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and GWAS Sharing Plan) are expected, but they are not applicable for this FOA.

Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix (please note all format requirements) as described in the PHS 398 Application Guide.

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates.

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.

Applicants may track the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

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.

Applications must be received on or before the due dates in Part I. Overview Information. If an application is received after that date, it will not be reviewed.

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

The PD/PI is expected to attend the Planning Grantees Meeting, held in NIH, Bethesda, MD in October 2013. Other members of the project team may also attend as needed. Funds for travel to this meeting should be included in the budget request.

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

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.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to result in the establishment of a robust network of mentors, covering diverse fields related to health research, with the requiste organizational structure to reach mentees across the nation. The reviewers should assess the likelihood of the planned network 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).

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? Does the vision established by the PI/PD(s) represent a significant advance over current mentoring strategies?

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? Do the investigators show evidence of the ability to lead, develop, and direct a national network of collaborative mentorship efforts? Is experience in diverse mentoring approaches represented within the leadership of the project, and does the team have representation from mentor communities from diverse disciplines related to health research?

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? Are innovative approaches to networking and mentoring included in the vision for NRMN, and are planning activities appropriate to develop these approaches?

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?

Is an appropriate rationale for the selection and inclusion of partner organizations provided? Are the processes for conducting an assessment of mentorship and infrastructure needs of the applicant and partner organizations described? Does the application describe a process for identifying and developing new and innovative mentorship activities?

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?

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 Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

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 Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

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

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.

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the Center for Scientific Review, 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:

• May undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.
• Will receive a written critique.

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 and 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 Advisory Council to the NIMHD. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

The final funding decisions will be made by the Director, Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Director, NIH. Awards will be administered by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

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.

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.

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.

Not Applicable

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590 or RPPR) annually 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.

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

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov

eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: commons@od.nih.gov

Jennifer Alvidrez, Ph.D.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-594-9567
Email: alvidrezjl@mail.nih.govl

Karyl Swartz, Ph.D.
Director
Division of AIDS, Behavioral and Population Sciences
Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
Telephone: 301-435-1883
Email: swartzkb@mail.nih.gov

Priscilla Grant, JD
Office of Extramural Research Administration
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-594-8412
Email: grantp@mail.nih.gov

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.

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.