1 NIH Regional Seminar Baltimore, MD June 28, 2013 Finding and Understanding NIH’s Funding Opportunities Christopher L. Hatch, Ph.D. Chief Program Coordination and Referral Branch (PCRB) Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Institutes of Health (NIH)

What is a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)? An FOA is a publicly available document by which a U.S. Federal agency makes known its intentions to award grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds. NIH Context: Each funding initiative must have its own FOA. Each FOA corresponds to a distinct entry in Grants.gov and in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

3 Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) Program Announcement (PA) –Allows the NIH to publicly declare interest in supporting a defined area of science without committing funds up front. –Involves multiple application receipt dates. –Specifies only standard review criteria. Request for Applications (RFA) –Allows the NIH to promote a defined area of science by announcing an opportunity with associated, committed funds (i.e., set-aside $$$$). –Generally involves a single receipt date. –Specifies standard plus special review criteria.

4 Special Types of Program Announcements PAR: A PA with special receipt, referral and/or review considerations, as described in the PAR announcement. PAS: A PA that includes specific set- aside funds as described in the PAS announcement (not often used).

Relative Numbers of FOAs, PAs, and RFAs (at a single time point) On May 3rd, there were 973 active NIH- issued FOAs, of which 833 (86%) were PAs/PARs and 140 (14%) were RFAs. The number of active FOAs issued by specific NIH institutes or centers (ICs) ranged from 0 to 96 and the number of active RFAs issued by specific ICs ranged from 0 to 14. 5

6 Notices Notices in the NIH Guide are used to announce: Policies and procedures; Changes to FOAs; Some contract solicitations; Requests for Information; and Other general information items. A Notice that announces a change to an FOA is always added as a hyperlinked “Related Notice” on the first page of the FOA.

7 Numbering System Examples of PA Numbering: PA or PAR or PAS Examples of RFA Numbering: RFA-CA or RFA-HL Examples of Notice Numbering: NOT-OD or NOT-DK

Two Sites for NIH’s FOAs Grants.gov ( NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ( guide/index.html#search) guide/index.html#search 8

9 Grants.gov – home page

10 Grants.gov – search options

11 Grants.gov – basic search

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to: State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); Federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; Domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; Specialized groups; and Individuals. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)

Eleven of NIH’s 52 CFDA numbers as examples: = Environmental Health = Oral Diseases and Disorders Research = Human Genome Research = Mental Health Research Grants = Alcohol Research Programs = Drug Abuse and Addition Research Programs = Nursing Research = Cancer Treatment Research = Cancer Biology Research = Cardiovascular Diseases Research = Lung Diseases Research 13

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15 NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts Updates New Announcements This Week - Current Weekly Table of Contents (TOC)New Announcements This Week TOC by Year and Week: All Years (1970-Present) All Years (1970-Present) Subscribe or Unsubscribe to Weekly Update via LISTSERVSubscribe or Unsubscribe RSS Format - NIH Funding Opportunities now available in RSS (Really Simple News Syndication) format.RSS Format Follow NIH Funding Opportunities on TwitterTwitter

“Parent” Program Announcements When the NIH and other HHS Agencies moved from paper to electronic grant applications, they issued omnibus Parent announcements for use by applicants who wish to submit what were formerly termed “unsolicited” and/or “investigator-initiated” applications (because all applications must now be submitted in response to FOAs). Responding to such an omnibus or umbrella Parent FOA (or any other FOA) ensures that the correct application package is used by the applicant(s) and enables NIH to receive the application from Grants.gov. Grants.gov 16

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Parent Program Announcements NIH currently has 23 active Parent Program Announcements (PAs), each for a specific grant mechanism (or activity code). Five Categories of Parent PAs: Research (R) Announcements (R01; R03; R13/U13; R15; R21; R41/R42; R43/R44); Research Training (T) Announcements (T32; T35); Career Development (K) Announcements (K01; K02; K07; K08; K23; K24; K25; K99/R00); Fellowship (F) Announcements (F30; F31; F31-Diversity; F32; F33); Administrative Supplements Announcement (for all activity codes). 18

Parent Program Announcements (continued) Three important Parent PAs are: PA , NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01), on which 20 NIH Institutes/Centers (ICs) participate; PA , NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21), on which 18 ICs participate; and PA , NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03), on which 11 ICs participate. 19

Other FOAs for R01, R21, and R03 grant applications In addition to the Parent R01 PA, there are 284 active R01 FOAs for specific topics*. In addition to the Parent R21 PA, there are 203 active R21 FOAs for specific topics*. In addition to the Parent R03 PA, there are 86 active R03 FOAs for specific topics*. *number determined on May 3,

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Information in an FOA The What and The Why Science Infrastructure Resource Public Health The Which and The Who Inside the NIH –Institutes/Centers/Agencies –Program/Review/Grants Mgmt. Staff Outside the NIH –Eligible Institutions –Eligible Persons (Applicants) 23

Information in an FOA (continued) The How… Much (Time and Money) Proposed and Submitted Reviewed Awarded Administered The When Due Dates Review and Award Dates Allowable Project/Budget Period 24

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 Info. Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information 25

PA PAR KEY DATES

Example of a PAR with a Companion FOA

29 Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF 424 (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)… SF 424 (R&R) Application GuideNIH Guide for Grants and Contracts A compatible version of Adobe Reader is required for download. For assistance downloading this or any Grants.gov application package, please contact Grants.gov Customer Support at Apply for Grant Electronically

Description of Opportunity to Advance Science and Public Health

AWARD INFORMATION FOR A SIMPLE PAR (R03)

33 Section III. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants Eligible Organizations Foreign Institutions Required Registrations Eligible Individuals Additional Information Number of Applications

Section IV. Application and Submission Information 1. Requesting an Application Package 2. Content and Form of Application Submission Required and Optional Components Page Limitations PHS 398 Research Plan Component –Resource Sharing Plan –Appendix Foreign Institutions 3. Submission Dates and Times 4. Intergovernmental Review (E.O ) 5. Funding Restrictions 6. Other Submission Requirements and Information –Requests of $500,000 or more for direct costs in any year –Post Submission Materials 34

Section V. Application Review Information 1. Criteria Overall Impact Scored Review Criteria (Significance; Investigator[s]; Innovation; Approach; Environment) Additional Review Criteria (Human Subjects; Women, Minorities, Children; Vertebrate Animals; Biohazards; Resubmissions; Renewals; Revisions) Additional Review Considerations (Foreign Applications; Select Agent Research; Resource Sharing Plans; Budget and Period of Support) 2. Review and Selection Process 3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 35

Section VI. Award Administration Information 1. Award Notices 2. Administrative and National Policy Statements Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award 3. Reporting 36

37 Section VII. Agency Contacts We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Application Submission Contacts Grants.gov Customer Support GrantsInfo eRA Commons Help Desk Scientific/Research Contact(s) Program Officer(s) – name(s) and contact information (sometimes through hyperlinks to NIH web pages) Peer Review Contact(s) Scientific Review Officer or Referral Officer – name and contact info. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s) Grants Management Officer or Specialist – name and contact info.

Thank you for listening! Any questions? 38