NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING SUPPORT OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS AS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS Release Date: August 2, 2000 PA NUMBER: PA-00-128 National Institute on Aging PURPOSE The purpose of the program announcement (PA) is to inform the scientific community that the National Institute on Aging (NIA) will now support scientific meetings as cooperative agreements in addition to the current practice of supporting them through the traditional grant mechanism. This document provides guidelines for when it is appropriate to request support of a meeting as a cooperative agreement and explains procedures for preparing and submitting such applications. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS led national activity for setting priority areas. This PA, National Institute On Aging Support Of Scientific Meetings As Cooperative Agreements, is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applications may be submitted by U.S. institutions, including scientific or professional societies eligible to receive grants from Public Health Service (PHS) agencies. Foreign institutions are not eligible. In the case of an international conference, the U.S. representative organization of an established international scientific or professional society is the eligible applicant. Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as Principal Investigators. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT This Program Announcement will use the NIH conference cooperative agreement award mechanism (U13). The rules and regulations that apply to U13s are the same as those that apply to R13 conference grants, as described in the document, "Guidelines for Support of Scientific Meetings by NIH", NIH Guide, October 30, 1998 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-151.html). The difference is that after award, NIA staff will be substantially involved in the planning and conduct of the scientific meeting, assisting the Principal Investigator according to specific Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions are given below and will be included in each Notice of Grant Award. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this PA may not exceed 5 years. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Outside investigators occasionally develop scientific meetings that involve NIA staff in the planning of the meeting (such as in the organizing, agenda- setting or speaker selection roles) or in an editorial role when manuscripts are prepared from the results of the meeting. In such circumstances the NIA staff member is providing substantial assistance to the principal investigator, beyond the traditional role of a program administrator. When the NIA staff role in a meeting is substantial, NIA will support such meetings as cooperative agreements. Other scientific meetings are planned and organized independently of NIA staff. The principal investigator may invite staff members as speakers or may contact program staff to determine current policies and procedures or seek advice on whether NIA is an appropriate funding source. These latter roles do not commit NIA staff members to planning the meeting or to responsibility in publishing the results of the meeting. NIA will support such meetings as scientific meeting grants. When an investigator intends to involve NIA staff in a substantial role, the investigator should follow the procedures described in this announcement. When the meeting is proceeding with only minor involvement of NIA staff, investigators should follow the guidelines for scientific meeting grants listed in http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-151.html. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Terms and Conditions of Cooperative Agreement Award The Principal Investigator will have the primary authority and responsibility to define objectives and approaches; plan, publicize, and conduct the scientific meeting; and publish the results of the meeting. The Principal Investigator will retain custody of, and have primary rights to, information developed under the cooperative agreement, subject to Government rights of access, consistent with current Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), PHS, and NIH policies. The NIA staff member(s) named in the Notice of Award will assist, but not direct, the Principal Investigator in the planning and conduct of the scientific meeting. This work may include assisting the Principal Investigator in finalizing the meeting format and agenda, selecting topics for discussion, publicizing the meeting, selecting speakers and other meeting participants, and publishing the meeting proceedings. Publication and copyright agreements and the requirements for financial status reports; retention of records; and terminal progress reports will be as stated in the NIH document, "Guidelines for Support of Scientific Meetings by NIH, "NIH Guide, October 30, 1998. An independent, third-party individual acceptable to both the Principal Investigator and NIA will be asked to serve as an arbitrator of any serious differences of opinion on scientific and programmatic issues that may arise during the planning and conduct of the scientific meeting. This special arbitration process will in no way affect the rights of the recipient to appeal an adverse action in accordance with PHS regulations of 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D, and DHHS regulations of 45 CFR Part 16. These special Terms and Conditions are in addition to, not in lieu of, otherwise applicable Office of Management and Budget administrative guidelines; DHHS grant administrative regulations at 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92, as appropriate; and other DHHS, PHS, and NIH grants administration policies. URLS IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. Unless otherwise specified in an NIH solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an Internet site. LETTER OF INTENT Prospective applicants for cooperative agreement meeting funds are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of intent that includes a descriptive title of the proposed meeting, the name, address, and telephone number of the Principal Investigator, the identities of other key personnel and participating institutions, including any NIA staff already identified, 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 staff to estimate the potential review workload and avoid conflict of interest in the review. The letter of intent is to be sent to the program staff listed under INQUIRIES at least 60 days before the intended receipt date of the application. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) and will be accepted at the standard application deadlines as indicated in the application kit. Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone 301/435- 0714, email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov. Applicants planning to submit an investigator-initiated new (type 1), competing continuation (type 2), competing supplement, or any amended/revised version of the preceding grant application types requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year are advised that he or she must contact the Institute or Center (IC) program staff before submitting the application, i.e., as plans for the study are being developed. Furthermore, the applicant must obtain agreement from the IC staff that the IC will accept the application for consideration for award. Finally, the applicant must identify, in a cover letter sent with the application, the staff member and Institute or Center who agreed to accept assignment of the application. This policy requires an applicant to obtain agreement for acceptance of both any such application and any such subsequent amendment. Refer to the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 20, 1998 at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-030.html The NIH notice Guidelines for Support of Scientific Meetings by NIH (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-151.html.) should be consulted, because it provides important information and supplemental instructions for completing the application. In addition, this publication states NIH policy regarding the application, receipt, assignment, review, award, administration, and reporting requirements when funds are requested and awarded for the support of scientific meetings. Applicants should also review the NIH policy announcement concerning the inclusion of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in NIH sponsored and supported scientific meetings and conferences: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not95-123.html In the Research Plan section of the application describe the anticipated role(s) of NIA staff members in the proposed meeting. Following the Research Plan, the applicant should provide a statement acknowledging and agreeing to NIA staff post-award involvement in planning and conducting the scientific meeting, and should describe plans to accommodate this involvement. The title and number of this program announcement must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be marked. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the Checklist, and three 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 BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service) At the same time, two exact copies, including any appendices, should be sent to: Mary Nekola, Ph.D. Chief, Scientific Review Scientific Review Office National Institute on Aging 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Room 2C212 Bethesda, MD 20892-9205 REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines. Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate scientific review group convened 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. Review Criteria The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of biological systems, improve the control of disease, and enhance health. In the written comments reviewers will be asked to discuss the following aspects of the application in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score, weighting them as appropriate for each application. Note that the application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact and thus deserve a high priority score. (1) The importance of the proposed scientific meeting to investigators in the area and to the general biomedical community; (2) Timeliness and the need for the proposed scientific meeting; (3) Adequacy of the scope and content of the proposed scientific meeting; (4) Qualifications of the conference organizers and the proposed participants; (5) Adequacy of the applicant's efforts and plans to seek out and encourage the participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities; (6) Appropriateness of the proposed format for achieving the stated goals; (7) Adequacy of plans to disseminate the information generated by the scientific meeting; In addition to the above criteria, in accordance with NIH policy, all applications will also be reviewed with respect to the reasonableness of the proposed budget. AWARD CRITERIA Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: Quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review, availability of funds, and program priority. INQUIRIES Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome. For applications with primary emphasis on the biology of aging contact: Dr. Huber Warner Biology of Aging Program National Institute on Aging 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2C231, MSC 9205 Bethesda, MD 20892-9205 Telephone: (301) 496-6402 FAX: (301) 402-0010 Email: BAPquery@exmur.nia.nih.gov For applications with primary emphasis on behavioral or social research on aging contact: Ms. Georgeanne Patmios Behavioral and Social Research Program National Institute on Aging 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 5C533, MSC 9205 Bethesda, MD 20892-9205 Telephone: (301) 496-3138 FAX: (301) 402-0051 Email: BSRquery@exmur.nia.nih.gov For applications with primary emphasis on the neuroscience or neuropsychology of aging contact: Dr. Judy Finkelstein Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program National Institute on Aging 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 3C307, MSC 9205 Bethesda, MD 20892-9205 Telephone: (301) 496-9350 FAX: (301) 496-1494 Email: NNAquery@exmur.nia.nih.gov For applications with primary emphasis on geriatrics research contact: Ms. Wanda Solomon Geriatrics Program National Institute on Aging 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 3E327 MSC 9205 Bethesda, MD 20892-9205 Telephone: (301) 435-3046 FAX: (301) 402-1784 Email: GPquery@exmur.nia.nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Mr. Joe Ellis Grants and Contracts Management Office National Institute on Aging 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2N212, MSC 9205 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-1472 FAX: (301) 402-3672 Email: ellisJ@exmur.nia.nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.866. Awards are made under authorization of sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and administered under NIH grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use 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, and 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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