Administrative Supplement Applicant Help

Last updated April 9, 2009.

Questions and Answers Applicable to All Recovery Act Administrative Supplements

1. Does receipt of Recovery Act supplement funding affect the ability of a grant to receive continuation funding (Type 2 renewal), bridge funding, or other similar funding to continue ongoing activities and commitments?

No. Ideally, the Recovery Act supplement should end at the start of funding for the continuation (Type 2) award. If the Recovery Act supplement is not synchronized with the parent award, the application should include appropriate consideration of potential overlap with the remaining time and funding left on the Recovery Act supplement. For instance, if the Recovery Act T-3 is supporting a postdoctoral position and continued support for the same individual is part of the Type 2, the Type 2 budget should be adjusted to remove the overlap.

2. The announcement indicates that direct cost of the supplement request cannot exceed the direct cost of the parent award. Does this refer to each individual supplement or does it refer to the combined total of all supplements requested?

The total direct cost per year of all supplements awarded cannot be more than the direct cost per year of the parent award.

Funding Caps for NCRR Recovery Act-Supported Administrative Supplements

Advance Translational (T1 & T2) Research
$500,000 total costs per year; limited number of requests between $500,000 and $1,000,000 total costs per year

CTSA Consortium Strategic Goals
$300,000 total costs per supplement

Enhancing NCRR Pilot Project Mechanism
$200,000 total costs per year

Collaborative Community Engagement Research
$300,000 total costs per year

Research Workforce Development and Dissemination
$300,000 total costs per year

Science Education and Dissemination
$200,000 total costs per supplement

3. If two or more NCRR awardees, such as two Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) sites, or one CTSA and one Biomedical Technology Research Center, wish to collaborate on a single project, can each site receive up to the specified dollar cap?

No. Collaborations on a single application would be limited to the specified funding cap. In such cases, one awardee should take the lead for submission and the other would be included on the application as a subcontract.

4. What are “linked” applications and how would this change the answer to the previous question?

For the purposes of the Recovery Act Administrative Supplement awards, it is possible to submit applications that focus on different aspects of the same project.  In this case, the applications would be different so each institution could request up to the specified supplement cap. However, please note that the project must be within scope for each grant. A statement in the abstract of the application must clearly state that this application is in partnership with another application. Each application will be reviewed on its own merit.

5. Who can answer questions regarding the various Administrative Supplement announcements?

The Program Officer assigned to the award that you wish to supplement can answer questions about the Administrative Supplement announcements. For questions related to budget, please contact the NCRR Office of Grants Management.

6. Is the PI of the parent grant required to serve as the PI on the supplement request? Can his/her effort be concurrent with what is already budgeted?

The PI of the parent grant must be the PI on the supplement request. The PI must have measurable effort on the supplement request.

7. Where can applicants find the goals of the Recovery Act?

For explicit information about the goals of the Recovery Act, please refer to www.hhs.gov/recovery/overview and section 3 of Public Law 111-5, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (1MB PDF, requires free Acrobat Reader).

8. Some of the topic areas are very broad. Can the application address only parts of the topic area or must it address the whole topic?

The applicant can address either a part or all of the topic area.

9. Are appendices allowed as part of an application for the Administrative Supplements?

No appendices will be accepted.

Questions and Answers Applicable to the Topic Areas Noted

1. NCRR Administrative Supplements to Advance Translational (T1 & T2) Research

1a. Can applicants request an Administrative Supplement for a T1 project and at the same time serve as a subcontractor?

Yes, each awardee (grant) may submit up to two administrative supplement applications as a primary site. There is no limitation on the number of subcontracts an institution can accept. However, overlap in projects or budgets is not allowed.

1b. How should an applicant prepare the justification for requests between $500,000 and $1,000,000 total costs per year due?

The justification must be part of the application and fit within the page limits.

2. NCRR Administrative Supplements for the CTSA Consortium Strategic Goals

2a. Should the application address all four goals or should it address just one goal?

Addressing one strategic goal is sufficient.

2b. To be responsive in an Recovery Act administrative supplement to support Strategic Goal 1, must applications address all the topics specified in the announcement?

No. Applications should suggest novel ways in which they can support one or more Strategic Goal, but need not address all topics related to each goal.

2c. If the parent award did not specify an improvement in clinical research management that includes modeling and mentoring process improvement, improved study design and novel statistical approaches for other CTSA sites, are these activities within scope for the purposes of Recovery Act funding?

No. The work proposed by the supplement must be within scope of the reviewed, approved, and awarded specific aims of the parent grant.

2d. Can multiple CTSAs submit an application together and if so, can they submit for more than $300K?

Collaborations (i.e., supplement to the lead grant with subcontracts to the collaborating grants) are encouraged and this would therefore constitute a stronger application. However, the cap of $300K on the award still applies.

2e. Can a single CTSA be named on more than one multiple PI administrative supplement requests?

Yes, a single CTSA can be named on more than one collaborative application but cannot submit more than one supplement application.

2f. To support Strategic Goal Enhancing the Health of Our Communities and the Nation, it would appear that a measure of effectiveness might be required. Is this correct? If so, what measure of effectiveness would be considered responsive?

Yes. Responsive applications should include objectively verifiable methodology that demonstrates the effectiveness of the interventions. It is incumbent upon the applicant to propose appropriate metrics and processes for assessing the effectiveness of the intervention.

3. NCRR Administrative Supplements for Enhancing NCRR Pilot Project Mechanism

3a. Are General Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) eligible for the NCRR Administrative Supplements for Pilot Projects?

Yes, the GCRCs currently have Pilot Project programs which can be supplemented.

3b. To be responsive to the NCRR Administrative Supplements for Enhancing NCRR Pilot Project Mechanism, must the pilot program be new or address different areas of research?

No. To be eligible for this supplement applicants must have a pilot award program in place. Each project funded under this program should undergo the current pilot award process. Applicants cannot create a separate pilot award program from one currently in place. Pilot proposals previously reviewed but not funded may be selected. Funding may not be increased for previously funded projects.

4. NCRR Administrative Supplements for Collaborative Community Engagement Research

4a. Define what you mean by Community-Based Organization?

A community-based organization represents a community or significant segments of a community. It must have a defined structure and a process by which to approach, engage, and educate the community it serves.

4b. Can the collaboration take place between an Academic Health Centers (AHC) and a community partner who are geographically separated?

Yes, as long as the collaboration is within the original scope. Geographic proximity is not required.

4c. Does the collaboration need to be between NCRR programs or can they be between an NCRR program and a community-based partner?

Two or more NCRR awardee institutions are needed for the collaboration. Collaborating with a community-based partner, either through an existing partnership with an NCRR award or a new partnership is encouraged.

4d. Is funding provided to institutions that have been awarded the NCRR parent grant or subcontracts?

An administrative supplement is always awarded to the institution that holds the parent grant. The parent institution may use subcontracts to provide support for collaborative entities working on the project.

5. NCRR Administrative Supplements for Research Workforce Development and Dissemination

5a. Why are GCRCs not listed as eligible for the NCRR Administrative Supplements for the Research Workforce Development and Dissemination Administrative supplements?

Since training and outreach components go beyond the scope of the GCRC program, GCRCs are not eligible for these administrative supplements.

5b. Can an institution that has been awarded a previous NCRR administrative supplement addressing workforce training apply for Recovery Act funding in the “Research Workforce Development and Dissemination Administrative supplements” category?

Yes, as long as the second request is for a new activity that does not overlap with what was previously funded.

5c. Can applicants apply to increase the number of slots in the KL2 or TL1 components of their CTSA programs for the purposes of workforce development?

No additional training slots can be added.

5d. Can applicants use NCRR Administrative Supplements for Research Workforce Development and Dissemination funds to support mentoring at their CTSA sites?

Yes, as long as mentoring is within scope and Recovery Act objectives (i.e., job creation) are met.

5e. Will Recovery Act supplements support trainees from lesser known fields of science to clinical research i.e., an imaging physicist?

An increase in the number of training slots is not allowed. Exposing trainees to non-traditional clinical research fields is allowed through in-scope training programs.

5f. Can applicants use the NCRR Administrative Supplements for Research Workforce Development and Dissemination funds to support an existing R13/U13 training meeting conference grant?

No, Recovery Act funds may not be used to supplement an existing conference grant award.

6. NCRR Administrative Supplements for Science Education and Dissemination

6a. Would a proposal for a project to fund an undergraduate summer training program as well as a program for K-12 science teachers be responsive?

Such a proposal would be responsive if an undergraduate summer training program and/or a K-12 science teacher program were part of the specific aims of the parent grant.

Please also see Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators: NOT-OD-09-060.
 

Contact Information

Inquiries and discussion of plans for responding to this solicitation are strongly encouraged.

For scientific or technical questions relating to research that would be supported by this solicitation, contact the program officer assigned to the parent grant. For administrative questions related to this solicitation, contact the grants management specialist noted on the notice of award for the parent grant.