Subject: RFAHS-90-01.081790
From: Dot Baker <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 90 08:14 EST

Hello,
      This is the third of four items from the 8/l7/90 NIH Guide to
      be posted to the NIH Listserver.  Please post this one as:
         RFAHS-90-01.081790
                 Thanks.   Dottie
      ----------------------- Text of forwarded message -----------------------
 
NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD-INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS
 
POLICY AND GUIDELINES
 
RFA:  HS-90-01
 
P.T. 44; K.W. 0720005, 0730050
 
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
 
Application Receipt Date:  October 15, 1990
 
AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE
 
Under authority of Section 487 of the Public Health Service
(PHS) Act as amended (42USC 288), the Agency for Health Care
Policy and Research (AHCPR) awards National Research Service
Award (NRSA) institutional grants (T32) to eligible
institutions to develop or enhance research training
opportunities for qualified individuals of the institution's
selection who seek to prepare for careers in health services
research.
 
The purpose of these awards is to assist domestic
institutions in supporting predoctoral and postdoctoral
academic training.  The awards allow trainees to gain
experience in applying research methods to the systematic
analyses and evaluation of health services.  Individuals are
selected by institutions on the basis of a demonstrated
interest and relevant background in health services
research.  Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part
66, is applicable to this program as is the following
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number:  13.226.
 
LEVELS OF TRAINING
 
Applicants may apply for support for predoctoral students,
postdoctoral students or a combination.  Applicants should
include a rationale for their choice of supporting type(s)
of students.
 
Research training should provide the conceptual and
methodological foundation for investigating some or all of
the following health care areas:
 
o Primary care issues, including the development of
techniques to measure the effectiveness of managing health
care conditions.
 
o The appropriateness and effectiveness of alternative
treatments in terms of patient outcomes and use of services.
 
o Factors affecting the dissemination and assimilation of
information on health care technologies and other aspects of
clinical practice.
 
o Medical malpractice and liability.
 
o Delivery of health services in rural areas.
 
o Availability, accessibility, and quality of care for
low-income groups, minorities, and the elderly.
 
o Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis, including
the allocation of health care resources and relationship to
health status.
 
o Alternative delivery systems, providers, and practice
patterns in primary care.
 
o Organizational structure, resource use, and costs of care
for persons with HIV-related illnesses.
 
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
 
Domestic nonprofit private or public institutions may apply
for grants to support research training programs.  The
applicant institution must have the staff and facilities
required for the proposed program.  The training program
director at the institution will be responsible for the
selection and appointment of trainees and for the overall
direction of the program.
 
GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
NRSAs may not be used to support studies leading to the M.D.
or other similar professional degrees, or to support
residencies, i.e., postgraduate training for dentists
providing health care directly to patients where the
majority of their time is spent in non-research clinical
training.  However, if a specified period of full-time
research training is creditable toward specialty board
certification, the NRSA may support such research training
if the trainee has shown a clear interest in a research
career.
 
Trainees are required to pursue their research training on a
full-time basis.  Because of the close relationship between
teaching and research in the academic environment, trainees
are permitted, with the approval of AHCPR, to teach if it
can contribute meaningfully to their academic training.
Teaching by trainees may not take up more than ten percent
of work time during the year or exceed four hours each week.
 
TRAINEE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
 
The individual to be trained must be a citizen or a
non-citizen national of the United States or have been
lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., in
possession of the Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551 or
I-151) at the time of appointment.  Individuals on temporary
or student visas are not eligible.
 
AHCPR NRSA awards emphasize support of multidisciplinary
training.  A postdoctoral student as of the beginning date
of the NRSA appointment, must have a Ph.D., M.D., or other
doctoral degree, or an equivalent degree from any accredited
domestic or foreign institution.  It is acceptable if an
authorized official of the degree-granting institution
certifies that all requirements for the doctoral degree have
been met.
 
Predoctoral trainees must have received a baccalaureate
degree as of the beginning date of the NRSA appointment and
must be enrolled in a program leading to a Ph.D., Dr. P.H.,
or equivalent degree.  Individuals working toward a medical
degree, who wish to interrupt their studies for a year or
more to engage in full-time research training before
completing their medical degree are eligible for support.
NRSA Awards may not however, support study leading to the
M.D. degree; neither may they support residency training.
 
Certification by an authorized official of the
degree-granting institution that all degree requirements
have been met is acceptable.  Individuals with a research
doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) may be appointed to
the training grant.
 
RECRUITMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF MINORITY TRAINEES
 
The primary objective of this NRSA program is the
preparation of qualified individuals for careers in health
services research.  Within the framework of the program's
commitment to excellence and projected needs for
investigators in particular areas of health services
research, it is important that attention be given to
recruiting individuals from minority groups that now are
underrepresented nationally in health services research.
Information on plans for the recruitment of trainees should
include a description of efforts to recruit individuals from
underrepresented minority groups.  Renewal applications
should include cumulative information on the subsequent
career development of all trainees, including information
about their minority status.
 
PAYBACK PROVISIONS
 
Trainees must sign an agreement that they will fulfill the
NRSA payback requirements.  Recipients agree to engage in
health services research and/or teaching for a period equal
to the period of NRSA support in excess of 12 months.  Once
an individual has had 12 months of postbaccalaureate NRSA
support, all subsequent NRSA support is subject to payback.
 
Recipients must undertake the obligated service on a
continuous basis within 2 years after termination of NRSA
support.  Individuals who fail to fulfill their obligation
through service must pay back the total amount of NRSA funds
paid to the individual for the obligation period plus
interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the
Treasury.  Financial payback must be completed within three
years beginning on the date the United States becomes
entitled to recover such amount.  Under certain conditions,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services may extend the
period for starting service or for repayment, permit breaks
in the period of service or repayment, or otherwise waive or
suspend the payback obligation of an individual.
 
Officials of the applicant organization responsible for
recruitment of trainees should familiarize themselves with
the terms of the service requirements and explain them
carefully to prospective training candidates before an
appointment at the institution is offered.
 
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
 
An applicant may request as many postdoctoral or predoctoral
trainee positions as the proposed program can accommodate.
However, training programs with fewer than five positions
for postdoctoral trainees over the five-year period will not
be funded.  The program should be structured in such a way
that acceptance of new postdoctoral trainees be limited to
the first three years of the five-year award, i.e., as a
minimum, two trainees the first year, another two the second
year, and one the third year.  A similar pattern is to be
proposed by applicants requesting more than five positions.
Ultimately, the number of positions awarded will be decided
by the review process, program needs, and availability of
funds.
 
The AHCPR will not fund more than one training grant from
the same institution.
 
STIPENDS AND OTHER TRAINING COSTS
 
For predoctoral individuals at all levels of experience, the
stipend level is $8,500 per annum effective October 1, 1988.
 
For postdoctorals, the stipend for the first year of support
is determined by the number of years of relevant
postdoctoral experience at the time of appointment.
Relevant experience may include research experience
(including industrial), teaching, internship, residency,
clinical practice, or other time spent in full-time studies
in a health-related field beyond that of the qualifying
doctoral degree.  The stipend for each additional year of
NRSA support is the next level on the stipend scale.
Postdoctoral stipends, effective October 1, 1988, are as
follows:
 
Years of Relevant Experiences     Stipend
 
0                                 $17,000
1                                  18,000
2                                  25,000
3                                  26,250
4                                  27,500
5                                  28,750
6                                  30,000
7 or more                          31,500
 
NRSA stipends may be supplemented by an institution from
non-Federal funds.  Federal funds may be used for stipend
supplementation only if specifically authorized under the
terms of the program from which the supplemental funds are
derived.  An individual may make use of Federal educational
loan funds or V.A. benefits when permitted by those
programs.  Under no circumstances may the condition of
stipend supplementation detract from or prolong the
training.
 
The Tax Reform Act of 1986, Public Law 99-514, impacts on
the tax liability of all individuals supported under the
NRSA program.  Degree candidates who, prior to the enactment
of Public Law 99-514, were able to exclude all monies
received under an NRSA award from their reported income, may
now exclude only course tuition, fees, books, supplies, and
equipment required for attendance.  Non-degree candidates,
who formerly were able to exclude from stipends $300 a month
for a period not to exceed 3 years, will now be required to
report all stipends and any monies paid on their behalf for
course tuition and fees required for attendance.  These new
statutory requirements became effective January 1, 1987.
 
AHCPR is not in a position to advise students or
institutions about their tax liability.  In any event,
changes in the taxability of stipends in no way alter the
relationship between NRSA fellows, trainees, and
institutions.  NRSA stipends are not now, and never have
been, salaries.  Trainees supported under the NRSA are not
in any employer-employee relationship with AHCPR or the
institution in which they are pursuing research training.
 
Tuition and fees, including medical insurance, are allowable
trainee costs if such charges are required of all persons in
a similar training status at the institution, without regard
to their source of support.  Tuition at the postdoctoral
level, if justifiable, is limited to that required for
specific courses in support of the approved training
program.  Annual increments in tuition costs beyond the
first year of a multi-year award (generally five years) may
not exceed six percent.
 
Trainee travel, including attendance at scientific meetings,
that the institution determines to be necessary to the
individual's training, is an allowable trainee cost.
 
Institutional costs of $1,500 per year per predoctoral
trainee and $2,500 per year per postdoctoral trainee may be
requested to defray the cost of other training related
expenses, such as staff salaries, consultant costs,
equipment, research supplies, and staff travel.  Also, an
indirect cost allowance based on 8 percent of total
allowable direct costs, or actual indirect costs, whichever
is less, may be requested.  Applications from State and
local government agencies may request full indirect cost
reimbursement.
 
PERIOD OF SUPPORT
 
Institutional grants are made for competitive segments of
five years and are renewable.  No individual trainee may
receive more than five years of total NRSA support at the
predoctoral level and three years of aggregate NRSA support
at the postdoctoral level, including any combination of
support from institutional training grants and individual
fellowship awards, except under certain circumstances.  Any
exception to this policy requires a waiver from the AHCPR.
Students requiring additional time to complete training as a
participant in a Ph.D. program may anticipate favorable
consideration of a waiver request, contingent upon
certification of the recipient's good academic standing.
 
REVIEW PROCESS
 
Applications will be evaluated for merit by an AHCPR initial
review group (IRG).  Site visits may be involved.  The IRG
will consider the following criteria in its review:
 
o The goals of the proposed training program and the
probability of achieving them.
 
o The substantive content of the proposed program and its
relevance to current health care concerns, including courses
offered.
 
o The qualifications and responsibilities of the program
director.
 
o The qualifications of the program's faculty, including
ongoing health services research, and commitment to tracking
graduates following training.
 
o The program's ability to recruit qualified trainees.
 
o Commitment to adequate space, curriculum time, financial
support, and appropriate facilities.
 
o Cooperation of related agencies or organizations in
providing experience and research training sites for
trainees.
 
o The number and types of students for whom support is
requested.
 
o Proposed methods for monitoring and evaluating the
performance of trainees as well as the overall program.
 
o The reasonableness of the proposed budget in relation to
the proposed research training.
 
NRSA proposals requesting significant amounts of grant funds
for faculty or program support costs are unlikely to be
funded.  Although some additional faculty may be needed,
funds awarded through this program are intended to support
individual trainees, not to develop or expand institutional
programs in health services research.
 
AHCPR expects to award approximately $1,000,000 for new or
renewal NRSA grants.  The normal deadline of September 10,
1990 is waived for the solicitation.  Applications must be
received at the Division of Research Grants by October 1,
1990.  Late applications will be returned.
 
Applications will be reviewed by the AHCPR, IRG, and the
National Advisory Council for Health Care Policy and
Research and Evaluation.  In addition to the recommendations
made by the initial review group, the Council will consider
the applicant's plans for (and likely success in)
recruitment of individuals from underrepresented minority
groups into the training program.  Funding decisions will be
made based on the review groups' recommendations, the need
for research personnel in specified program areas, and the
availability of funds.
 
REVIEW SCHEDULE
 
NRSA training grant receipt date and review cycle for all
new and competitive renewal applications is indicated below.
It is designed to allow Program Directors time to recruit
candidates during the fall/winter of the academic year for
appointments to begin the following summer.
 
Application          Initial Review    Council          Earliest
Receipt Date         Meeting           Meeting          Award
 
October 15           February          May/June         July
1990                 1991              1991             1991
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
Effective July 1, 1990, all competing NRSA institutional
training grant applications must include a description of
formal or informal activities related to instruction about
the responsible conduct of research to be incorporated into
the proposed research training program.  This announcement
was published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts,
Vol. 18, No. 45, December 22, 1989.
 
The AHCPR expects to fund approximately five new and/or
renewal institutional training awards in response to this
RFA.
 
For additional information, including the grounds for
approving extensions of support and payback provisions,
please refer to the announcement in the NIH Guide for Grants
and Contracts, entitled, "National Research Service Awards -
Guidelines for Individual Awards - Institutional Grants,"
Special Edition, Volume 13 (1), dated January 6, 1984.
Additional information is available in the brochure,
entitled, "National Institutes of Health - National Research
Service Award, Institutional Grants (T32) - April 1989".
These are usually available at the applicant institution, or
may be obtained by contacting the following person:
 
Hoke S. Glover
Project Officer
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
Public Health Service
Parklawn Building, Room 18-12
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-3091
 
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
 
Application should be made on Grant Application Form 398
(Rev. 10/88).  This revision, which replaces Training Grant
Application Form PHS 6025-1 (Rev. 1/83), contains special
instructions for institutional NRSAs.  Application forms are
usually available at institutional offices of sponsored
research or their equivalent.  If not available locally,
send a request accompanied by a self-addressed mailing label
to Mr. Hoke S. Glover at the above address.
 
An original and four copies of the application are to be
mailed to the Division of Research Grants in accordance with
the instructions in the application kit.  Insert the title
and number of this RFA on line 2 of the application face
page.  The RFA label (found in the 10/88 revision of
application form PHS 398) must be affixed to the bottom of
the face page of the original copy of the application.
Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing
of your application such that it will not reach the review
committee in time for review.
 
Two information copies should be sent to:
 
Hoke S. Glover
Parklawn Building, Room 18-12
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-3091
 
Please notify the following person of your intentions to
submit an application and contact for additional
information:
 
Hoke S. Glover
Parklawn Building, Room 18-12
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-3091