[Federal Register: February 7, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 26)]
[Notices]
[Page 6479-6483]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07fe03-77]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Program Announcement 03028]
Grants for Traumatic Injury Biomechanics Research; Notice of
Availability of Funds
Application Deadline: April 8, 2003.
A. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number
This program is authorized under section 301 (a) [42 U.S.C. 241(a)]
of the Public Health Service Act, and section 391 (a) [42 U.S.C. 280b
(a)] of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. The catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.136.
B. Purpose
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2003 funds for Grants for Traumatic
Injury Biomechanics Research. This program addresses the ``Healthy
People 2010'' focus areas of Injury and Violence Prevention.
The purposes of the program are to:
1. Solicit research applications that address the priorities
reflected under the heading, ``Programmatic Requirements.''
2. Build the scientific base for the prevention and control of
injuries, disabilities, and deaths.
3. Encourage professionals from a wide spectrum of disciplines of
engineering, epidemiology, medicine, biostatistics, public health, law
and criminal justice, behavioral, and social sciences to perform
research in order to prevent and control injuries more effectively.
4. Encourage investigators to propose research that involves
intervention development and testing as well as research on methods; to
encourage individuals, organizations, or communities to adopt and
maintain effective intervention strategies.
Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the
following performance goal for the National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control (NCIPC): Develop new or improved approaches for
preventing and controlling death and disability due to injuries.
C. Eligible Applicants
Applications may be submitted by public and private nonprofit and
for profit organizations and by governments and their agencies; that
is, universities, colleges, technical schools, research institutions,
hospitals, other public and private nonprofit and for profit
organizations, community-based organizations, faith-based
organizations, State and local governments or their bona fide agents,
including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic
of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, federally
recognized Indian tribal governments, Indian tribes, or Indian tribal
organizations, and small, minority, and women-owned businesses.
Note: Title 2 of the United States Code section 1611 states that
an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal
Revenue Code that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to
receive Federal funds constituting an award, grant or loan.
Applications that are incomplete or non responsive to the following
requirements will be returned to the applicant without further
consideration:
1. A principal investigator, who has conducted research, published
the findings in peer-reviewed journals, and have specific authority and
responsibility to carry out the proposed project.
2. Demonstrated experience on the applicant's project team in
conducting, evaluating, and publishing injury control research in peer-
reviewed journals.
3. Effective and well-defined working relationships within the
performing organization and with outside entities which will ensure
implementation of the proposed activities.
4. The ability to carry out injury control research projects as
defined under Attachment 2 (1.a-c). The attachment is posted with this
program announcement on the CDC Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/ncipchm.htm
.
5. The overall match between the applicant's proposed theme and
research objectives and the program interests as described under the
heading, ``Program Requirements.''
D. Funds
Availability of Funds
Approximately $600,000 is available in FY 2003 to fund
approximately two-three awards. It is expected that the awards will
begin on or about September 1, 2003, and will be made for a 12-month
budget period within a project period of up to three years. Funding
estimates may change.
[[Page 6480]]
The maximum funding level for each project will not exceed $300,000
per year (including both direct and indirect costs) or $900,000 for a
three-year project period. Applications that exceed the funding caps
noted above will be excluded from the competition and returned to the
applicant. The availability of Federal funding may vary and is subject
to change.
Consideration will also be given to current grantees who submit a
competitive supplement requesting one year of funding to enhance or
expand existing projects, or to conduct one-year pilot studies. These
awards will not exceed $150,000, including both direct and indirect
costs. Supplemental awards will be made for the budget period to
coincide with the actual budget period of the grant and are based on
the availability of funds.
Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made
on the basis of the availability of funds and the following criteria:
1. The accomplishments reflected in the progress report of the
continuation application indicate that the applicant is meeting
previously stated objectives or milestones contained in the project's
annual work plan and satisfactory progress demonstrated through
presentations at work-in-progress monitoring workshops.
2. The objectives for the new budget period are realistic,
specific, and measurable.
3. The methods described will clearly lead to achievement of these
objectives.
4. The evaluation plan will allow management to monitor whether the
methods are effective.
5. The budget request is clearly explained, adequately justified,
reasonable and consistent with the intended use of grant funds.
Use of Funds
Grant funds will not be made available to support the provision of
direct care. Eligible applicants may enter into contracts, including
consortia agreements, as necessary to meet the requirements of the
program and strengthen the overall application.
Funding Priority
Interested persons are invited to comment on the proposed funding
priority (see the ``Program Requirements'' section of this
announcement). All comments received within 30 days after publication
in the Federal Register will be considered before the final funding
priority is established. If the funding priority changes because of
comments received, a revised announcement will be published in the
Federal Register, and revised applications will be accepted before the
final selections are made. Address comments to the grants management
Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information''
section of this announcement.
Recipient Financial Participation
Matching funds are not required for this program.
E. Program Requirements
NCIPC works to prevent non-occupational unintentional and violence-
related injuries, and to minimize the consequences of injuries when
they do occur. It's public health approach draws on biomechanics in
seven topic areas:
1. Preventing Injuries at Home and in the Community.
2. Preventing Injuries in Sports, Recreation, and Exercise.
3. Preventing Transportation Injuries.
4. Preventing Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, and Child
Maltreatment.
5. Preventing Suicidal Behavior.
6. Preventing Youth Violence.
7. Acute Care, Disability, and Rehabilitation.
In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program,
the recipient will be responsible for addressing priorities listed
below:
High Priority
Higher priority will be given to research proposals that:
1. Use biomechanics research and the knowledge of injury tolerance
and injury mechanisms to develop and/or evaluate interventions that
address the following specific injury prevention and control problems:
a. Falls that occur among older, community dwelling adults (e.g.
hip pads).
b. Injuries in mass trauma events.
c. Severe and disabling falls among children.
d. Sports, recreation, and exercise-related injuries (e.g.,
playground and other play environments, safety gear.)
e. Injuries associated with people initiating or increasing
physical activity (e.g., training programs or protective devices).
f. Injuries related to outdoor recreation (e.g., vehicle design).
g. Motorcycling, bicycling and pedestrian injuries (e.g., improved
helmets or environments).
h. Injuries to child occupants of motor vehicles (e.g., universal
fasteners and alternative restraint designs).
i. Injuries to older drivers.
j. Injuries associated with the effects of emerging vehicle
technologies.
2. Identify the biomechanics and specific injuries that would be
highly predictive of diagnoses of intimate partner violence and child
maltreatment, and improve case definitions.
Note: The scoring for applications addressing a high priority
item will be weighted an additional 25 points in a scoring system of
100-500 points.
Lower Priority
In addition, lower priority will be given to research proposals
that:
1. Advance the biomechanical understanding of traumatic injury
(e.g., injuries to the brain, spinal cord, thorax/abdomen, extremities
and joints) including: development of biofidelic models to elucidate
injury physiology as well as pharmacologic, surgical, rehabilitation,
and other interventions; improvement of injury assessment technology;
impact injury mechanisms research; and quantification of injury-related
biomechanical responses for critical areas of the human body (e.g.,
brain and vertebral injury with spinal cord involvement).
2. Define the human tolerance limits for injury, especially
determining the differences in human tolerance by age, fitness level,
and gender and the biomechanics and injury tolerances of tissue, bone,
and other human structures as a prerequisite for developing
interventions.
3. Identify the modifiable risk factors for and mechanisms of
nonfatal neck, back and soft tissue (``whiplash-like'') injuries.
F. Content
Letter of Intent (LOI)
A LOI is optional for this program. The program announcement title
and number must appear in the LOI. The narrative should be no more than
two single-spaced pages, printed on one side, with one-inch margins,
and unreduced 12-point font. The letter should identify the name of the
principal investigator, and briefly describe the scope and intent of
the proposed research work. The letter of intent does not influence
review or funding decisions, but the number of letters received will
enable CDC to plan the review more effectively and efficiently.
Applications
The Program Announcement title and number must appear in the
application. Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other
Requirements, and
[[Page 6481]]
Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the application content. Your
application will be evaluated on the criteria listed, so it is
important to follow them in laying out your program plan. The narrative
should be no more than 25 single-spaced pages, printed on one side,
with one-inch margins, and unreduced 12-point font.
Applications should follow the PHS-398 (Rev. 5/2001) application
and Errata sheet (See attachment 3 of this announcement as it is posted
on the CDC web site). The narrative should include the following
information:
1. The project's focus that justifies the research needs and
describes the scientific basis for the research, the expected outcome,
and the relevance of the findings to reduce injury morbidity,
mortality, disability, and economic losses. This focus should be based
on recommendations in ``Healthy People 2010'' and the ``CDC Injury
Research Agenda,'' and should seek creative approaches that will
contribute to a national program for injury control.
2. Specific, measurable, and time-framed objectives.
3. A detailed plan describing the methods by which the objectives
will be achieved, including their sequence. A comprehensive evaluation
plan is an essential component of the application.
4. A description of the principal investigator's role and
responsibilities.
5. A description of all the project staff regardless of their
funding source. It should include their title, qualifications,
experience, percentage of time each will devote to the project, as well
as the portion of their salary to be paid by the grant.
6. A description of those activities related to, but not supported
by the grant.
7. A description of the involvement of other entities that will
relate to the proposed project, if applicable. It should include
commitments of support and a clear statement of their roles.
8. A detailed first year's budget for the grant with future annual
projections, if relevant.
9. An explanation of how the research findings will contribute to
the national effort to reduce the morbidity, mortality and disability
caused by injuries within three to five years from project start-up.
An applicant organization has the option of having specific salary
and fringe benefit amounts for individuals omitted from the copies of
the application which are made available to outside reviewing groups.
To exercise this option: on the original and two copies of the
application, the applicant must use asterisks to indicate those
individuals for whom salaries and fringe benefits are not shown;
however, the subtotals must still be shown. In addition, the applicant
must submit an additional copy of page four of Form PHS-398, completed
in full, with the asterisks replaced by the salaries and fringe
benefits. This budget page will be reserved for internal staff use
only.
F. Submission and Deadline
Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission
On or before March 10, 2003. Submit the LOI to the Grants
Management Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional
Information'' section of this announcement.
Application Forms
Submit the signed original and two copies of PHS-398 (OMB Number
0925-0001). Forms are available at the following Internet address:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm.
If you do not have access to the Internet, or if you have
difficulty accessing the forms on-line, you may contact the CDC
Procurement and Grants Office Technical Information Management Section
(PGO-TIM) at: 770-488-2700. Application forms can be mailed to you.
Submission Date, Time, and Address
The application must be received by 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time,
April 8, 2003. Submit the application to: Technical Information
Management-PA03028, CDC Procurement and Grants Office, 2920
Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146.
Applications may not be submitted electronically.
Deadline
Letters of intent and applications shall be considered as meeting
the deadline if they are received before 4 p.m. Eastern Time on the
deadline date. Applicants sending applications by the United States
Postal Service or commercial delivery services must ensure that the
carrier will be able to guarantee delivery of the application by the
closing date and time. If an application is received after closing due
to (1) carrier error, when the carrier accepted the package with a
guarantee for delivery by the closing date and time, or (2) significant
weather delays or natural disasters, CDC will upon receipt of proper
documentation, consider the application as having been received by the
deadline.
Any application which does not meet the above criteria will not be
eligible for competition and will be discarded. The applicant will be
notified of their failure to meet the submission requirements.
CDC Acknowledgment of Application Receipt
A postcard will be mailed by PGO-TIM, notifying you that CDC has
received your application.
H. Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by CDC staff for completeness and
responsiveness as outlined under the ``Eligible Applicants'' Section
(Items 1-5). Incomplete applications and applications that are not
responsive will be returned to the applicant without further
consideration. It is especially important that the applicant's abstract
reflects the project's focus, because the abstract will be used to help
determine the responsiveness of the application.
Applications which are complete and responsive may be subjected to
a preliminary evaluation (streamline review) by a peer review
committee, the Injury Research Grant Review Committee (IRGRC), to
determine if the application is of sufficient technical and scientific
merit to warrant further review by the IRGRC. CDC will withdraw from
further consideration applications judged to be noncompetitive and
promptly notify the principal investigator/program director and the
official signing for the applicant organization. Those applications
judged to be competitive will be further evaluated by a dual review
process.
Competing supplemental grant awards may be made, when funds are
available, to support research work or activities not previously
approved by the IRGRC. Applications should be clearly labeled to denote
their status as requesting supplemental funding support. These
applications will be reviewed by the IRGRC and the secondary review
group.
All awards will be determined by the Director of the NCIPC based on
priority scores assigned to applications by the primary review
committee IRGRC, recommendations by the secondary review committee of
the Science and Program Review Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee
for Injury Prevention and Control(ACIPC), consultation with NCIPC
senior staff, and the availability of funds.
1. The primary review will be a peer review conducted by the IRGRC.
All applications will be reviewed for scientific merit using current
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and CDC criteria (a scoring system
of 100-500 points) to evaluate the methods and scientific quality of
the application. All categories are of equal importance, however, the
application does not need to be strong in all categories to be
[[Page 6482]]
judged likely to have a major scientific impact. Factors to be
considered will include:
a. Significance. Does this study address an important problem? If
the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge
be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts
or methods that drive this field?
b. Approach. Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and
analyses adequately developed, well-integrated, and appropriate to the
aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem
areas and consider alternative tactics? Does the project include plans
to measure progress toward achieving the stated objectives? Is there an
appropriate work plan included?
c. Innovation. Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches
or methods? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project
challenge or advance existing paradigms, or develop new methodologies
or technologies?
d. Investigator. Is the principal investigator appropriately
trained and well-suited to carry out this work? Is the proposed work
appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and
other significant investigator participants? Is there a prior history
of conducting injury-related research?
e. Environment. Does the scientific environment in which the work
will be done contribute to the probability of success? Does the
proposed research take advantage of unique features of the scientific
environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there
evidence of institutional support? Is there an appropriate degree of
commitment and cooperation of other interested parties as evidenced by
letters detailing the nature and extent of the involvement?
f. Ethical Issues. What provisions have been made for the
protection of human subjects and the safety of the research
environments? How does the applicant plan to handle issues of
confidentiality and compliance with mandated reporting requirements,
e.g., suspected child abuse? Does the application adequately address
the requirements of 45 CFR 46 for the protection of human subjects? (An
application can be disapproved if the research risks are sufficiently
serious and protection against risks is so inadequate as to make the
entire application unacceptable.) The degree to which the applicant has
met the CDC Policy requirements regarding the inclusion of women,
ethnic, and racial groups in the proposed research (See Attachment 1,
AR-2).
This includes:
(1) The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial
and ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
(2) The proposed justification when representation is limited or
absent.
(3) A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate
to measure differences when warranted.
(4) A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and
outreach for study participants include the process of establishing
partnerships with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits.
g. Study Samples. Are the samples sufficiently rigorously defined
to permit complete independent replication at another site? Have the
referral sources been described, including the definitions and
criteria? What plans have been made to include women and minorities and
their subgroups as appropriate for the scientific goals of the
research? How will the applicant deal with recruitment and retention of
subjects?
h. Dissemination. What plans have been articulated for
disseminating findings?
i. Measures of Effectiveness. The Peer Review Panel shall assure
that measures set forth in the application are in accordance with CDC's
performance plans. How adequately has the applicant addressed these
measures?
The IRGRC will also examine the appropriateness of the proposed
project budget and duration in relation to the proposed research and
the availability of data required for the project.
2. The secondary review will be conducted by the Science and
Program Review Subcommittee (SPRS) of the ACIPC. The ACIPC Federal
agency experts will be invited to attend the secondary review and will
receive modified briefing books (i.e., abstracts, strengths and
weaknesses from summary statements, and project officer's briefing
materials). ACIPC Federal agency experts will be encouraged to
participate in deliberations when applications address overlapping
areas of research interest, so that unwarranted duplication in
federally-funded research can be avoided and special subject area
expertise can be shared. The NCIPC Division Associate Directors for
Science (ADS) or their designees will attend the secondary review in a
similar capacity as the ACIPC Federal agency experts to assure that
research priorities of the announcement are understood and to provide
background regarding current research activities. Only SPRS members
will vote on funding recommendations, and their recommendations will be
carried to the entire ACIPC for voting by the ACIPC members in closed
session. If any further review is needed by the ACIPC, regarding the
recommendations of the SPRS, the factors considered will be the same as
those considered by the SPRS.
The committee's responsibility is to develop funding
recommendations for the NCIPC Director based on the results of the
primary review, the relevance and balance of proposed research relative
to the NCIPC programs and priorities, and to assure that unwarranted
duplication of federally-funded research does not occur. The secondary
review committee has the latitude to recommend to the NCIPC Director,
to reach over better ranked proposals in order to assure maximal impact
and balance of proposed research. The factors to be considered will
include:
a. The results of the primary review including the application's
priority score as the primary factor in the selection process.
b. The relevance and balance of proposed research relative to the
NCIPC programs and priorities.
c. The significance of the proposed activities in relation to the
priorities and objectives stated in ``Healthy People 2010,'' the
Institute of Medicine report, ``Reducing the Burden of Injury,'' and
the ``CDC Injury Research Agenda.''
d. Budgetary considerations.
I. Other Requirements
Technical Reporting Requirements
Provide CDC with an original plus two copies of:
1. Annual progress report. The progress report will include a data
requirement that demonstrates measures of effectiveness.
2. A financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of
the budget period.
3. Final financial report and performance report, no more than 90
days after the end of the project period.
4. At the completion of the project, the grant recipient will
submit a brief (2,500 to 4,000 words written in nonscientific
[laymen's] terms) summary highlighting the findings and their
implications for injury prevention programs, policies, environmental
changes, etc. The grant recipient will also include a description of
the dissemination plan for research findings. This plan will include
publications in peer-reviewed journals and ways in which research
findings will be made available to stakeholders
[[Page 6483]]
outside of academia, (e.g., state injury prevention program staff,
community groups, public health injury prevention practitioners, and
others). CDC will place the summary report and each grant recipient's
final report with the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) to
further the agency's efforts to make the information more available and
accessible to the public.
Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this
announcement.
Additional Requirements
The following additional requirements are applicable to this
program. For a complete description of each see Attachment 1 of this
announcement as it appears on the CDC Web site.
AR-1 Human Subjects Certification
AR-2 Requirements for inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic
Minorities in Research
AR-3 Animal Subjects Requirement
AR-9 Paperwork Reduction Requirements
AR-10 Smoke-Free Workplace Requirement
AR-11 Healthy People 2010
AR-12 Lobbying Restrictions
AR-13 Prohibition on Use of CDC funds for Certain Gun Control
Activities
AR-21 Small, Minority, and Women-owned Business
AR-22 Research Integrity
Executive Order 12372 does not apply to this program.
J. Where To Obtain Additional Information
This and other CDC announcements, the necessary applications, and
associated forms can be found on the CDC Web site, Internet address:
http://www.cdc.gov Click on ``Funding,'' then ``Grants and Cooperative
Agreements.''
For general questions about this announcement, contact: Technical
Information Management, CDC Procurement and Grants Office, 2920
Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: 770-488-2700.
For business management and budget assistance, contact: Steve
Lester, Grants Management Specialist, Procurement and Grants Office,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road,
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: (770) 488-1998, E-mail address:
svl3@cdc.gov.
For program technical assistance, contact: Tom Voglesonger, Program
Manager, Office of the Director, National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770
Buford Highway, NE, Mailstop K-02, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, Telephone:
(770) 488-4823, E-mail address: TVoglesonger@cdc.gov.
Dated: February 1, 2003.
Sandra R. Manning,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-3032 Filed 2-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P