[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 42, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 42CFR52h.10]

[Page 226]
 
                         TITLE 42--PUBLIC HEALTH
 
    CHAPTER I--PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 
                                SERVICES
 
PART 52h--SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEW OF RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT PROJECTS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 52h.10  Contract projects involving solicited contract proposals; matters to be reviewed.

    (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this section, no awarding official 
will issue a request for contract proposals with respect to a contract 
project involving solicited contract proposals unless the project 
concept has been reviewed by a peer review group in accordance with the 
provisions of this part and said group has made recommendations 
concerning the scientific merit of said concept. Where in the judgment 
of the awarding official the project approach has been sufficiently well 
defined by the time the review required by the preceding sentence is 
conducted, this review and the resulting recommendations shall include 
the project approach as well.
    (b) The awarding official may waive the requirements of paragraph 
(a) of this section for peer review before issuing a request for 
contract proposals if he determines that the accomplishments of 
essential program objectives would otherwise be placed in jeopardy and 
any further delay would clearly not be in the best interest of the 
Government. The awarding official shall specify in writing the grounds 
on which this determination is based. Under such circumstances, the 
awarding official will not award a contract based on the request for 
contract proposals unless the proposals received in response to the 
request have been reviewed by a peer review group and that group has 
made recommendations concerning the scientific merit of the project 
concept and of the approaches outlined in the proposals. The request for 
proposals will indicate that the project concept has not been reviewed 
by a peer review group and that no award will be made until such review 
is conducted and recommendations made based on such review.
    (c) The Director of the National Institutes of Health, the 
Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health 
Administration, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Service 
Administration, or their designees may identify individual contracts or 
classes of contracts which may not be awarded unless all pertinent 
contract proposals have been reviewed by a peer review group in 
accordance with the provisions of this part and that group has made 
recommendations concerning the scientific merit of the proposals.
    (d) Except to the extent otherwise provided for by law, such 
recommendations are advisory only and not binding on the awarding 
official.

(Sec. 215, Public Health Service Act, 58 Stat. 690, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 216); sec. 475, Public Health Service Act, 88 Stat. 360, 89 Stat. 
351, 92 Stat. 3436 (42 U.S.C. 2891-4); sec. 955(a), Pub. L. 97-35, 95 
Stat. 590 (42 U.S.C. 300z-7(e)))

[43 FR 7862, Feb. 24, 1978, as amended at 45 FR 35328, May 27, 1980; 49 
FR 38111, Sept. 27, 1984]