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| ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS (APRC) |
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(Updated 8/1/03 - supercedes all previous versions)
- Guidelines and Information for Applicants -
PURPOSE
The Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces for fiscal year 2004 the availability of funds to supplement existing DCB-funded research projects to support and encourage scientific collaboration among DCB grantees, as well as with other members of the scientific community. This effort, known as the Activities to Promote Research Collaborations (APRC) program, can support collaborative activities that bring together ideas and approaches from disparate scientific disciplines, including those not currently supported by DCB. It is essential, however, that proposed APRC activities be within the overall scope of the parent award. The APRC program provides funding support for two specific types (described below) of collaborative activity: (1) Consortia, and (2) Exploratory Meetings/Workshops. Grantees with collaborative research needs not covered by this program are encouraged to call their DCB Program Director for assistance.
This document describes: (1) the nature of the administrative mechanisms available to promote research collaborations under this program, (2) the application procedures, (3) the evaluation criteria that will be used to determine the relative priority of the requests for supplemental funding, and (4) the post-award obligation for Grantees who are awarded APRC supplements.
BACKGROUND
The DCB supports research that enhances our understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of cancers. DCB supports and funds grants in basic cancer cell biology, tumor biology and metastasis, cancer immunology and hematology, cancer etiology (including chemical & physical carcinogenesis, and viral cancer carcinogenesis), mechanisms underlying DNA and chromosome aberrations, and structural biology and technology development.
Many of the most novel and exciting advances in cancer biology derive from the synthesis of previously disparate fields of research. For such advances to be made, it is necessary for researchers with varying interests (possibly in differing fields) to initiate collaborative research interactions. Through the APRC program, DCB can provide administrative supplements to DCB grantees and their collaborators.
Prior to submitting an application, investigators interested in developing novel research collaborations must first contact their DCB Program Director to discuss their ideas. General inquiries are also welcome. See the DCB Web Page for contact information.
ADMINISTRATIVE MECHANISMS FOR PROMOTING RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS
Two types of activity are eligible for support under the APRC program (a combination of the two types is not acceptable:
Consortia:
One approach to supporting research collaboration is the establishment
of new research consortia among investigators in complementary fields in developing
or rapidly moving areas of cancer research. Typically, APRC consortia are
composed of 2-5 investigators focused on achieving specific research objectives
by pooling their respective expertise and efforts. APRC consortium members
are expected to carry out joint research that would not be possible to conduct
expeditiously, if at all, in the absence of these collaborators and this additional
support.
The collaborative research project must be within the general scope of the PI’s DCB-funded grant and cannot be duplicative of any active or previously funded research topic for any of the consortium members.
The collaborative activity proposed must be new.
Preference will be given to applications where the proposed researchers have no history of prior collaboration (including publications) in the past 5 years. If collaboration has occurred within 5 years, these particular collaborators will be considered a collaborating unit and can only request $40,000 direct costs together. In this instance, another collaborator or collaborating unit is required for APRC eligibility.
Exploratory meetings/workshops:
Another approach to establishing collaborations is through exploratory meetings/workshops that bring together investigators from a broad range of fields to discuss and develop new insights, paradigms, reagents, or technologies that will move a field forward in a different direction, establish a new field, and/or address unique research opportunities or controversial topics. The initiation of new collaborations that had not been previously considered would be a desired goal of such activities. Typically, APRC exploratory meetings/workshops are composed of 5-20 participating investigators, though only 3 are required for this program.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Only researchers with active DCB-funded grants may submit and be the PI of an APRC application. The PI must have an active R01, R29, R37, P01, Phased Innovation Award (combined R21/R33), Phase II SBIR (R44), or Phase II STTR (R42) grant with at least one full year remaining at the time of anticipated funding (March 1, 2004 for applications submitted on November 3, 2003 or July 1, 2004 for applications submitted on March 1, 2004).
All members of the consortium must have at least one full year of active research funding support remaining at the time of APRC funding, but it may be from other peer-reviewed sources.
Investigators may come from the same or different departments within an institution, or from different institutions.
Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to participate in this opportunity for APRC supplemental support.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Budget/Administrative Issues
All funding for APRC exploratory meetings/workshops or APRC consortia
will be in the form of administrative supplements to existing DCB funded
research grants. The number of awards and level of support will depend on
the number and diversity of meritorious applications received. The following
limits apply:
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The total direct costs of an exploratory meeting/workshop are limited to a maximum of $25,000.
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Proposals for exploratory meetings/workshops will not be accepted from SBIR/STTR grantees.
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The maximum total direct cost for a collaborating unit is $40,000 per year.
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The maximum combined consortium total direct cost is $120,000 per year, regardless of the number of collaborators.
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Indirect costs (facilities and administrative) are permitted, if necessary, at the grantee institution’s current negotiated rate. These must be clearly detailed in the application.
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Generally, a single supplement is written to the parent grant. The institution can subcontract to the outside collaborators.
- Funding is limited to the life of the PI’s current grant. At least one full year must remain on the parent grant at the time of APRC funding; two full years for two-year requests. No-cost extensions on the parent grants to accommodate a lengthier APRC supplements request will not be permitted.
- Consortia requests should be for 1-2 years only. Requests for longer periods will not be considered.
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APRC budgets must be synchronized to the parent grant and prorated as necessary. For example, if the APRC supplement is approved for 2 years, the parent grant has a budget period starting April 1st, and the prescribed APRC funding start date is July 1st, then the budget must be illustrated as follows for a total of 24 months:
Current
fiscal year = 9 months (July 1 – March 30)
Next fiscal year = 12 months (April 1 – March 30)
Following fiscal year = 3 months (April 1 – June 30)
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Please call your Program Director for assistance, if needed.
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In all cases, a detailed explanation and justification must be included in the application with each year’s budget clearly defined.
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These supplements are not subject to the modular grants requirements.
- PI and collaborator salaries support are not permitted.
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At the conclusion of the funded activity, the PI must submit to the DCB Program Director a Final Progress Report that includes a description of the activities and outcomes and an assessment of the success in meeting the stated aims and objectives.
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All Principal Investigators funded in FY04 will be expected to attend a DCB-sponsored APRC Workshop in September 2005. Collaborators are encouraged to attend.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES
Appropriate PHS 398 form pages (specified below) must be used. See Office of Extramural Research web site for electronic PHS 398 forms. Applications should contain only specific information appropriate to either the Consortium or Exploratory Meeting/Research type of APRC (see below). All applications must contain:
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A project title different from that of the parent grant.
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A cover letter listing the eligible parent grant and the type of application (consortium or exploratory meeting/workshop), signed by the PI, collaborating investigators at the same institution as the PI, and the appropriate official from the grantee institution.
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A letter of intent to collaborate from each collaborating investigator located at an institution different from that of the PI, cosigned by the appropriate official from the institution.
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PHS Form Pages:Form Page 1 (Face Page)
Form Page 4 (Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period)
Form Page 5 (Budget for Entire Proposed Period of Support)
Biographical Sketch Format Page (for each collaborator) Other Support Format Page (documentation of active research grant funding (i.e., NIH, other federal, private sources, etc.) for all collaborating investigators)
Personnel Report Page (list all personnel involved in the collaborative project)
Continuation Page - Research Plan (not to exceed 5 typed pages)
Standard PHS criteria for font size will be strictly regarded.
PHS Form 398 pages must be kept in order.
Consortia:
The PI is responsible for providing the following:
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A 1-page abstract of the consortium’s proposed research including the specific aims, objectives, and projected outcomes.
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A description of how the research is programmatically relevant to the DCB.
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A summary of each collaborator’s specific contributions to the project.
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A research plan (specific aims, background and significance, preliminary studies, and experimental design) for the consortium (not to exceed 5 typed pages). All the information needed for the review should be contained within these pages. Appendices and supplemental material will not be accepted).
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Justified budgets for each consortium member and a summary budget for the entire consortium. Budgets should clearly specify F&A costs.
Note: All human and animal studies must receive the appropriate IRB or IACUC review and approval prior to funding authorization for the APRC supplement. Verification of this approval must be sent to the DCB program director. Since APRC-funded projects are supplemental to existing projects and within the scope of those studies, modifications to assurance approvals are usually all that are needed.
Meetings/workshops:
The PI is responsible for providing the following:
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A description of the proposed activity and what will be accomplished (i.e., bringing together potential collaborators working in disparate fields of science, attempt to resolve controversial issues, etc.).
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A description of the scientific areas to be addressed and the potential collaborations that might be formed.
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A description of how the scientific areas of the meeting/workshop are programmatically relevant to the DCB.
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A list of proposed participants (all known).
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A justified budget. Budgets should clearly specify F&A costs.
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Letters of support from at least two of the potential attendees of the meeting/workshop.
Note: DCB program staff will assist in the post award planning of the workshop/meeting as a part of their roles and responsibilities for programmatic oversight and management of the project.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Applications (1 original and 6 copies) should be sent to:
Special Assistant to the Director
ATTN: Activities to Promote Research Collaborations
Division of Cancer Biology
National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS
Executive Plaza North, Room 5048
6130 Executive Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20892-7150
APRC applications will be accepted twice in the Federal fiscal year 2004:
Applications received on or before November 3, 2003 will be reviewed in December 2003. APRC budget start dates should be calculated based on a funding start of March 1, 2004.
Applications received on or before March 1, 2004 will be reviewed in April 2004. APRC budget start dates should be calculated on a funding start date of July 1, 2004.
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS AND CRITERIA
DCB program staff will conduct the review. The review criteria are:
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The importance of the area of science and the specific questions to be asked.
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The degree to which the proposed activity adds value to the underlying funded research (parent grant) of the PI and the collaborating investigators; the relationship and relevance of the research to the parent grant.
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The novelty or uniqueness of the opportunity presented by the proposed activity.
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The novelty or uniqueness of the collaboration, and the extent to which disparate scientific disciplines are represented within the collaboration.
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The appropriateness of the scope of work proposed, given the time and budget requested.
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The potential benefit to cancer research.
INQUIRIES
Investigators funded by DCB who are interested in the activities described in this document must contact their DCB program director in advance of submitting the application.
Other interested investigators should direct their inquiries to:
John Sogn, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Division of Cancer Biology
National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS
Executive Plaza North, Room 5050
6130 Executive Boulevard, MSC 7380
Bethesda, MD 20892-7380
Telephone: (301) 496-8636
FAX: (301) 496-8656
E-mail: js150x@nih.gov
Grants management related questions or concerns should be directed to:
Bill Wells
Section Chief, Biology and Population Sciences Section
Grants Administration Branch
National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS
Executive Plaza South, Room 243
6120 Executive Boulevard, MSC 7150
Bethesda, MD 20892-7150
Telephone: (301) 496-8796
FAX: (301) 496-8601
E-mail: ww14j@nih.gov
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