Answers to Questions Cover the Following Topics:
Applicant institutions are limited to associate and/or baccalaureate degree-granting colleges and universities that 1) received less than $7.5 million total costs per year from NIH in research project grant (RPG) funds over the past 3 fiscal years, and 2) have at least 25 percent of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants.
An R1 institution may be eligible to apply if it is an associate degree-granting and/or baccalaureate degree-granting college/university that meets the following two requirements: Received less than $7.5 million total costs/year from NIH over the past 3 fiscal years and has at least 25 percent undergraduate students supported by Pell grants.
The applicant should use the most recent data available in IPEDS and check this website.
The applicant can retrieve this information from the NIH RePORTER website. See slides 12-14 of the DPC DaTA webinar [PDF 590KB] for detailed instructions about how to retrieve this information from the NIH RePORTER website.
For this FOA: An academic component of an institution (any school, college, center, or institute) that is not a Health Professional School or College is eligible to apply. Health Professional Schools and Colleges may include schools of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, public health, optometry, allied health, chiropractic, naturopathy and podiatry.
These U01 awards are cooperative agreements, which signifies that there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. “Substantial involvement” means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate or participate in project activities.
The instructions for indicating a subaward/ subcontract in the budget can be found in the SF-424 instruction set [PDF, 5.4KB]. Please note that a modular budget must be used for this application, so there is no separate budget page for the subaward(s)/subcontractor(s), however, a justification page should be attached. The instruction set for the PHS 398 Modular Budget Form can be found in section G.320, beginning on page 118. Note that the subaward(s)/subcontractor(s) indirect costs will need to be included when filling out the Modular Budget Form.
No. Clinical trials are not allowed.
No, evaluating health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes is not acceptable for this funding opportunity. Because the DPC DaTA initiative does not allow clinical trials, applicants must be clear that none of the proposed research activities fall under the NIH definition of a clinical trial.
It is strongly recommended that applicants avoid incorporating clinical research in their DPC DaTA research projects. Inclusion of clinical research could lead to an application being identified as containing a clinical trial, which will cause the application to be withdrawn
In the overall study design, applicants should be clear that their study falls within the goals and mission of the DPC DaTA funding opportunity, and that the outcomes being studied do not include health-related biomedical or behavioral outcome evaluations. Any measurements of student engagement/motivation should be described. The brief description of the overall study design should indicate that behavioral interventions of a clinical nature are not being used.
Please keep in mind that all DPC DaTA interventions are for the purposes of understanding effective approaches to mentoring, student engagement, research capacity building, faculty development and infrastructure development at institutions engaged in programs designed to enhance the diversity of the scientific workforce, not to conduct clinical trials or clinical research.
It is recommended that applicants avoid using terms like “treatment” because this term is frequently associated with clinical trials (which are not allowed). It is also recommended that applicants avoid referring to use of a “randomized controlled clinical trial,” and instead consider a term like, “randomized controlled methodology.” To further avoid the intervention being classified as a clinical trial, clarifying adjectives can be added, e.g., “educational intervention,” “mentoring intervention,” “training intervention.”
There are two required letters:
Optional: If the application includes partner institutions, collaboration letters from authorized officials at these institutions should be included stating their institutional commitment to the proposed project and the DPC DaTA program goals.
All Letters of Support should be combined into a single PDF file.
The application budgets are limited to $250,000 direct costs per year. There are no funds allowed for alterations and renovations, large equipment or student financial support. F&A can be requested at the negotiated institutional rate agreement.
No, applicants should not use the R&R Budget Form. This application requires a modular format. Applicants should request total direct costs in modules of $25,000, reflecting appropriate support for the project.
No, salary and/or fringe benefits should not be provided.
The maximum project period is three years.
Yes. For this program, reviewers will be assessing applications for their potential to shift current practices for enhancing diversity by providing an understanding of the effectiveness of a biomedical research training, mentoring or research capacity building intervention.
No. This is intended to fund research projects. An application could propose to do research on the specific design elements of training programs that enhance persistence in the biomedical research pathway of trainees from diverse backgrounds. If research is conducted on the basic elements of training programs, it should help inform what aspects are instrumental for building a diverse pool of future scientists.
Yes, multiple PDs/ PIs are encouraged, but not required. If there are multiple PDs/PIs, then an MPI plan must be included, or the application will be withdrawn.
No, there are no effort restrictions for PI(s) of this award.
A suggested DPC DaTA Research Team could include an expert on research training programs, on data analysis and on social science.
No. The PD(s)/PI(s) are expected to have a regular, full-time appointment at the applicant institution (i.e., not adjunct, part-time, retired, or emeritus).
If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, the individual must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Please note that it can take up to two weeks to obtain an eRA Commons account.
No, there are no limits on percent effort for these individuals.
No, a Ph.D. is not required. However, the PD/PI must have a regular, full-time appointment at the applicant institution.
The PD(s)/PI(s) are expected to attend the annual DPC conference. In addition, it is expected that they will attend other national meetings where they can share, discuss and disseminate their research findings. Travel costs associated with attendance may be requested.
Yes, evaluation is an important part of all DPC grants. It is expected that the application will propose an experimental intervention aligned with the goals of the DPC and that uses the DPC evaluation methods (Data Sharing Agreement, Hallmarks of Success, associated data elements/survey instruments). It is suggested that applications include a data analysis plan, including, for example, how data will be collected, handled, what storage methods will be used, and the data analysis methodology.
No, it is not required to have an external evaluator; however, it is required that evaluation of the intervention(s) is conducted and that all awardees abide by the Diversity Program Consortium Data Sharing Agreement.
Yes, the application should provide evidence that the PD(s)/ PI(S) plan to disseminate the results from their interventions broadly. They should include a summary of the expected outcome(s), including the impact that their results will have on the research and/or training fields involved in the project.
The receipt date is October 8, 2019.
No, only one application per institution is allowed.
Yes, applicants are encouraged to apply early. This will allow adequate time before the due date to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process.
No, there are no resubmissions.
No. Renewals will not be offered for these projects.
