Volume 13, number 5: November 1, 2006
FEDERAL NEWS
Change in Standing Receipt Dates for NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have announced a change in standard receipt dates for grant applications. The new receipt dates will be effective as of January 1, 2007, and will apply to both paper and electronic applications.
This move spreads out application dates in an effort to avoid bottlenecks, both electronic and personnel, on widely used application dates.
Person Months Conversion Tools for NIH Proposals
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now expects applicants to indicate personnel effort in person months rather than percent effort. These conversions are necessary in both detailed budget NIH forms and in budget justifications. The following tools may be helpful in making these conversions.
NIH has developed an interactive conversion table that handles 12-month, 9-month, and summer appointments — just enter the percent effort and see the conversions for all types of appointments.
An alternate website provides standard percentages (5%-100%) of effort already converted to person months (0.6-12) for 12 month employees in a quick reference table.
- Hamilton Brown, Director, Pre Award Services, Office of Sponsored Research
2007 NIH Director's Pioneer Award
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced this year’s competition for the Director’s Pioneer Award. The program information and forms are available now, and the NIH will accept applications from December 1, 2006 through January 16, 2007.
Registering Research Fellows in the eRA Commons
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) have issued guidelines to organizations on registering in the eRA Commons any research fellows who are submitting applications to NIH and AHRQ. The guidelines clarify when research fellows should register, what status they should take, and how to determine and indicate their organizational affiliations.
NIH Electronic Applications Submission Training Event
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is offering a training event to help applicants get ready to submit grant applications to NIH electronically through Grants.gov.
In addition to the in-person training, NIH offers an online training video, “Interacting Electronically with NIH” (RealPlayer required).
CDC Moves to Grants.gov for Announcements and Applications
As of October 1, 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ceased publishing funding opportunities in the Federal Register. All CDC funding information and applications will now be available through Grants.gov. CDC will also continue to publish funding announcements on the agency’s website and through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guide.
NIH Now Accepting Loan Repayment Applications
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is accepting applications for its five Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) for Fiscal Year 2007. These include the Clinical Research LRP, Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, Contraception and Infertility Research LRP, Health Disparities LRP, and Pediatric Research LRP.
Through these programs, the NIH offers to repay up to $35,000 annually of the qualified educational debt of health professionals pursuing careers in biomedical and behavioral research. The programs also provide coverage for Federal and state tax liabilities. All applications for 2007 awards must be submitted online by 8:00 p.m. EST, December 1, 2006.
Request for Comments on the Clean Fuels Grant Program
The Clean Fuels Grant Program was created as a formula grant program for transportation authorities. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (2005), changes the program from a formula-based to a discretionary grant program. The Federal Transit Administration is now formulating the changes to the program, including application criteria and what information will be collected about the performance of hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles.
Send comments on or before December 15, 2006. For details and instructions on submitting comments, click here.