NIH Guide: CENTERS OF RESEARCH ON APPLIED GERONTOLOGY


CENTERS OF RESEARCH ON APPLIED GERONTOLOGY

NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 29, August 14, 1992



RFA AVAILABLE:  AG-93-02



P.T. 04



Keywords:

  Aging/Gerontology 

  Behavioral/Social Studies/Service 

  Sociology 



National Institute on Aging



Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  October  2, 1992

Application Receipt Date:  November 18, 1992



THE REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA) ANNOUNCED IN THIS NOTICE CONTAINS

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN APPLICATION.  POTENTIAL

APPLICANTS MAY OBTAIN THE RFA FROM THE CONTACT NAMED IN INQUIRIES,

BELOW.



PURPOSE



This announcement seeks to establish Centers of Research on Applied

Gerontology.  The Centers' purpose will be to facilitate the process of

translating basic behavioral and social research theories and findings

into practical outcomes that will benefit the lives of older people.

They will focus on strategies to improve quality of life, enhance

productivity, and minimize the need for care.



HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000



The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000,"

a PHS-led national activity for setting priorities.  This RFA, Centers

of Research on Applied Gerontology, addresses several priority areas

including chronic disabling conditions, physical activity and fitness,

violent and abusive behavior, and unintentional injuries as they relate

to older people.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy

People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or "Healthy

People 2000" (Summary Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

20402-9325 (telephone 202/783-3238).



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Domestic public and private, for-profit and non-profit institutions and

organizations are eligible to apply in response to this RFA, provided

that some member of the proposed research team at the institution has

recently received grant or contract funds or is currently active in

research through an external peer-reviewed process in the three years

preceding the date of application.  Applications from women and

minority investigators and institutions are encouraged.  Awards will

not be made to foreign institutions.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



The support mechanism for these Centers will be the specialized center

(P50) mechanism.  Such awards cover a spectrum of activities that

comprise a multidisciplinary attack on a particular problem area.  A

maximum of five years of support may be requested.  At that time funds

may be available for competitive renewal of the Centers.  All current

policies and requirements that govern the research grant programs of

the NIH will apply to grants awarded in connection with this RFA.



Special Terms of Awards applying to projects funded in response to this

RFA are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable OMB

administrative guidelines, HHS grants administrative regulations at 45

CFR Part 74, and other HHS, PHS, and NIH grants administration

policies.  Awardees will maintain custody of and primary rights to

their data developed under their awards, subject to Government rights

of access, consistent with current HHS, PHS, and NIH policies.



FUNDS AVAILABLE



An estimated $3,000,000 will be made available in Fiscal Year 1993 for

support of awards made under this RFA.  It is expected that up to six

awards will be made at a maximum of $400,000 direct costs per award for

the first year.  This level of support is dependent on the receipt of

a sufficient number of applications of high scientific merit.  Awards

pursuant to the RFA are contingent upon the availability of funds for

this purpose.  Commitment from the applicant will be considered in

making final awards.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



Researchers are encouraged to seek funding to apply the theories,

paradigms, and methodology of the behavioral and social sciences in

order to address practical problems of late middle aged and older

people at work, in the home, in transportation, in health care, or in

other areas of concern to the population.  The focus of this initiative

is on translating encouraging research results obtained in laboratory

and other scientific settings into practical benefits for older adults.

The organizing principle behind each Center should reflect this aim of

establishing a pattern of research translation from basic research to

practical outcome.



The individual projects that are part of the Center should have as the

goal a practical end-point---improvement in some indicator or

indicators of functioning in these different environments.

Improvements in aspects of behavioral indicators relevant to the

practical domain (e.g., laboratory measures of cognitive functioning,

health status, or subjective well-being) may be considered interim

goals of the research strategy.  However, the end-point is improvement

in functioning in the practical domain itself. Thus the goal will not

only be confirming a theory or discovering a new effect (though these

may be expected from well-designed studies addressing practical

problems).



One highly desirable feature of the Centers will be a focus on special

populations of older people.  Growth in size of minority older

populations has been, and will continue to be, substantial.  The oldest

old remain the population at greatest risk for dependency.  Older

adults who have been identified as retarded face particular problems in

later life.  Poor older adults in rural areas have severely limited

access to health care and general services.  These and other special

populations who have pressing needs warrant attention from researchers

in aging.



SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS



Annual Meeting



Investigators are encouraged to request funds to travel once each year

to meet with the other investigators who are funded through this RFA.

The meetings will be held at the NIH, Bethesda, MD.  The purpose of the

meetings is to have investigators working in the same general area

share information about research methods and findings.  Applicants

should include a statement in the application indicating a willingness

to participate in such meetings and to cooperate with other researchers

in the exchange of data, materials, and ideas.



STUDY POPULATIONS



SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN CLINICAL

RESEARCH STUDY POPULATIONS



For projects involving clinical research, the NIH requires applicants

to give special attention to the inclusion of women and minorities in

study populations. if women or minorities are not included in the study

populations for clinical studies, a specific justification for this

exclusion must be provided.  Applications without such documentation

will not be accepted for review.



LETTER OF INTENT



Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by October 2 1992, a letter

of intent that includes identification of other participating

investigators and institutions and a descriptive title.  The NIA

requests such letters only for the purpose of providing an indication

of the number and scope of applications to be received and, therefore,

usually does not acknowledge their receipt.  A letter of intent is not

binding, and it will not enter into the review of any application

subsequently submitted, nor is it a necessary requirement for

application.



The letter of intent is to be sent to Dr. Robin A. Barr at the address

under INQUIRIES.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91) is to be used

in applying for these grants.  This form is available in the applicant

institution's office of sponsored research or business office and from

the Office of Grants Inquiries, National Institutes of Health, Room

449, Westwood Building, Bethesda, MD  20892-9912, telephone (301)

496-7441.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



Upon receipt, the Division of Research Grants will review applications

for completeness and NIA staff will review applications for

responsiveness.  Applications that are incomplete, nonresponsive to

this RFA, or exceed the annual direct cost limit of $400,000 (including

total costs for sub-contracts) will be returned to the applicant

without further consideration.  The NIA will withdraw from further

competition those applications judged by triage to be noncompetitive

for award and notify the applicant and institutional official.

Applications judged to be competitive will undergo further scientific

merit review by an initial review group within the NIA.  This review

may involve an applicant interview or site visit.  The second level of

review will be provided by the National Advisory Council on Aging.



The most important criterion for scientific merit review will be the

proposed Center's demonstrated potential to act as a conduit between

basic behavioral and social research and applied outcomes.  Both the

evidence of past involvement in related research and the specific plans

for seeking applied outcomes described in the application will be

considered part of that potential.  A related and important criterion

concerns the proposed Center's ability to address the needs of special

populations of older people who are identified as having particularly

pressing concerns.



INQUIRIES



Inquiries concerning this RFA are encouraged in order to clarify issues

or questions.  The RFA may be obtained from the program contact listed

below who will also answer questions on programmatic issues related to

the RFA:



Dr. Robin A. Barr

Behavioral and Social Research

National Institute on Aging

Gateway Building, Room 2C234

7201 Wisconsin Avenue

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-3136

FAX:  (301) 402-0051

E-mail:  Barr@NIHNIAGW.BITNET



Questions on fiscal matters should be directed to:



Ms. Linda Whipp

Grants and Contracts Management

National Institute on Aging

Gateway Building, Room 2N212

7201 Wisconsin Avenue

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-1472



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance, No. 93.866.  Awards are made under the authority of the

Public Health Service Act, Section 301 (42 USC 241) and administered

under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations, most specifically at

42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  This program is not subject to the

intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or

Health Systems Agency review.



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