UPDATED AHRQ POLICY ON MINORITY SUPPLEMENTAL AWARDS TO GRANTS

RELEASE DATE:  September 11, 2003

NOTICE:   NOT-HS-04-025

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
 (http://www.ahrq.gov)

BACKGROUND 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is updating its policy 
on minority supplement awards.  A minority supplement is a type of program 
expansion supplement in which the program aims are to increase the number of 
minority health services researchers and to expand research on topics 
relevant to minority health.  AHRQ funded grantees can submit requests for 
minority supplement funds as described below.  This policy update complies 
with the fundamental principle underlying the distribution of all Federal 
research grant funding, which is to ensure that competition for grant funds 
is as open as possible.

POLICY

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has recently updated its 
guidance on two types of supplemental awards to research grants, program 
expansion supplements and administrative supplements. (See AHRQ new policy 
guidance at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HS-04-022.html).
Program expansion supplement funds are an add-on to the parent 
grant to cover costs that expand the level, type, or quality of effort.  A 
minority supplement is a type of program expansion supplement that aims to 
either increase the number of minority health services researchers or to 
expand research on topics relevant to minority health.

The Principal Investigator or AHRQ may initiate requests for minority 
supplements.  Funding requests for large research grant (e.g., R01, R18) 
supplements are limited by AHRQ to 20 percent of the approved Federal direct 
costs for the project period or $250,000, whichever is less.  Small research 
grant (R03) supplement requests are limited by AHRQ to 10 percent of the 
approved direct costs for the project.  For small grants, total cumulative 
funds awarded by AHRQ may not exceed $100,000.  All minority supplement 
requests will undergo an independent, objective review for merit.  Reviewed 
grants will then compete for available funds.  

The updated AHRQ policy on minority supplements will take effect with the 
publication of this notice.  Generally, the Agency provides funding each 
fiscal year to support supplemental awards.  The amount of the set-aside is 
dependent upon the availability of funds.  Minority supplements may be for 
one or more years as justified and appropriate.  All minority supplement 
awards will be made consistent with the Agency's mission and research 
priority areas.  Grantees should not request funds to support activities 
performed prior to the funding decision nor for activities to be performed 
beyond the approved project period end date.

The Agency will supplement the parent grant to achieve one of two goals: (1) 
to increase the number of minority health services researchers, and (2) to 
expand research on topics relevant to minority health. 

Goal 1- Increase the number of minority health services researchers

Health services research studies the quality and safety, effectiveness, and 
cost-effectiveness of health care, as well as access to health care for all 
Americans and improvements in health care systems.  Racial and ethnic 
minorities are not adequately represented throughout health services 
research.  Their inclusion in prominent and significant roles is critical to 
a better understanding of the nature and context of problems encountered in 
delivering and ensuring health care in minority populations, addressing 
health care disparities associated with race and ethnicity, and translating 
research into practice.  Minority researchers can contribute to the technical 
expertise in the conduct of research grants and add to the cultural 
competence, appropriateness, and credibility of such research.  Within this 
context, one of the goals of minority supplement funding is to provide 
support for the research and career development of minority professionals who 
are committed to a career of research excellence and who have the potential 
to develop into independent research scientists.  

Goal 2 - Increase emphasis on minority health issues

Principal investigators may request support to (1) augment work in progress 
to study aspects that directly affect or are relevant to minority 
populations; (2) increase substantially the competence and focus of health 
services research team in order to enhance the effect of their research on 
the health of minority populations; and, (3) disseminate and translate 
research findings to minority communities, including the publication of 
research in minority professional journals.

Goal 2 may be achieved without the recruitment or training set forth in Goal 
1.  However, the Agency encourages investigators to involve minority groups 
in the proposed design so as to increase the relevance, appropriateness, and 
translation of research to practice.

The Agency encourages grantees to study racial and ethnic disparities in 
priority populations.  Priority populations include low-income groups; inner-
city areas and rural groups (including frontier areas); children; women; 
minority groups; the elderly; and those with special health care needs; 
including individuals with disabilities and individuals who need chronic care 
or end-of-life health care. 

The Agency also seeks to develop and broaden the national infrastructure for 
conducting health services research on minority health issues in the 
following priority areas of focus:

o     Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP):  Supplemental requests are 
encouraged in the conduct of innovative and rigorous research and evaluation 
projects related to the translation of research findings into measurable 
improvements in quality, patient safety, healthcare outcomes and cost, use, 
and access.  This includes particular attention to research that can bridge 
the chasm between promising prototypes and generalizable knowledge that can 
be applied in multiple settings. 

o     Patient Safety: One of the important elements in the AHRQ mission is to 
support the development of multidisciplinary research teams in building the 
knowledge base on the scope and impact of medical errors - particularly for 
diverse care settings and priority populations, identify the root causes of 
threats to patient safety and effective system approaches to prevent the 
occurrence of errors, study the effectiveness of various interventions to 
capture information on medical errors; and disseminate and evaluate the 
outcomes of promising interventions in a variety of health care settings and 
across a variety of health care professionals.

o     Bioterrorism:  AHRQ is interested in research that investigates and 
evaluates promising practices and strategies being developed and implemented 
at the State, local, and health system level to promote health system 
readiness in response to bioterrorism.  Also of interest is the application 
of available methods and tools that can be of assistance in developing 
systems capacity and enhancing readiness in rural as well as urban areas.  
Applicants are encouraged to review, Building the Evidence to Promote 
Bioterrorism and Other Public Health Emergency Preparedness in Health Care 
Systems" at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-130.html.

o   Prevention: AHRQ is interested in research related to the Public Health 
Service's health promotion and disease prevention objectives as outlined in 
"Healthy People 2010". (http://www.health.gov/healthypeople).  Of particular 
interest would be those research projects investigating the appropriate use 
of clinical preventive services, such as screening tests, immunizations, and 
counseling, which are based on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force 
(USPSTF, see http://www.ahcpr.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm)

DEFINITION OF MINORITY INVESTIGATOR:

Minority investigators are investigators who belong to an ethnic or racial 
group that is under represented in health services research.  Such groups 
include African Americans, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Asian 
Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.  To participate, minority 
investigators must be citizens or resident aliens of the United States.

REVIEW PROCESS

Grantee institutions applying for minority supplement funds should submit the 
request using the face page, pages 4 and 5 (budget and budget justification) 
from the Application for Public Health Service Grant (PHS 398, revised May 
2001, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html).   The request 
should include appropriate specification of the period in which supplemental 
funds will be expended.  In addition, the application should discuss the 
following:

o    how the supplemental funds will be used to build upon the scope of the 
current project, including details of the expanded study methodology

o    revised project timeline if applicable (Note: if the timeline is 
revised, it may not exceed the approved project period end date) 

o    how the supplemental funds will enhance and expand study results and 
outcomes related to AHRQ's priority populations and minority health issues 

o    significance and importance of the supplemental funds to the project's 
research goals

o    how funds will be used to enhance the skills of minority investigators, 
including career development and research activities designed to contribute 
to a career in health services research 

o    relevance to AHRQ's research mission and goals

The narrative portion of the minority supplement request may not exceed 10 
pages in length.  The request must be signed by the principal investigator 
and the authorized institutional official.

The scientific and technical review for merit of minority supplement requests 
will consist of two types of processes, depending on the minority supplement 
budget request.  Requests for minority supplement funds that are less than 
$50,000 in direct costs will be evaluated internally by AHRQ staff along with 
the AHRQ Grants Management Officer.  Requests for minority supplement funds 
that are greater than $50,000 in direct costs will undergo external peer 
review.  The AHRQ Grants Management Officer will also evaluate the request.  

General Review Criteria

For all minority supplement requests, the review criteria are as follows:

o   appropriateness/fit of the supplement request to the original scope of 
the project;
o   consistency with the AHRQ mission and research priorities; 
o   alignment to minority supplement program goals;
o   significance and originality from a scientific or technical viewpoint; 
o   adequacy of the proposed methods; 
o   availability of data or adequacy of the plan to collect required data; 
o   adequacy and appropriateness of plans for organizing and carrying out the 
project; 
o   qualifications and experience of the investigators;
o   reasonableness of budget and the time frame relative to the proposed 
work; 
o   ability of the grantee to complete the additional work within the 
approved project period;
o   adequacy of the facilities and resources available; 
o   adequacy of mentorship and career development for minority investigators;
o   representation of women and AHRQ priority populations (as appropriate); 
and,
o   adequacy of the proposed means for protecting human subjects. 

The project officer for the parent grant will make a recommendation regarding 
funding based on the results of the review process.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION PROCEDURES:  

Please submit requests to:

Ms. Mable Lam
Grants Management Officer
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 
540 Gaither Road, Room 4216
Rockville, MD 20850 
Telephone: 301-427-1448
E-mail: mlam@ahrq.gov

For minority supplement requests, investigators should submit the original 
and five copies. 

WHERE TO SEND INQUIRIES:

AHRQ welcomes the opportunity to clarify issues or discuss questions from 
investigators about minority supplement awards.  It is strongly recommended 
that investigators consult with their AHRQ grant project officer prior to 
submission of any request.

General questions about the minority supplement program can be directed to:

Kaytura Felix Aaron, M.D
Senior Advisor, Minority Health
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 
540 Gaither Road, Room 2214
Rockville, MD 20850 
Telephone: (301) 427-1395
E-mail: kfaaron@ahrq.gov
 
General questions about AHRQ extramural grants policies and procedures can be 
directed to:

Debbie Rothstein, Ph.D.
Senior Advisor, Extramural Research
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road, Room 2030
Rockville, MD 20850 
Telephone: (301) 427-1525
Email: drothste@ahrq.gov

Please contact the AHRQ project officer on the parent grant to discuss 
specific questions related to parent grant.

Inquiries regarding fiscal and eligibility matters can be directed to: 

Ms. Joan Metcalfe 
Division of Grants Management
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 
540 Gaither Road, Room 4214 
Rockville, MD 20850 
Telephone: (301) 427-1450
E-mail: jmetcalf@ahrq.gov

AWARD CRITERIA 

Requests for grant supplements will compete for available funds with other 
similar requests for AHRQ support.  The following will be considered in 
making funding decisions: assessment of technical merit, focus of the 
proposed supplemental work relative to the goals of the minority supplement 
program, potential significance of the work, fit with AHRQ priorities and 
overall program balance, contribution to the field of health services 
research, and the availability of funds.

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