AHRQ POLICY ON SUPPLEMENTAL AWARDS TO GRANTS

RELEASE DATE:  July 7, 2003

NOTICE:   NOT-HS-04-022

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

BACKGROUND 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is updating the Agency 
policy on grant supplement awards.  Funded grantees can submit requests for 
two types of supplemental funds as described below.  This policy update 
complies with the fundamental principle underlying the distribution of all 
federal research 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, 
administrative supplements and program expansion supplements.  Administrative 
supplements are funds requested by the grantee, which will be used to cover 
costs of activities that fall within the original scope of the approved grant 
project.  Thus, this type of supplement is an add-on for costs that are of 
the same level, type, or quality of effort, which results from unexpected 
increases in current year costs.  An example of an administrative supplement 
is when the cost to purchase data or equipment, as planned and approved in 
the research protocol, is higher than originally expected.  Virtually all 
other requests for additional support are program expansion supplements, 
which are awards under an ongoing project to expand the project's scope.  
Program expansion supplements may be requested by the grantee or initiated by 
AHRQ.  Examples of program expansion supplements are funds requested by an 
investigator to include additional research subjects or to expand the number 
of study sites.  Requests for program expansion funds are subject to a 
requirement to undergo an independent, objective review for merit and to 
compete for available funds.  Administrative supplements need not be competed 
by the awarding office.  For both of these types of supplemental awards, 
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.

The updated AHRQ policy on grant 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.  Administrative supplements are 
generally for one budget period, although multi-year requests may be approved 
on an individual basis with sufficient justification.  Program expansion 
supplements may be for one or more years as justified and appropriate.  All 
supplemental awards will be made consistent with the Agency's mission and 
research priority areas.  Supplemental funds will not be awarded for 
activities performed prior to the funding decision nor for activities to be 
performed beyond the approved project period end date.

In addition to administrative and general program expansion supplements, AHRQ 
supports a program in which grantees can request funds for minority 
supplements to grants.  Minority supplements are a type of program expansion 
supplement, where the program goals are to expand research on topics relevant 
to minority health issues and to increase the number of minority health 
services researchers.  Further details about the provisions of the AHRQ 
minority supplement program will be published in a separate policy notice.  

REVIEW PROCESS

Requests for administrative supplements may be submitted at any time during 
the fiscal year. Grantee institutions should submit the request for 
administrative supplement funds 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), and a brief 
rationale explaining the need for additional funding.  The budget request 
should specify the period in which supplemental funds will be expended.  The 
request must be signed by the principal investigator and the authorized 
institutional official.  Administrative supplement requests will be evaluated 
by the AHRQ Grants Management Officer in conjunction with the Grant Project 
Officer.  

As noted in the section above, all requests for program expansion supplements 
will undergo a competitive review process in order to evaluate scientific and 
technical merit.  There are no specific receipt dates for program expansion 
supplement requests.  Although requests will be received on an ongoing basis, 
program expansion supplement funding decisions will be made in December, 
April, and July of each year.  

Grantee institutions applying for program expansion 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 

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

o   relevance to AHRQ's research mission and goals


The narrative may be up to 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 program expansion requests 
will consist of two types of processes, depending upon the dollar level of 
request.  Requests for program expansion supplement funds  that are less than 
$50,000 in direct costs will be evaluated by AHRQ staff along with the AHRQ 
Grants Management Officer.  Requests for program expansion supplement funds 
that are greater than $50,000 in direct costs will undergo objective review 
by external reviewers.  The AHRQ Grants Management Officer will also evaluate 
the request.  

General Review Criteria

For all program expansion 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   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   representation of women, minorities, and AHRQ priority populations (as 
appropriate); 

o   adequacy of the proposed means for protecting human subjects. 


Following the review process, a recommendation regarding funding will be 
made.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION PROCEDURES: 

Requests for administrative or program expansion funds should be submitted 
to:

Ms. Mable Lam
AHRQ Grants Management Officer
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 
540 Gaither Road, Room 4216
Rockville, MD 20850 

For administrative supplement requests, investigators should submit the 
original and one copy.  For program expansion requests, investigators should 
submit the original and five copies. 

INQUIRIES:

AHRQ welcomes the opportunity to clarify issues or discuss questions from 
investigators about administrative or program expansion supplement funds.  It 
is strongly recommended that investigators consult with their AHRQ grant 
project officer prior to submission of any application for supplemental 
funding.  

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

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

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, 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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