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Introduction |
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Number: PA 03-108
Release Date: 04-18-03
Expiration Date:04-18-06, unless reissued |
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Scope and Priorities |
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Purpose
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Small Grants Program provides research support of up to $50,000 per year (direct costs) for up to two years for new research projects in areas of high relevance to the mission of the NLM. Small grants are short-term awards designed to support basic and clinical research to answer specific, targeted research questions or to perform pilot or feasibility testing. Both new and more experienced investigators are encouraged to apply for grants under this announcement. The small grant award may be used to support individuals transitioning from postdoctoral status to their first independent research position. The award may also support investigators at institutions that do not have extensive research resources.
The long-term goal of this NLM program is the development of practical, useful knowledge and theory about medical informatics applications and strategies that can contribute to the health of the American people by predicting, preventing, or resolving health problems. It is expected that successful applicants will disseminate the findings of their research projects by publishing in (hardcopy or electronic) professional journals, developing a website, presenting at scientific meetings, and/or conducting training.
Research Objectives
This Small Grant (R03) Program provides support for feasibility and/or pilot testing projects, testing of new techniques, secondary analysis of existing data, or development of innovative or high-impact projects. High-impact research involves studies in which the technological, methodological, or theoretical approach to a problem lacks an historical precedent or sufficient preliminary data, but whose successful outcome would have a major effect on a scientific area. The R03 grant project may or may not lead to a subsequent successful investigator-initiated application. Preliminary data are not required.
Critical research areas include: representation of medical knowledge in computers; organization and retrieval issues for image databases; enhancement of human intellectual capacities through virtual reality, dynamic modeling, artificial intelligence, and machine learning; medical decision-making; linguistic analyses of medical languages and nomenclatures; investigations of topics relevant to health information or library science; and bioinformatics issues relevant to genomics or other large research data-sets.
Important informatics application areas include:
- Health Care Delivery and Clinical Medicine: e.g. patient safety; privacy, confidentiality,and information security; disaster management; disease management
- Public Health and Health Services: e.g. health promotion; outcome analysis
- Bioinformatics Research: e.g. genomics, proteomics; imaging; neuroinformatics
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Eligibility |
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Eligible Institutions
You may submit (an) application(s) if your institution has any of the following characteristics:
- For-profit or non-profit organizations.
- Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories.
- Health organizations and academic centers in the 23 eligible IDeA states and Puerto Rico ( http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/resinfra/ri_idap.asp ) and historically black universities and colleges are welcome.
- Units of State and local governments.
- Eligible agencies of the Federal government.
- Domestic or foreign.
Individuals Eligible to Become Principal Investigators
Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research is invited to work with an eligible institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH programs.
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Mechanism |
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The Small Grant Program uses the NIH R03 award mechanism. As an applicant, you will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project. Applicants may request up to $50,000 per year for one or two years in direct costs. Support is provided for Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs at the organization's negotiated rate. Subcontractual costs are treated as direct costs and must be within the total direct cost cap established for this program.
This grant program uses "just-in-time" concepts. It also uses the modular budgeting format (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm )
One revision is permitted. There will be no renewals. |
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Review Criteria |
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The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of biological
systems, to improve the control of disease, and to enhance health. In their
written critiques, reviewers will be asked to comment on each of the following
criteria in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have
a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these criteria
will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score, weighting
them as appropriate for each application. Note that an application does not
need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific
impact and thus deserve a high priority score. For example, an investigator
may propose to carry out important work that by its nature is not innovative
but is essential to move a field forward.
1. Significance. Does this study address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
2. Approach. Are the conceptual or clinical framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, well reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics?
3. Innovation. Is the project original and innovative? For example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area?
4. Investigators. Are the investigators appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers? Does the investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)?
5. Environment. Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?
Additional Review Criteria: In addition to the above criteria, the following items will be considered in the determination of scientific merit and the priority score.
Protection of Human Subjects from Research Risk: The involvement of human subjects and protections from research risk relating to their participation in the proposed research will be assessed (see the Research Plan, Section E on Human Subjects in the PHS Form 398).
Inclusion of Women, Minorities and Children in Research: The adequacy of plans to include subjects from both genders, all racial and ethnic groups (and subgroups), and children as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research will be assessed. Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will also be evaluated (see the Research Plan, Section E on Human Subjects in the PHS Form 398).
Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals in Research: If vertebrate animals are to be used in the project, the five items described under Section F of the PHS Form 398 research grant application instructions will be assessed.
Data Sharing: The adequacy of the proposed plan to share data.
Budget: The reasonableness of the proposed budget and the requested period of support in relation to the proposed research.
Other Review Criteria: In addition to the general criteria above, your application will also be reviewed with respect to the following:
- Adequacy of documentation of the need for and potential significance of the project.
- Plans for dissemination of findings.
- Adequacy of plan for providing privacy and security of health information.
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- Where individually identifiable information is involved, most covered entities must comply with the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Final Privacy Rule, see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa .
- The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of individual health information must be protected. The HIPAA Final Security Rule is available at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/regulations/security/default.asp
- Any website developed with small grant funds must prominently display an adequate privacy policy.
Award Criteria
Applications submitted in response to the Small Grant Program will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
- Scientific merit of the proposed project as determined by peer review
- Availability of funds
- Relevance to program priorities
Special Requirements
A small grant application should include the following elements:
- Statement of the research problem and documentation of its significance
- Rationale for the project and methodology
- Description of the data gathering and analysis
- Description of how the findings will be interpreted and applied
- Implications for future research
- Plan for dissemination of the findings to the target/peer community
- Plans for providing privacy and security of health information
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Application and Process |
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Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research grant application instructions and forms (rev. 5/2001). The PHS 398 is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html For further assistance contact:
GrantsInfo@nih.gov
Telephone (301) 435-0714
Specific Instructions for Modular Grant Applications: The NLM Small Grant program is covered by the NIH policy requiring all applications requesting up to $250,000 per year in direct costs to be submitted in a modular grant format. The modular grant format simplifies the preparation of the budget in these applications by limiting the level of budgetary detail. Applicants request direct costs in $25,000 modules. Section C of the research grant application instructions for the PHS 398 (rev. 5/2001) at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html includes step-by-step guidance for preparing modular grants. Additional information on modular grants is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm
Biographical sketch: If you are in training or in fellowship status at the time of application you should list in your biographical sketch the position you will occupy at the time of award with the expected start date in that position. If the position is contingent on receipt of the award then you should describe it as "contingent on award."
Research plan: Do not exceed a total of ten pages for the following parts (a.-d.): Specific Aims, Background and Significance, Preliminary Studies/Progress Report, and Research Design and Methods. Tables and figures are included in the 10-page limitation. The 10-page limitation does not include parts e. through i. (Human Subjects Research, Vertebrate Animals, Literature Cited, Consortium/contractual Arrangements, Consultants). The appendix may include original, glossy photographs or color images of gels, micrographs, etc. provided that a photocopy (may be reduced in size) is also included within the page limits of the research plan. No publications or other printed material, with the exception of pre-printed questionnaires or surveys, may be included in the appendix.
Sending an Application to the NIH: Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the checklist, and five signed photocopies in one package to:
Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)
If you want your application to be assigned to NLM, put “NLM Small Grants Program” in box 2 on the Face Page of the application.
Application Processing: Applications must be received by or mailed on or before the receipt dates described at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ep/Deadlines.html The CSR will not accept any application in response to the Small Grant Program that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The CSR will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of a substantial revision of an application already reviewed, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the previous critique. |
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Review Considerations |
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Applications submitted for the Small Grant Program will be assigned for review to the National Library of Medicine, whose scientific review group (Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee), convened in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures ( http://www.csr.nih.gov/refrev.htm ), will evaluate applications for scientific and technical merit.
As part of the initial merit review, all applications will:
- Receive a written critique
- Undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed and assigned a priority score
- Receive a second level review by the National Library of Medicine's Board of Regents (current members)
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Contact Information |
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We encourage your inquiries concerning the Small Grant Program and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Inquiries may fall into three areas: scientific/research, peer review, and financial or grants management issues:
Direct your questions about scientific/research issues to:
Valerie Florance, PhD
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
Rockledge 1, Suite 301
6705 Rockledge Drive MSC 7968
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 594-4882
FAX: (301) 402-2952
Email: floranv@mail.nih.gov
Direct your questions about peer review issues to:
Hua-Chuan Sim, M.D.
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
Rockledge 1, Suite 301
6705 Rockledge Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 594-4253
FAX: (301) 402-2952
Email: simh@mail.nih.gov
Direct your questions about financial or grants management matters to:
Dwight Mowery
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
Rockledge 1, Suite 301
6705 Rockledge Drive MSC 7968
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 496-4221
FAX: (301) 402-0421
Email: moweryd@mail.nih.gov |
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