Career Development (K) Awards

Career Development (K) Awards is sponsored by AHRQ - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Fosters the career development of promising new investigators in the field of health services research.

Expired PA-22-255: AHRQ Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01) This notice has expired. For NIH, in limited situations, applications may be accepted on a case-by-case basis for a short period after expiration to accommodate NIH late or continuous submission policies . Contact the eRA Service Desk for any submission issues.

Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Department of Health and Human Services Part 1. Overview Information Participating Organization(s) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ) NOTE: The policies, guidelines, terms, and conditions stated in this announcement may differ from those used by the NIH.

Where this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides specific written guidance that may differ from the general guidance provided in the grant application form, please follow the instructions given in this NOFO. Also note that AHRQ has different page limits than NIH for the application Research Strategy, which can be found within each individual NOFO.

of Participating Organizations Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ) Notice of Funding Opportunity Title AHRQ Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01) Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training March 31, 2025 - This funding opportunity was updated to align with agency priorities.

Carefully reread the full funding opportunity and make any needed adjustments to your application prior to submission. April 04, 2024 - Overview of Grant Application and Review Changes for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2025. See Notice NOT-OD-24-084 December 16, 2024 - Special Emphasis Notice: AHRQ Announces Interest in Research to Improve Treatment and Management of Menopause symptoms.

See Notice NOT-HS-25-009 . May 13, 2024 - Special Emphasis Notice: AHRQ Announces Interest in Health Services Research to Improve Care Delivery, Access, Quality, Equity, and Health Outcomes for Older Adults. See Notice NOT-HS-24-013 November 16, 2023 - Special Emphasis Notice: AHRQ Announces Interest in Health Services Research to Improve Healthcare for Persons Living with Disabilities.

See Notice NOT-HS-24-004 NOT-HS-22-002 - Special Emphasis Notice (SEN): AHRQ Announces Interest in Supporting Primary Care Research Career Development Awards January 11, 2023 - AHRQ Announces Interest in Research on Climate Change and Healthcare.

See Notice NOT-HS-23-006 NOT-OD-23-012 Reminder: FORMS-H Grant Application Forms and Instructions Must be Used for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2023 - New Grant Application Instructions Now Available for Surgeon Effort Level on AHRQ Individual Mentored K Awards .

NOT-OD-22-018 Reminder: FORMS-G Grant Application Forms & Instructions Must be Used for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2022 - New Grant Application Instructions Now Available Limitation on AHRQ FY2022 Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts NOT-OD-21-109 - Expanding Requirement for eRA Commons IDs to All Senior/Key Personnel Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page for Due Dates on or after May 25, 2021 of Updated AHRQ Policy for Late Application Submission for Active Peer Review or National Advisory Council Service Policy on the Inclusion of Priority Populations in Research Emphasis Notice (SEN): AHRQ Announces Interest in Health Services Research to NOT-OD-21-095 - Extending the Special Exception to the NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Post-Submission Material Policy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: January 2022 Council Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Data Management Plan Policy Guide Notice on Implementation of the Use of a Single Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Cooperative Research at 45 CFR 46.

114 (b) Announces Change in Grant Recipient Purchasing of Identifiable CMS Data, Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy NOT-OD-17-094 - Clarification and Update: Salary Supplementation and Compensation on Research Career Development NOT-OD-22-190 - Adjustments to NIH and AHRQ Grant Application Due Dates Between September 22 and Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number Companion Funding Opportunity Additional Information on Eligibility .

Assistance Listing Number(s) Funding Opportunity Purpose The primary purpose of the AHRQ Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Awards (K01) program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's health services research needs.

This AHRQ program provides support and protected time to individuals with a research doctoral degree for an intensive, supervised research career development experience in health services research. The K01 award can be used both by individuals who propose to newly embark in health services research training and those who had a hiatus in their research careers because of illness or family circumstances.

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) Letter of Intent Due Date(s) dates apply. All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant Applications are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date. AIDS Application Due Date(s) Generally, four months after receipt date.

Generally, four months after merit review. It is critical that applicants follow the Career Development (K) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced.

Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV . When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Part 1. Overview Information Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement I.

Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV.

Application and Submission Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII.

Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity The overall goal of the AHRQ Research Career Development program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's health services research needs. In addition to this opportunity, AHRQ supports other career development programs designed to foster the transition of new investigators to research independence.

More information about AHRQ career development programs may be found at the AHRQ Training and Education website and information about research training and career development may be found at the NIH Extramural Training The objective of the AHRQ Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) is to provide salary and research support for a sustained period of protected time (3-5 years) for intensive research career development, under the guidance of an experienced mentor.

The expectation is that, through this sustained period of research career development and training, candidates will launch independent research careers and become competitive for new research project grant (e.g., R01) funding. The award may be used by candidates with different levels of prior research training and at different stages in their career development.

For example, a candidate with limited experience in health services research may use an award to support a career development experience that includes a designated period of didactic training followed by a period of closely supervised research experience.

A candidate with previous health services research experience and training may not require extensive additional didactic preparation, and may use an award to support a career development experience that focuses on an intensive, supervised research experience.

Applications must be responsive to AHRQ’s mission, which is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable and affordable, and to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used. Within the mission, AHRQ’s specific priority areas of focus are detailed here: https://www. ahrq.

gov/funding/policies/NOFOguidance/index. html . As part of this mission, applications are submitted to AHRQ to support health services research which are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the The research sponsored and conducted by the Agency develops and presents scientific evidence regarding all aspects of health care in the United States.

It addresses issues of organization, delivery, financing, utilization, patient and provider behavior, outcomes, effectiveness and cost. It evaluates both clinical services and the system in which these services are provided.

These scientific results improve the evidence base to enable better decisions about health care, including such areas as disease prevention, appropriate use of medical technologies, improving diagnosis and treatment in cost-effective ways, long-term care, and reducing disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status.

AHRQ welcomes any area of health services research relevant to AHRQ's priority areas as a mentored K01 Candidates are strongly encouraged to focus on topical areas unique to AHRQ, demonstrating how expected results can be used or made available for use to enhance healthcare quality. Results should be directly relevant to customers, such as providers and practitioners, administrators, payers, consumers, policymakers, and insurers.

Candidates are encouraged to address health services research issues critical to AHRQ priority populations, as defined in Section Candidates must conduct mentored K01 research projects which focus on health care delivery in the United States. AHRQ will not accept international health care research projects. See Section VIII.

Other Information for award authorities and regulations. Section II. Award Information Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards The number of awards is contingent upon AHRQ appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious Future year amounts will depend on annual appropriations.

Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses, as described below. The total project period may not exceed 5 years. AHRQ will contribute up to $ 90,000 direct costs per year toward the salary of the career award recipient.

Further guidance on budgeting for career development salaries is provided in the SF424 (R&R) The total salary requested must be based on a full-time staff appointment.

The salary must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned.

The sponsoring institution may supplement the AHRQ salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution's salary For effort directly committed to the K award, the sponsoring institution may supplement the AHRQ salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the candidate's institutional base salary.

However, supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived. Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the career award.

Fringe benefits will be provided at the institution's federally negotiated fringe benefit rate or, if a federally negotiated fringe benefit rate does not exist, at the actual fringe benefit rate in effect at For effort not directly committed to with the K award, the candidate may derive additional compensation for effort on Federal or non-Federal sources as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) or in another role (e.g., co-Investigator), as long the specific aims of the other supporting grant(s) differ from those of the "K" award, and provided the total percent effort does not exceed 100%, and the total salary derived from all Federal sources does not exceed the maximum legislated salary rate in effect at the time.

Further guidance on budgeting for career development salaries is provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. See also NOT-OD-17-094 . K01 award recipients are encouraged to obtain funding from AHRQ or other Federal sources either as a named PD/PI on a competing research grant award or cooperative agreement or as sub-project director on a competing multi-project award.

At the time the research grant is awarded, the effort required on the K01 award may be reduced, with prior AHRQ approval, to no less than six person-months (50% full-time professional effort) at the grantee organization and replaced by effort from the research award so that the total level of research commitment remains at nine person-months (75% full-time professional effort) or more for the duration of the award.

A reduction in effort will result in recalculation of salary provided by the grant.

To be eligible for salary support from peer-reviewed research awards from any Federal agency: -The K01 award recipient must be a/the named PD/PI on a competing AHRQ or NIH research grant application (R01, R03, R15, R21, R34, or equivalent application from another Federal agency) or a sub-project director on a competing multi-component research or center grant or cooperative agreement application (P01, P50, U01, U18, etc. or an equivalent application from another Federal agency).

These specified grant mechanisms are for illustrative purposes and not meant to be inclusive. If necessary, the recipient should contact AHRQ Staff for clarification or -The K01 award must be active when the competing research grant application is submitted.

-The K01 award must be in its final two years of a five-year award or final year of a four-year award before the reduction in effort to six person-months (50% full-time professional effort) is permitted. If a reduction in effort is proposed, the awarded and committed levels of funding will be adjusted accordingly. See Section III.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility . Other Program-Related Expenses AHRQ will contribute up to $ 25,000 direct costs per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient, which must be justified and consistent with the stage of development of the candidate and the proportion of time to be spent in research or career development activities.

Only the following types of expenses are allowable: a) tuition and fees related to career development; b) research expenses such as supplies, equipment, and technical personnel working with research data; c) travel to research meetings or training; and d) statistical services including personnel and computer time.

All expenses must be directly related to the proposed research career development and must be Salary for mentors, secretarial and administrative assistants, etc. is not allowed. Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct These awards are authorized by 42 U.S.C.

299a(b), which provides that AHRQ may provide training grants in the field of health services All applications submitted and AHRQ grants made in response to this NOFO are subject to 45 CFR Part 75 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for HHS Awards; http://www. ecfr. gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?

node=pt45. 1. 75 ), the HHS Grants Policy Statement (see http://www.

ahrq. gov/funding/policies/hhspolicy/index. html and http://www.

hhs. gov/sites/default/files/grants/grants/policies-regulations/hhsgps107. pdf ), and the terms and conditions set forth in the Notice of Award.

Higher Education Institutions Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education Private Institutions of Higher Education The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for AHRQ support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education: Hispanic-serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions City or Township Governments Special District Governments Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government U.S. Territory or Possession Independent School Districts Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Faith-based or Community-based Organizations AHRQ’s authorizing legislation does not allow for-profit organizations to be eligible to lead applications under this research mechanism.

For-profit organizations may participate in projects as members of consortia or as subcontractors only. Because the purpose of this program is to improve healthcare in the United States, foreign institutions may participate in projects as members of consortia or as subcontractors only. Applications submitted by for-profit organizations or foreign institutions will not be reviewed.

Organizations described in section 501(c) 4 of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying are not HHS grants policy requires that the grant recipient perform a substantive role in the conduct of the planned project or program activity and not merely serve as a conduit of funds to another party or parties.

If consortium/contractual activities represent a significant portion of the overall project, the applicant must justify why the applicant organization, rather than the party(s) performing this portion of the overall project, should be the Recipient and what substantive role the applicant organization will play.

Justification can be provided in the Specific Aims or Research Strategy section of the PHS398 Research Plan Component sections of the SF424 (R&R) application. There is no budget allocation guideline for determining substantial involvement; determination of substantial involvement is based on a review of the primary project activities for which grant support is provided and the organization(s) that will be performing those activities.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted.

Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active requires renewal at least annually . The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration.

SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code. Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.

gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application. Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.

gov registrations; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application. Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account.

PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

All PD(s)/PI(s) must be registered with ORCID . The personal profile associated with the PD(s)/PI(s) eRA Commons account must be linked to a valid ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal topic in our eRA Commons online help .

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI): Any candidate with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with his/her mentor and organization 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 AHRQ PDs/PIs are not allowed .

and Residency: By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Type: Candidates for this award must have a research doctoral degree or equivalent. Such degrees include, but are not limited to the Ph.

D. , Sc. D.

, and Dr.P. H.

This funding opportunity may support individuals who propose to train in a new field or individuals who have had a hiatus in their research career because of illness or pressing family Individuals are NOT eligible if they: Have simultaneously submitted or have an application which is pending peer review for any Federal or non-Federal research grant, contract, or cooperative agreement on which they are named PD/PI and which exceeds $100,000 direct costs per year; or are the proposed subproject leader on Program Projects (P01) or Center Grants (P50) or cooperative agreements; Have been or currently be a PD/PI on peer-reviewed Federal or non-Federal research grants, contracts or cooperative agreements over $100,000 direct costs per year; or be or have been a subproject leader on Program Projects (P01) or Center Grants (P50) or cooperative agreements; Have been or are currently a PD/PI on any other individual Federal mentored career development awards.

Have been current and former PDs/PIs on AHRQ or other federal research project (R01), program project (P01), center grants (P30, P50), sub-projects of program project (P01), sub-projects of center grants (P30, P50), other major individual career development awards (e.g., K01, K08), or the equivalent.

Current and former PDs/PIs of an AHRQ Small Grant (R03), Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21), or Dissertation Award (R36) remain eligible, as do individuals appointed to institutional K programs (K12). Maximum Federal Career Development (K) Award Term: All candidates for AHRQ individual mentored career development grants are limited to a total of five years of mentored career development support.

If the candidate has been a scholar appointed to any Federally-funded institutional mentored career development program (from mechanisms including, but not limited to, the K12 and KL2), the time appointments on these grants count toward the total five-year AHRQ time limitation.

For example, an individual who has been appointed to an AHRQ K12 or NIH KL2 institutional mentored career development grant for three years can request only two years of individual career development support on an AHRQ K01 grant.

The minimum allowable time requested for all other applicants to AHRQ’s individual mentored career development grants remains at three years per instructions in this This NOFO does not require cost sharing. While there is no cost sharing requirement included in this NOFO, AHRQ welcomes applicant institutions, including any collaborating institutions, to devote resources to this effort.

An indication of institutional support from the applicant and its collaborators indicates a greater potential of success and sustainability of the project. Examples of institutional support would include: donated equipment and space, institutional funded staff time and effort, or other resource investments.

Applicant institutions should indicate institutional support by outlining the specific contributions to the project and providing assurances that their organization and any collaborators are committed to providing these funds and resources to the project.

This information can be included at the end of the budget justification section of the application, but institutional support dollars are not to be shown/included in the detailed budget request. 3.

Additional Information on Eligibility Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct, and each is from a The AHRQ will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. An individual may not have two or more competing AHRQ career development applications pending review concurrently.

In addition, AHRQ will not accept: A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.

An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NOT-OD-18-197 ). At the time of award, the candidate must have a full-time appointment (normally defined as 40 hours per week, or as specified by the sponsoring institution in accordance with its own consistently-applied policies) at the applicant institution.

Candidates are required to commit a minimum of 75% of a full-time appointment (i.e., 9 person months of effort, or 30 hours per week) to their program of career development. Candidates may engage in other duties as part of the professional effort not covered by this award, as long as such duties do not interfere with or detract from the proposed career development program.

Exception to level of effort requirement: Applicants for the AHRQ individual mentored career development award who have had three years of a mentored experience on another Federally-funded career development grant, such as those noted above, can request two years of support at a minimum of 50% full-time professional effort (i.e., 6 person-months, or 20 hours per week).

The remaining professional effort not covered by this award may be devoted to clinical, teaching, or other research pursuits and activities consistent with the objectives of the award. Information for candidates with VA appointments: Candidates who have VA appointments may not consider part of the VA effort toward satisfying the full-time requirement at the applicant institution.

Candidates with a full-time VA appointment are not eligible to apply. Salary supplementation for the candidate: The recipient institution may supplement the AHRQ salary contribution on "K" awards up to a level that is consistent with the candidate's institutional base salary. For effort directly committed to the "K" award, salary supplementation is allowable, but must be from non-Federal sources (including institutional sources).

Non-Federal or institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the goals of the "K" award.

For effort not directly committed to the "K" award, "K" award recipients may devote effort, with compensation, on Federal or non-Federal sources as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) or in another role (e.g., co-Investigator), as long the specific aims of the other supporting grant(s) differ from those of the "K" award.

Candidates obtaining support as a PD/PI from federal sources during final two years of K support: K01 award recipients are encouraged to obtain funding from AHRQ or other Federal sources either as a named PD/PI on a competing research grant award or cooperative agreement, or as sub-project director on a competing multi-project award, during the final two years of the K01 award under certain circumstances.

To be eligible for salary support from peer-reviewed research awards from any Federal agency, the following criteria must be met: The K01 award recipient must be a/the named PD/PI on a competing AHRQ or NIH research grant application (R01, R03, R15, R21, R34, or equivalent application from another Federal agency) or a sub-project director on a competing multi-component research or center grant or cooperative agreement application (P01, P50, U01, U18, etc. or an equivalent application from another Federal agency).

These specified grant mechanisms are for illustrative purposes and not meant to be all-inclusive. If necessary, the recipient should contact AHRQ Staff for clarification or additional The K01 award must be active when the competing research grant application is submitted. The K01 award must be in its final two years of a five-year individual award or the final year of a four-year individual award.

At the time the competing research grant is awarded, the grantee may request that effort devoted to the K01 award be reduced to no less than six person-months (50% full-time professional effort) at the grantee organization and replaced by effort from the research award so that the total level of research commitment remains at a minimum of nine person-months (75% full-time professional effort) for the duration of the K01 award.

AHRQ prior approval is required before effort may be reduced on the K01. Note that a reduction in effort on the K01 will result in recalculation of salary provided Before submitting the application, the candidate must identify a mentor who will supervise the proposed career development and research experience.

The mentor should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research and be committed both to the career development of the candidate and to the direct supervision of the candidate’s research. The mentor must document the availability of sufficient research support and facilities for high-quality research.

Candidates are encouraged to identify more than one mentor, i.e., a mentoring team, if this is deemed advantageous for providing expert advice in all aspects of the research career development program. In such cases, one individual must be identified as the primary mentor who will coordinate the candidate’s research. The candidate must work with the mentor(s) in preparing the application.

The mentor, or a member of the mentoring team, should have a successful track record of mentoring individuals at the candidate’s career stage. Where feasible, the recruitment of women, individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and individuals with disabilities as potential mentors is encouraged, given their ability to serve as role models.

Institutional Environment The applicant institution must have a strong, well-established record of research and career development activities and faculty qualified to serve as mentors in health services research. and Submission Information The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants. gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution.

Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants. gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the Career Development (K) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed in this Notice of Funding Opportunity to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced.

Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review. All page limitations described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed. Instructions for Application Submission The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

All instructions in