Dissemination by Health Professionals Associations (PCOR-DHPA) (R18)

Dissemination by Health Professionals Associations (PCOR-DHPA) (R18) is sponsored by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This funding opportunity supports innovative educational methods to disseminate patient-centered outcomes research findings to health professionals.

Expired RFA-HS-12-006: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research -- Dissemination by Health Professionals Associations (PCOR-DHPA) (R18) This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), ( http://www.

ahrq. gov ) Participating Organizations Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness (COE) Title: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research -- Dissemination by Health Professionals Associations (PCOR-DHPA) policies, guidelines terms and conditions stated in this announcement may differ from those used by the NIH. Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is a new RFA.

for Applications (RFA) Number: RFA-HS-12 - 006 Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Federal assistance must be submitted electronically through Grants. gov( http://www. grants.

gov ) using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED IN PAPER FORMAT. This FOA must be read in conjunction with the application guidelines included with this announcement in Grants.

gov/Apply for Grants (hereafter called Grants. gov/Apply). A registration process is necessary before submission and applicants are highly encouraged to start the process at least four (4) weeks prior to the grant submission date.

See Section IV . Domestic Assistance Number(s) Release/Posted Date: February 27, 2012 Opening Date: March 25, 2012 Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): April 2, 2012 NOTE: On-time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to Grants. gov no later than 5:00 p.

m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization).

Application Due Date(s): April 25, 2012 Peer Review Date(s): Generally four months after receipt Anticipated Start Date(s): Generally four months after Additional Information to Be Available Date (Activation Date): Not opportunity announcement (FOA) solicits Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects (R18) grant applications from health professionals associations to disseminate patient-centered outcomes research using innovative Purpose .

This FOA supports innovative educational methods to disseminate patient-centered Mechanism of Support. This FOA will use the AHRQ Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects (R18) grant mechanism. Anticipated Number of Awards.

AHRQ anticipates allocating up to $2. 5 million annually for three years to this FOA. AHRQ anticipates funding 25-50 awards, depending on their approved budgets.

Awards issued under this FOA depend upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research may vary from application to application, AHRQ anticipates that the size and duration of each award may also vary.

The total amount awarded and the number of awards depends upon the numbers, quality, duration, and costs of the applications received. Period. The total costs awarded to a grant under this FOA shall not exceed $100,000 (including F&A costs) per year, for a project period that may be up to three years.

An application with a budget or with a project period that exceeds either of these limits will not undergo peer review. Funding beyond the first year will be contingent upon a review and acceptance by Agency staff of the annual progress report (PHS 2590). Strategy Length: The R18 Research Strategy section may not exceed 10 pages , including tables, graphs, figures, diagrams, and charts.

Institutions/Organizations: Institutions/organizations listed in Section III, 1. A. are eligible to apply.

Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs): Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research are invited to work with their institution/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 one PD/PI may be designated on the application.

Number of Applications: Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each application is scientifically Resubmissions: Resubmission applications are not permitted in response to this FOA. Renewals: Renewal applications are not permitted in response to this FOA. Special Date(s): See Receipt, Review and Anticipated Start Dates .

Materials. See Section IV. 1 for Information.

For general information on SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission, see these Web sites: SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission Information: http://grants. nih. gov/grants/funding/424/index.

htm information on Electronic Submission of Grant Applications: http://era. nih. gov/ElectronicReceipt/ Hearing Impaired: Telecommunications for the hearing impaired are available at: TTY 301-451-5936.

grant awards are made to institutions rather than individuals, this announcement and its instructions are written to inform individual researchers of this funding opportunity and facilitate the submission of grant applications Part I Overview Information Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information III.

Eligibility Information 2. Cost Sharing or Matching 3. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria IV.

Application and Submission Information 1. Request Application Information 2. Content and Form of Application Submission 3.

Submission Dates and Times A. Receipt, Review, and Anticipated B. Submitting an Application C.

Application Processing 4. Intergovernmental Review 6. Other Submission Requirements V.

Application Review Information 2. Review and Selection Process 3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates VI.

Award Administration Information 2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 1. Scientific/Research Contact(s) 2.

Peer Review Contact(s) 3. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s) VIII. Other Information - Required Federal Citations Part II - Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description Patient-Centered Outcomes Research AHRQ: AHRQ’s mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.

AHRQ achieves this mission by supporting a program of health services research and by working with partners, including patients and health care providers, to identify and prioritize topics that will promote improvements in clinical and health systems practice that benefit patients. To this end, the Agency supports research on patient outcomes and effectiveness.

Among other things, this research compares the effect of different interventions on the same health condition. By measuring actual outcomes under real world conditions, researchers develop scientific evidence about what works best, for whom, and under what circumstances. Patients and practitioners can then more knowledgably choose among treatment options.

Health care managers and purchasers can identify potentially effective strategies to improve the quality and value of care. Stakeholders and policymakers can evaluate proposed improvements using a common nomenclature and the same underlying evidence.

PCORI: The independent Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) supports research about the best available evidence to help patients and their health care providers make more informed decisions ( http://www. pcori. org ).

PCORI has the mission of funding evidence-based research to help patients better understand the value of prevention, treatment, and care options available; and of the science that Outcomes research: This FOA supports dissemination of existing knowledge about what health care options (including diagnoses, treatments, interventions, health services systems, and models of health care delivery) work best for patients, rather than generation of new knowledge.

Examples of existing research appear on AHRQ-related Websites and publications (http://www. ahrq. gov, http://www.

ahrq. gov/clinic/, http://www. effectivehealthcare.

ahrq. gov/index. cfm ).

The professional literature provides additional sources of patient-centered outcome research. Applications may propose dissemination of the results of AHRQ-related research, findings published by PCORI, and/or other government-funded research relevant to comparative clinical effectiveness research.

In the latter case, the disseminated research should have validity, generalizability, accuracy, reliability, precision, usability, etc. comparable or superior to Associations: Health professionals associations can play an important role in disseminating patient-centered outcomes research. Many associations have an extended history of maintaining the skills and improving the education of their members.

In some cases, they have already created systems for continuing their members education on an on-going and sustainable basis. Some also educate patients, clients, public, or another wider audience. AHRQ has previously had few opportunities to leverage the specific expertise of health professionals associations.

Section III. 1. A further describes the institutions Background: Previous distribution of health care outcomes information to health professionals has classically taken the form of academic papers, textbooks, periodicals, pamphlets, lectures, broadcasts, and other traditional forums.

However, research suggests that the instructional methods (e.g., passive reading and one-way listening) have limited effect on provider behaviors or patient-centered health outcomes.

Some literature also describes modest experimentation with group discussions (e.g., interactive grand rounds), paid opinion leaders (e.g., academic detailing), hands on demonstrations (e.g., by medical equipment salesmen), clinical simulations, standard patients, virtual patients, recertification, virtual learning environments, and other initiatives.

The limited number of studies and small sample sizes make it difficult to draw any firm conclusions about the uptake or outcomes of such interventions.

Physicians and other health care providers increasingly look to Developments: This FOA solicits applications from health professionals associations to develop dissemination programs that integrate patient-centered outcomes research into clinical practice using multi-factorial mechanisms such other innovative methods.

Applicants may wish to consider both educational theory (what learning methods work most effectively) and the relevance of new media. Experiments with computer-based training, long distance learning, broadcasting, videos, and other technologies have had mixed results.

More recent developments such smart phones, social networking (community-based sites, third-party anonymous sites, crowd-sourcing), Internet games, social media, blogs, online message boards, virtual communities, podcasting, etc. remain largely untested for their effectiveness in promoting health. Accordingly, voluminous opportunities exist for assessment of these innovations.

Audience: Applications may find it helpful to explicitly define their target audience; usually the constituency of the organization or a portion of that constituency.

Dissemination intended to directly change the behavior of all health professionals might employ a different subject and format than a program aimed at influencing a narrow allopathic subspecialty (e.g., hard tissue plastic surgeons, oculoplasticians) or a specific allied health profession (e.g., pediatric occupational therapists, aviation paramedics).

A program with a nonspecific audience would likely need above-average strengths in other areas to successfully compete. Plan: Applications must detail a multistep development plan of up to three years for a patient-centered outcomes research dissemination infrastructure. Propose its relationship to the governance of the health professionals organization or association, if applicable.

Describe anticipated milestones and itemized aims for each year of the grant budget period, if People: Key personnel should include a multidisciplinary team of junior and senior-level health services investigators with experience in medicine, public health informatics, clinical and health sciences research, epidemiology, statistical design, health organization design, and/or administration, as appropriate.

Some proposed interventions may require systems engineering, behavioral economists, translational sciences, marketing, public relations, communications, and/or medical education specialists.

A well-coordinated, well functioning team might also demonstrate experience in patient-centered outcomes research translation and dissemination methods, clinical care communications, marketing and media campaigns with use of social networking, and/or knowledge and skill sets in multi-stakeholder engagement.

A proven record of collaborative partnerships, capacity and ability to scale up quickly, and formation of partnerships within their realm of professional associations, state, regional, and/or local communities would add credibility to multilateral interventions.

Need: Demonstrate demand for the proposed intervention (e.g., a survey of professional organization demographics, inquiry of partnering stakeholders working with the professional association, poll of internal membership needs for improving their role and function in enhancing healthcare service delivery), if appropriate.

Needs assessment may include, but is not limited to, activities such as: focus group interviews, literature scan for existing validated methods, and review of the grey literature for tools, instructional techniques of patient-centered outcomes, and health services research dissemination methods used by health professionals organizations.

Subject: Identify a primary PCOR issue or topic (i.e., outcomes research on a clinical area or disease treatment, adherences, preferences, care transition model, or systems pathway). Ideally, it should fall within one or more of AHRQ’s priority conditions and populations. The PCOR issues should have direct significance to one or across multiple health professionals associations, specialties, or subspecialties.

The applicant should consider examining widely used evidence-based resources (i.e., recent systematic reviews, meta-analyses, registry data, surveillance, surveys, etc.) that describe the importance and burden of the issue. Absent such data sources, reviews of case reports and surveys of the grey literature may be used to guide topic selection.

If limited to specific health provider audiences, then provide a brief justification for a targeted dissemination of valid patient-centered outcomes research findings (e.g., www. effectivehealthcare. ahrq.

hhs. gov ; decision aid of therapies to primary care providers within a health maintenance organization’s multicenter electronic clinic visit template; pilot use of previously tested, patient oriented techniques to midwives, dissemination to health professionals serving priority populations). Intervention: Projects should propose an independent or other nontraditional educational methods.

Examples might include implementation of AHRQ Effective Health Care (EHC) program online evidence-based-medicine educational toolkits; inter-professional evidence-based care planning tools; short film documentaries or televised programs; town hall meetings between healthcare venues such as Twitter, Facebook, WebMD, and small online communities composed of peers or experts; geo-informatics systems; mobile media campaigns; blogs; wikis; webinars; virtual meetings, message boards; instant text messaging; email; audio; video; pod casts, etc. Alternately, the intervention could propose a combination of [1] translational marketing methods (e.g., electronic outreach, social marketing, trans-media public relations programs, interactive professional tools, new media navigators) and [2] traditional instructional methods (e.g., written materials, lectures, scientific meetings, seminars, brown-bag meetings, grand rounds) to reach diverse types of learners within the membership of a health care professionals organization or association.

Innovation: Describe how the dissemination plan uniquely employs proven or newly tested concepts, approaches, and tools. Illustrate how the proposed intervention can reduce barriers, enhance patient-centered outcomes, improve health professionals practice, advance education, coordinate care, etc. Explain linkages to any anticipated measures, inputs, or outputs.

Effectiveness: Propose investigational approaches to test programs for dissemination with consideration of (but not limited to) the following metrics : uptake of end-user application, portability and fluidity of dissemination plan within the scope of existing and evolving clinical practice; integration within medical school or health graduate degree education and curricula in patient-centered care; quality improvement programs with measured outcomes of success; implementation of screening, health media campaigns and/or guidance policies; effect on patient decision-making, use of decision aides for clinical decision-making; measurement of treatment adherence; observed benefits and harms in patient-centered outcomes; impact on clinician knowledge, clinician training, curricula development, education and subsequent clinician decision-making; impact on care coordination pathways, benefits and harms to health system flow processes within specialty clinics; use of ancillary health services and/or specialty care; study of PCOR continuous medical education within varied settings of healthcare delivery (i.e., rural practices, urban community clinics, retail-pharmacy health clinics, large health care organizations, hospital settings, etc.).

Scalability: Any proposed pilot project should discuss short-term (1-3 year) scalability of the dissemination infrastructure and long term (4+ years) milestones required to achieve any proposed extensions. Such a pilot should address sustainability, feasibility, financing, and effectiveness for continuation after this project.

Alternately, such applicants should consider providing a capstone white paper with clear recommendations for next phase in infrastructure implementation prior to completion of the grant period. Sustainability: An intervention that depends on continuation past the grant period should have a credible plan for sustainability.

If the Eligible Organization commitment to future support depends upon this intervention’s success, then [1] detail the required conditions and [2] outline the scope of resultant financial resources, internal infrastructure, business plan, educational systems, or other mechanisms.

An application with a self-funding mechanism (e.g., user fees, advertising, membership dues) would likely be more sustainable than an application than an application that proposes to solicit contributions or to apply for additional grants to sustain future activities. The startup infrastructure might integrate into existing systems of quality improvement, education, certification, or other on-going mechanisms.

Evaluation: If the application proposes a larger or longer dissemination intervention, then does it include methods for quantifying its results? The measurement effort will vary depending upon the project’s scope.

Thus, a single-year project with a one-time, short-term intervention might omit a specific evaluation of the intervention, particularly where an existing government or trade association statistical series already assembles and distributes pertinent data. A more sustained, expensive intervention might justify an independent measurement process.

See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal Citations , for policies related to this announcement. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will use the AHRQ Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects Grant (R18) award mechanism.

The individual researcher sponsored by each organizational applicant will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing his or her AHRQ is not using the Modular Grant Application and Award Process. Applications submitted in modular format will not be reviewed. AHRQ intends to commit up to $2.

5 million in FY 2012 to fund 25-50 awards. Applications may be up to three years in duration with a budget supported by AHRQ not to exceed $100,000 per year total costs (including both direct and indirect costs) to the government. Applications with project periods that exceed three years or budgets that exceed $100,000 total costs in any given year will not be reviewed.

Funding beyond the first year will be contingent upon a review by Agency staff of the annual non-competing continuation progress report. An application with a budget that exceeds $300,000 total costs over a three year project period will not be reviewed. the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary.

Although the financial plans of AHRQ provide support for this program, awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs requested by applicants are included in the total cost limitation. Section III.

Eligibility Information 1. A. Eligible Institutions You may submit an application(s) if your institution/organization has any of the following characteristics: Health professionals associations, organizations, and societies (see http://www.

ama-assn. org/ama/pub/education-careers/careers-health-care/health-professions-associations. page ) Health professionals education accrediting agencies (see http://www.

ama-assn. org/ama/pub/education-careers/careers-health-care/health-professions-education. page ?)

Health professionals licensing, certification, or Health professionals specialty and multispecialty associations, organizations, and societies AHRQ’s authorizing legislation does not allow for-profit organizations to be eligible to lead applications under this research mechanism, thus for the purpose of this FOA, AHRQ will make grants only to non-profit organizations.

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 eligible. 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 grantee 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. 1.

B. Eligible Individuals Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the PD/PI is invited to work with his/her 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 support.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching does not require cost sharing for applications in response to this FOA. While there is no cost sharing requirement included in this FOA, 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 that plan to provide support 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 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. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria Number of Applications. Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each application is scientifically distinct.

However, AHRQ will not accept similar grant applications with essentially the same research focus from the same applicant organization. Resubmissions. Applicants are not permitted to submit a resubmission application in response to this FOA.

Renewals. Renewal applications are not permitted in response to this FOA . Section IV.

Application and Submission Information To download a SF424 (R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for completing the SF424 (R&R) forms for this FOA, use the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or link to http://www. grants. gov/Apply/ and follow the directions provided on that Web site.

registrations with Grants. gov and eRA Commons must be completed on or before the due date in order to successfully submit an application . Several of the steps of the registration process could take four to six weeks.

Therefore, applicants should immediately check with their business official to determine whether their organization/institution is already registered with both Grants. gov and the Commons . All registrations must be complete by the submission deadline for the application to be considered on-time (see 3.

C. 1 for more information about A one-time registration is required for institutions/organizations at both: Grants. gov ( http://www.

grants. gov/applicants/get_registered. jsp ) Commons ( http://era.

nih. gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing. htm ) should work with their institutions/organizations to make sure they are registered in the NIH eRA Commons.

Several additional separate actions are required before an applicant can submit an electronic application, 1) Organizational/Institutional Registration in Grants. gov/Get organization will need to obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) as part of the Grants. gov registration process.

your organization does not have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), allow for extra time. A valid TIN or EIN is necessary for CCR registration. CCR also validates the EIN against Internal Revenue Service records, a step that will take an additional one to two business days.

questions regarding Grants. gov registration to: Grants. gov Customer Support Business Hours: M-F 7:00 a.

m. - 9:00 p. m.

Eastern Time 2) Organizational/Institutional Registration in the eRA find out if an organization is already Commons-registered, see the " List of Grantee Organizations Registered in NIH eRA questions regarding the Commons registration to: Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free) Business hours M-F 7:00 a. m. 8:00 p.

m. Eastern Time 3) Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Registration in the NIH eRA Commons: Refer to the NIH eRA Commons System (COM) Users Guide . The individual designated as PD/PI on the application must be registered also in the NIH eRA Commons.

The PD/PI must hold a PD/PI account in the Commons. Applicants should not share a Commons account for both an Authorized Organization Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) role and a PD/PI role; however, if they have both a PD/PI role and an NIH Internet Assisted Review (IAR) role, both roles should exist under one Commons account. The PD/PI at the applicant organization must be affiliated with that organization.

A PD/PI located at another institution need not be affiliated with the applicant organization, but must be affiliated with their own organization to be able to access the Commons. This registration/affiliation must be done by the AOR/SO or his/her designee who is already registered in the Commons. Both the PD/PI and AOR/SO need separate accounts in the NIH eRA Commons since both are authorized to view the application image.

Note: The registration process is not sequential. Applicants should begin the registration processes for both Grants. gov and eRA Commons as soon as their organization has obtained a DUNS number.

Only one DUNS number is required and the same DUNS number must be referenced when completing Grants. gov registration, eRA Commons registration and the SF424 (R&R) forms. 1.

Request Application Information Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for this FOA through Grants. gov/Apply . Note: Only the forms package directly attached to a specific FOA can be used.

You will not be able to use any other SF424 (R&R) forms (e.g., sample forms, forms from another FOA), although some of the "Attachment" files may be useable for more than For further assistance, contact GrantsInfo -- Telephone 301-710-0267; Email: [email protected] . Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: 2.

Content and Form of Application Submission Prepare all applications using the SF424 (R&R) application forms for this FOA through Grants. gov/Apply and in accordance with the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide ( http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/funding/424/index. htm ). The SF424 (R&R) Application Guide is critical to submitting a complete and accurate application to AHRQ.

Some fields within the SF424 (R&R) application components, although not marked as mandatory, are required by AHRQ ( e.g., the Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component must contain the PD/PI’s assigned eRA Commons User ID ). Agency-specific instructions for such fields are clearly identified in the Application Guide.

For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications . The SF424 (R&R) application has several components. Some components are required, others are optional.

The forms package associated with this FOA in Grants. gov/APPLY includes all applicable components, required and optional.

A completed application in response to this FOA includes the data in the following components: SF424 (R&R) (Cover component) Research & Related Project/Performance Site Locations Research & Related Other Project Information Research & Related Senior/Key Person PHS398 Cover Page Supplement Research & Related Budget Special Instructions , regarding appropriate required budget component.)

Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Applications Involving a Single Institution When a single institution is involved, follow the instructions contained in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Applications Involving Multiple Institutions When multiple institutions are involved, one institution must be designated as the prime institution and funding for the other institution(s) must be requested via a subcontract to be administered by the prime institution. When submitting a detailed budget, the prime institution should submit its budget using the Research & Related Budget component.

All other institutions should have their individual budgets attached separately to the Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form. See Section 4. 8 of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the subaward budget 3.

Submission Dates and Times 3. A.

Submission, Review, and Anticipated Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): April 2, 2012 Application Due Date(s): April 25, 2012 Peer Review Date(s): Generally four months after receipt Anticipated Start Date(s): Generally four months after To allow AHRQ staff to estimate the potential peer review workload and plan the review (e.g., anticipate the nature of reviewer expertise to be required), prospective applicants may submit a letter of intent that includes an acknowledgement of interest in this funding opportunity (please refer to the number and title of this funding opportunity), a few comments on the subject of the proposed research, background expertise of key personnel, and the nature and role of participating institutions.

Please include the name and email address of the Principal Investigator. This letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and is not considered in the review of a subsequent application. However, these letters are administratively very helpful, as indicated above.

To be most useful, the letter of intent is to be sent by the date listed above and at the beginning of this document. The letter of intent can be sent electronically, and The letter of intent is to be sent by the date listed in Section IV. 3.

A Submitting an Application Electronically to AHRQ To submit an application in response to this FOA, applicants should access this FOA via http://www. grants. gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.

jsp and follow Steps 1-4. Note: Applications must only be submitted electronically . PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

In order to expedite the review, applicants are requested to notify the AHRQ Referral Office by email [email protected] when the application has been submitted. Please include the FOA number and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application. 3.

C. Application Processing Applications must be received on or before the application receipt date described above (see Section IV. 3.

A. for all dates). If an application is received after that date, the application may be delayed in the review process Submission to Grants.

gov is not the last step. Applicants must follow their application through to the eRA Commons to check for errors and warnings and view their assembled application. acknowledgement of receipt of applications from Grants.

gov and the Commons . The submitting AOR/SO receives the Grants. gov acknowledgments.

The AOR/SO and the PI receive Commons acknowledgments. Information related to the assignment of an application to a Scientific Review Group is also in the Commons. Information on the status of an application should be checked by the Principal Investigator in the eRA Commons at: https://commons.

era. nih. gov/commons/ .

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH, and AHRQ. Incomplete or non-responsive applications will not be reviewed.

Note: Since email can be unreliable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to check periodically on the application status application in response to this funding opportunity that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.

However, when a previously unfunded application, originally submitted as an investigator-initiated application, is to be submitted in response to a funding opportunity, it is to be prepared as a NEW application.

That is, the application for the funding opportunity must not include an Introduction describing the changes and improvements made, and the text must not be marked to indicate the changes from the previous unfunded version of the application. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval of human subjects is not required prior to peer review of an application (see http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HS-00-003. html ). However, initiation of IRB review, if necessary or applicable, is strongly encouraged to assure timely commencement of research.

Although there is no immediate acknowledgement of the receipt of an application, applicants are generally notified of the review and funding assignment within eight (8) weeks. Purchase of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) public-use data , if required, should be