Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies and Approaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies and Approaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Supports short courses that provide training in innovative methodologies and approaches in the behavioral and social sciences.

Expired RFA-OD-21-005: Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies and Approaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Part 1.

Overview Information Participating Organization(s) National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Components of Participating Organizations Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research ( OBSSR ) National Eye Institute ( NEI ) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ( NIAAA ) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NICHD ) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases ( NIDDK ) National Institute on Drug Abuse ( NIDA ) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ( NIEHS ) National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH ) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health ( NCCIH ) National Cancer Institute ( NCI ) All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers.

The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention ( ODP ) Office of Research on Women's Health ( ORWH ) Funding Opportunity Title Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies and Approaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Reissue of RFA-OD-19-012 - Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies and Approaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) December 13, 2022 - This RFA has been reissued as RFA-OD-23-003 July 22, 2019 - Requirement for ORCID iDs for Individuals Supported by Research Training, Fellowship, Research Education, and Career Development Awards Beginning in FY 2020.

See Notice NOT-OD-19-109 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number Companion Funding Opportunity See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility .

Assistance Listing Number(s) 93. 213, 93. 398, 93.

867, 93. 273, 93. 865, 93.

279, 93. 113, 93. 242, 93.

313, 93. 847 Funding Opportunity Purpose The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on: Courses for Skills Development Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) Letter of Intent Due Date(s) All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).

Applicants 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) All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of AIDS and AIDS-related applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).

Applicants 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.

Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) 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 Announcement Section I.

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

Application and Submission Information 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 Description The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research educational activities that complement other formal training programs in the mission areas of the NIH Institutes and Centers.

The overarching goals of the NIH R25 program are to: (1) complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs; (2) encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research; (3) help recruit individuals with specific specialty or disciplinary backgrounds to research careers in biomedical, behavioral and clinical sciences; and (4) foster a better understanding of biomedical, behavioral and clinical research and its implications.

The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on: Courses for Skills Development: For example, advanced courses in a specific discipline or research area, clinical procedures for research, or specialized research techniques.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support courses for skills development in cross-cutting methodologies and analytics that are needed to advance behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) but are not well addressed by existing educational programs widely available to the BSSR community. A definition of BSSR can be found at ( https://obssr. od.

nih. gov/about/bssr-definition/ ). Short courses supported by this FOA should develop, implement, evaluate and disseminate education and training focused on innovative methods for BSSR.

Methodological domains of focus include but are not limited to innovative data collection methodologies and analytic techniques, analysis and linking of big data, or needed but underutilized designs to advance research across the translational spectrum. Proposed educational programs should be integrative, both in the transdisciplinary nature of the skills and approaches taught and in applicability across a wide range of BSSR areas.

The content of the course should focus on knowledge and skills necessary for the advancement of behavioral and social sciences and/or the integration of BSSR with other areas of science and technology. Content should not be limited to specific disease applications but rather focus on generally applicable research methodologies and analytics crucial for more advanced BSSR.

Applicants are expected to describe the learning objectives for the proposed short course, how the proposed course will enhance existing skills and capabilities of the target participants and how the impact of the learning will be measured. In addition, applicants must describe how this training fills a unique and important skills gap in BSSR that is not already well covered by existing training courses or curricula.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review and document existing courses similar to the short course being proposed and specify why any similar courses are insufficient to address the training need.

Over the period of support, it is expected that the course will be refined, improved, and sufficiently well documented developed and implemented to extend beyond in-person attendance, and beyond the end of the project period (e.g. videos, slides, course materials). The course should be able to benefit more than the limited number that can attend in person.

The development and implementation of fully or predominantly remote training programs is encouraged. Priority will be given to courses that address an important and cross-cutting educational need, that fill a gap in the field not already well addressed by other opportunities, and include a plan for dissemination and sustainability of the training both during and beyond the funding period.

The goal is for the short courses supported by this FOA to build the capacity of the field. In achieving that goal, applicants are encouraged to incorporate methods and models that have the potential to reach an audience that is broader than the attendees. For example, a "Train the Trainers" model is highly encouraged.

With this model, participants are not only taught the research skills but also but taught how to teach the material themselves, provided with the tools and resources needed to deliver these trainings in their own institutions (e.g., curricula, selected readings, slide sets, etc.), and receive ongoing technical and evaluation support.

Another example is developing remote learning courses or taking the course to the participants at different institutions, thereby reducing travel costs as well as expanding the reach of the program. Training courses can be of varying lengths but the duration of the training and the format (online, in-person, or some combination) must be justified based on the learning objectives.

Even if the training is primarily in-person, online adjuncts to the courses are encouraged (i.e., pre-meeting preparation materials and/or post-meeting support materials) and should be made available broadly. Opportunities for attendees to sustain and continue learning beyond the course are strongly encouraged. Such opportunities might take the form of ongoing mentorship, online discussion forums, listservs, or other formats.

Educational opportunities can either recur (the same course is repeated) or can be single-time opportunities (different courses occur over the course of the award period), depending on the needs of the scientific area. The format for course delivery may be in-person, online (e.g., massive open online course [MOOC], interactive online teaching platform), or a hybrid of the two.

Skills development courses that are Open Educational Resources (OERs) are strongly encouraged. OERs generally adhere to FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reproducible) and are freely available online.

Target participants can include those just starting their careers (e.g., graduate students, medical students, medical residents, postdoctoral fellows, early-stage investigators) as well as established investigators (e.g., mid- and late-career researchers) who need skills in new methods that can be applied to their research area.

The NIH expects all programs to foster the participation of individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and persons from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Therefore, all applicants are strongly encouraged to involve a diverse group of faculty and mentors, and their applications must include a plan for recruiting a diverse group of participants.

In addition, applicants are strongly encouraged to consider how the methodologies and approaches being taught in the proposed course can be reliably and validly applied across diverse groups, as well as how to address potential structural influences and/or consequences for communities/subpopulations that are disproportionally impacted by disease burden.

Each application must include a plan to evaluate the activities proposed, as well as a plan for disseminating user-friendly course materials to the broader scientific community (see Section IV, Evaluation Plan and Dissemination Plan).

Possible educational topics include but are not limited to: Recent advances in quantitative, temporally fine-grained laboratory and naturalistic measurement of attention, learning, memory and other cognitive and emotional processes; Neuroimaging and other neuroscience measurement approaches specifically applicable to behavioral and social sciences research such as methods for use in dyads or groups; methods for use in children or the elderly; methods for use in ambulatory/real-world settings; Methods and research designs to facilitate early phase/stage intervention development and testing such as N-of-1 or single case designs, dosage designs, adaptive, or optimization designs to determine which combinations of components need to be delivered in which context and target population; Methods and measures to increase reach, temporal density and ecological validity of data collection such as mobile and wireless health approaches to assessment and intervention; Methods and approaches to encourage linking of different types of data or to improve analytic approaches for combined or multilevel data, such as combining quantitative and qualitative data or integration of community level data such as spatial/geographic and biological (e.g., gene or biomarker), behavioral, or social science data; Analytic approaches to better use big data mining, pattern recognition, integration, visualization and analysis to hypothesis test important research questions in the behavioral and social sciences.

Big data in this FOA refers to large, diverse, complex, longitudinal, and/or distributed data sets generated from instruments, sensors, internet transactions, email, video, click streams, and/or all other digital sources available today and in the future; Methods and research designs to facilitate later stage behavioral intervention testing such as pragmatic trials for effectiveness research, or methods to study dissemination or implementation into community or health care settings; Methods to improve the bidirectional translation of knowledge of behavioral and social processes in humans and animal models (e.g., comparable behavioral testing paradigms in humans and model organisms); Methods and approaches to facilitate innovative and rigorous evaluations of natural experiments in order to capitalize on existing policy and practice implementation, particularly methods to study the social determinants of health and how health outcomes among health disparity populations are impacted by public policies, institutional practices and/or systems (including those outside of the health system such as education, housing, social services, and justice).

Methods and approaches to advance dissemination and implementation science including integrating dissemination and implementation science with other disciplines of research such as community engagement, health communication, health services, and public health research that can serve to advance health equity by promoting optimal health for diverse communities and subpopulations, particularly those disproportionally burdened by NIH mission diseases; Methods for integrating research on basic behavioral and/or social processes into individual and multi-level behavior change intervention development and testing; Computational approaches for integrating multi-level data to understanding complex and multi-level contributors to health and health behaviors; Methods to improve the development and implementation of culturally appropriate community engagement in research and translation of knowledge/research findings in verbal or nonverbal modalities and/or other languages; Measurement and methods to capture critical developmentally specific experiences (e.g. early childhood, transition to adolescence or early adulthood, transition to parenthood, or transition to retirement) and link those to future health outcomes including intergenerational impact of historical trauma; Methods and research designs for partially nested efficacy and effectiveness studies in which participants are randomized to an arm but are also nested in some higher level unit such as group, school, or clinic; particularly in the areas of design, analysis, and sample size estimation; Methods for regression discontinuity designs including appropriate uses, design, analysis, and sample size estimation; Methods for stepped wedge designs with particular attention to appropriate uses, data analytic and sample size estimation methods, to address issues such as heterogeneity of intervention effects across time and clusters; Incorporating data science-related methods into behavioral and social science research including machine learning, natural language processing and data mining; Performing behavioral and social science research using an open-science paradigm; use of FAIR principles; use of common data elements; transparency and reproducibility; Resources to support research in behavioral and social science: data, measure repositories, analytic help and other research tools.

Training in research approaches and methodologies should be relevant to a broad range of behavioral and social scientists. However, the short course must also be directly relevant to the priorities and mission of one or more of the participating Institutes and Centers.

If the methods and approaches in the proposed course advance the behavioral and social science more broadly (not just applicable to one disease or age group), short courses may focus on educating researchers with a disease or life stage emphasis.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss the focus of their proposed short course with the relevant scientific contact before submitting to be sure the focus is consistent with the FOA and aligned with the mission and priorities of the Institute or Center.

Please see below for additional Institute and Center priorities: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD supports educational programs in research areas relevant to the institute’s scientific objectives.

The mission of the NICHD is to lead research and education to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all. Information on NICHD’s extramural branches and programs can be found at: https://www. nichd.

nih. gov/about/org/der/branches and on the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, located within NICHD, can be found at https://www. nichd.

nih. gov/about/org/ncmrr . For this RFA, NICHD encourages applications seeking to develop short training programs on innovative methodologies within the scope of NICHD’s behavioral and social science portfolio.

Examples of the types of short courses of interest to NICHD include, but are not limited to: Collecting and analyzing biomarker data in BSSR, Computational and/or biologically plausible modeling for child development and population dynamics/demography, Computational modeling applied to injury biomechanics and pediatric injury prevention, Creation and analysis of synthetic data sets to model complex human behavior, Data harmonization and linkage, Image analytics for video data, Natural language processing to study child development or to improve clinical decision support.

NCCIH: NCCIH is interested in applications for educational programs on research methods with relevance to mind and body behavioral interventions, including various meditation approaches (e.g., mindfulness), hypnosis or guided imagery, meditative movement approaches (e.g., yoga, tai chi, qi-gong), body-based approaches (e.g., spinal manipulation, massage, mobilization, acupuncture), a combination of these approaches (e.g., meditation and yoga, such as in mindfulness-based stress reduction MBSR), or complex interventions including music and art therapy.

Investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss their plans with NCCIH program staff prior to applying. NCI: NCI will only accept applications that are highly relevant to cancer research. NIAAA: NIAAA is interested in applications for educational programs on research methods relevant to the effects of alcohol on health and well-being.

Relevant topics include but are not limited to health disparities, health services, prevention, treatment, recovery, neuroscience, genetics, and epidemiology. ODP: The ODP encourages applications for innovative courses that show promise for skill development in cross-cutting methodologies for design and analysis of community-based participatory research (CBPR) or natural experiments.

Applications should demonstrate that courses address educational needs and include topics on innovative design, measurement, and analytic methods relevant to disease prevention and meet the overall objectives of this funding opportunity announcement. Applications must also be relevant to the objectives of at least one of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (IC) listed above. ODP does not award grants.

Please contact one of the IC program contacts listed for questions related to funding. ORWH: For this RFA, ORWH is interested in applications for undergraduate or graduate training (including summer intensives and online or in-person course development) to enhance the consideration of sex, gender, and their intersections in BSSR.

ORWH also encourages applications for interprofessional training efforts on topics aligned with the ORWH mission, including the development of gender-centered BSSR measures, methods and approaches for studying sex and gender, and intersectional BSSR methodologies.

Research education programs may complement ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, but the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those training and education programs currently receiving Federal support. R25 programs may augment institutional research training programs (e.g., T32, T90) but cannot be used to replace or circumvent Ruth L.

Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs. 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. Application Types Allowed The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Only those application types listed here are allowed for this FOA. Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trial(s). Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards The following NIH components intend to commit the following amounts in FY 2022: OBSSR will commit approximately $1 million for each of the funding years. Application budgets are limited to $200,000 direct costs per year and need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is 4 years.

Other Award Budget Information Individuals designing, directing, and implementing the research education program may request salary and fringe benefits appropriate for the person months devoted to the program. Salaries requested may not exceed the levels commensurate with the institution's policy for similar positions and may not exceed the congressionally mandated cap.

(If mentoring interactions and other activities with participants are considered a regular part of an individual's academic duties, then any costs associated with the mentoring and other interactions with participants are not allowable costs from grant funds). Participants may be compensated for participation in activities specifically required by the proposed research education program, if sufficiently justified.

Participant costs must be itemized in the proposed budget. Allowable participant costs depend on the educational level/career status of the individuals to be selected to participate in the program. While generally not an allowable cost, with strong justification, participants in the research education program may receive per diem unless such costs are furnished as part of the registration fee.

Participants may also receive funds to defray partial tuition and other education-related expenses. Expenses for foreign travel must be exceptionally well justified.

Individuals supported by NIH training and career development mechanisms (K, T, or F awards) may receive, and indeed are encouraged to receive, educational experiences supported by an R25 program, as participants, but may not receive salary or stipend supplementation from a research education program.

Because the R25 program is not intended as a substitute for an NRSA institutional training program (e.g.,T32), costs to support full-time participants (supported for 40 hours/week for a continuous, 12-month period) are not allowable. Other Program-Related Expenses Consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel for key persons, and other program-related expenses may be included in the proposed budget.

These expenses must be justified as specifically required by the proposed program and must not duplicate items generally available at the applicant institution. Applicants must budget for travel costs for the PD/PI to attend a two-day PI meeting in each year of the support period. The meeting will be held in Bethesda, MD.

Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs (exclusive of tuition and fees, expenditures for equipment and consortium costs in excess of $25,000), rather than on the basis of a negotiated rate agreement. NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA. Section III.

Eligibility Information 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 NIH 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 Institutions (AANAPISIs) Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education) Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education) For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses) City or Township Governments Special District Governments Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) 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 Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed program.

Appropriate institutional commitment to the program includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned program. Institutions with existing Ruth L.

Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training grants (e.g., T32) or other Federally funded training programs may apply for a research education grant provided that the proposed educational experiences are distinct from those training programs receiving federal support.

In many cases, it is anticipated that the proposed research education program will complement ongoing research training occurring at the applicant institution. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , are not allowed.

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 possible.

The NIH 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 late submission. Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations.

The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application. System for Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which 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. NATO 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. eRA Commons - Applicants must have an active DUNS number to register in eRA Commons.

Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants. gov registration, but 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.

Grants. gov Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the Grants. gov registration.

Program 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. Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator) Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support.

Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

The PD/PI should be an established investigator in the scientific area in which the application is targeted and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. The PD/PI will be expected to monitor and assess the program and submit all documents and reports as required. This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

3. Additional Information on Eligibility Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time.

This means that the NIH 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 (A1) application. 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-11-101 ). Researchers from diverse backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and women are encouraged to participate as preceptors/mentors. Mentors should have research expertise and experience relevant to the proposed program.

Mentors must be committed to continue their involvement throughout the total period of the mentee’s participation in this award. Unless strongly justified on the basis of exceptional relevance to NIH, research education programs should be used primarily for the education of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Section IV.

Application and Submission Information 1. Requesting an Application Package 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 FOA. 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 instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement 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 will not be reviewed. Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review. By the date listed in Part 1.

Overview Information , prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information: Descriptive title of proposed activity Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s) Names of other key personnel Participating institution(s) Number and title of this funding opportunity The letter of intent should be sent to: All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Instructions for Application Submission The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA. Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R)