Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by NIH Common Fund. This program supports the development and implementation of short courses designed to educate researchers on the broad and rigorous use of data generated through NIH Common Fund programs. The aim is to enhance data literacy and analytical skills within the scientific community.

Expired RFA-RM-23-014: Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 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 Strategic Coordination ( Common Fund ) This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is developed as a Common Fund initiative ( htts://commonfund. nih. gov/ ) through the Office of the NIH Director, Office of Strategic Coordination ( https://commonfund.

nih. gov/ ). All NIH Institutes and Centers participate in Common Fund initiatives.

The NOFO will be administered by NIDCR on behalf of the NIH. Funding Opportunity Title Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) August 31, 2022 - Implementation Changes for Genomic Data Sharing Plans Included with Applications Due on or after January 25, 2023. See Notice NOT-OD-22-198 .

August 5, 2022 - Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. See Notice NOT-OD-22-189 . July 22, 2019 - Requirement for ORCID iDs for Individuals Supported by R esearch Training, Fellowship, Research Education, and Career Development Awards Beginning in FY 2020.

See Notice NOT-OD-19-109 . Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number Companion Funding Opportunity See Section III. 3.

Additional Information on Eligibility . Assistance Listing Number(s) 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 NOFO will support educational activities with a primary focus on: Courses for Skills Development Programs will promote the use of multiple Common Fund datasets in rigorous biomedical research through short training courses and support the inclusion and retention of a diverse community of Common Fund data users through professional mentoring.

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) Letter of Intent Due Date(s) Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) AIDS - New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision, as allowed All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. 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.

No late applications will be accepted for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from 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 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 goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research. This NOFO will accomplish the overarching goal by supporting educational activities that promote the broad and rigorous use of Common Fund data.

Educational activities should include the following components. Courses for Skills Development: Training should be provided through short courses to equip users to interact with and use two or more Common Fund datasets in rigorous biomedical research.

Courses should cover technical (e.g., cloud computing, data management), scientific (e.g., biomedical significance, statistical power), and implementation-related (e.g., budgeting, teaming) aspects of interacting with Common Fund data.

Mentoring Activities: Mentoring activities should reflect dedicated efforts at providing not only technical expertise, but advice, insight, and professional career skills to course participants who may be new to using cloud computing and Common Fund datasets in biomedical research. Activities should support the growth of a diverse multi-disciplinary community of Common Fund data users.

Interactions should build relationships meant to outlast the period of award. This initiative is funded through the NIH Common Fund, which supports cross-cutting programs that are expected to have exceptionally high impact.

All Common Fund initiatives invite investigators to develop bold, innovative, and often risky approaches to address problems that may seem intractable or to seize new opportunities that offer the potential for rapid progress.

This R25 program is an initiative within the Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE), which is an infrastructure investment made by the Common Fund to address the growing challenges facing scientific programs that leverage data-intensive strategies.

To support these programs and downstream data users, the CFDE is helping to ensure that all Common Fund data sets are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR), providing training for users to operate on the data in a cloud environment, and ensuring that Common Fund data continue to be available after individual programs are completed.

Program Structure: Years 1-2 of the program should be dedicated to the development of program components (i.e., course syllabus, mentoring activities, evaluation metrics), and recruitment of a diverse cohort of prospective participants,including prospective candidates from underrepresented groups. The short course should be conducted before the end of Year 2 and evaluated according to the planned metrics.

Year 3 of the program should be dedicated to making improvements to the training and mentoring activities and evaluation plan based on the outcomes of the Year 2 course. Before the end of Year 3, a second short course should be conducted based on the planned improvements and evaluated according to the planned metrics.

Mentoring activities must occur during each short course and may additionally occur outside the period of the short courses, but within the period of award, as needed. Course Format: The Year 2 course is expected to be in-person and approximately 1-2 weeks in duration, as needed to fulfill the planned objectives.

Based on the in-person experience from the Year 2 course, programs may choose another format (e.g., synchronous or asynchronous online, Massive Online Open Courses [MOOC]) for the Year 3 course if applicable. Changing course formats from Year 2 to Year 3 may require alternate strategies for the course, participant recruitment, and course evaluation. The Year 3 course should be approximately 1-2 weeks in duration.

Actual course attendance must be at least 85% of the planned enrollment size. A certificate of completion must be presented to each participant at the end of each course. Training Topics: At the end of the training, participants should be able to analyze large complex datasets containing multiple data types, including but not limited to omics (e.g., genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, spatial omics) and imaging.

Topics may need to address data science, data resource management, data analytics, cloud computing, computational biology, study design, modeling, and simulation, including artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), depending on the focus of the course and the intended participant base.

In addition, courses should cover implementation-related aspects of using and analyzing large datasets, including budgeting appropriately and developing relevant multi-disciplinary teams. At the completion of the short course, participants should be adept enough to begin bioinformatics research outside the classroom.

Public access: The CFDE includes a portal or central access point for Common Fund data sets, tools, and other digital objects. All R25 programs are expected to share any outputs via the CFDE portal’s dedicated training page for future and remote access. In addition to the CFDE portal, data may be shared through other web postings (e.g., public GitHub links), presentations at scientific meetings, and workshops.

Budgeting: Program budgets must accommodate funds for the travel and lodging of: (1) one expert from each Common Fund program whose data sets are being used as course material to attend the course (if the experts are not from the applicant institution); and (2) the PI to attend the spring CFDE Meeting annually. Data Sets : The established Common Fund data sets listed below are well-poised to be incorporated into R25 programs.

Applicants must propose using two or more Common Fund program data sets from the following list, and they are encouraged to propose using other data sets (including additional NIH Common Fund data sets not listed, other NIH data sets, and non-NIH data sets that are publicly available or will be made publicly available during the year of the award).

Data from the multiple data sets must be integrated to enable complex analyses that could not be achieved with single data sets or single data types alone. 4D Nucleome (4DN) ( https://www/4dnucleome. org/ ): Reference nucleomics and imaging data sets, including an expanding tool set for open data processing and visualization Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) ( https://a2cps.

org/ ): Imaging, high-throughput omics, sensory testing, and psychosocial assessment data from patients who either transition to or are resilient to chronic pain. Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) ( https://bridge2ai. org/ ): Ethically sourced, trustworthy, and well-defined flagship biomedical and behavioral datasets on salutogenesis, clinical care, functional genomics, and voice as a biomarker.

This program is in its early phase and data generation is ongoing. Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet) ( https://commonfund. nih.

gov/senescence ): Atlases and datasets of senescent cells and their secretomes. This program is in its early phase and data generation is ongoing. Extracellular RNA Communication (exRNA) ( https://exrna.

org/ ): Catalog of exRNA molecules found in human biofluids like plasma, saliva, and urine; and potential exRNA biomarkers for diseases Gabriella Miller Kids First (KF) ( https://kidsfirstdrc. org/ ): Data from whole-genome sequencing of cohorts with structural birth defects and/or susceptibility to childhood cancer, with associated phenotypic and clinical data Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) ( https://www. gtexportal.

org/home/ ): Whole genome- and RNA sequence data from multiple human tissues to study tissue-specific gene expression and regulation, including tissue samples Glycoscience (GL) ( https://glygen. org/ ): A data integration and dissemination project for carbohydrate and glycoconjugate related data H3Africa ( https://www. h3abionet.

org/resources/h3africa-archive/ ): Genomic and phenotypic research data generated by the Human Heredity and Health in Africa program. Includes population-based genomic studies of common, non-communicable disorders (e.g., heart and renal disease), as well as communicable diseases (e.g., tuberculosis). Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) ( https://hubmapconsortium.

org/ ): An open and global platform to map healthy cells in the human body to determine how the relationships between cells can affect the health of an individual Human Microbiome Project ( https://www. hmpdacc.

org/ ): Characterization of the microbiomes from healthy human participants at five major body sites using 16S metagenomic shotgun sequencing; as well as characterization of microbiome and human host from three cohorts of microbiome-associated conditions Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) ( https://druggablegenome.

net/ ): Data on understudied druggable proteins, including mRNA and protein expression data, phenotype associations, bioactivity data, drug target interactions, disease links, and functional information Integrated Human Microbiome Project (iHMP) ( https://hmpdacc. org/ihmp/ ): Microbiome, epigenomic, metabolomic, and phenotypic data for 3 cohorts Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Program (KOMP2) ( http://www. mousephenotype.

org/ ): Data from broad, standardized phenotyping of a genome-wide collection of mouse knockouts Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) ( http://lincsproject. org/ ): Molecular signatures that describe how different types of cells respond to a variety of agents that disrupt normal cellular function Metabolomics Workbench ( https://www. metabolomicsworkbench.

org/ ): Metabolomics data and metadata from studies on cells, tissues, and organisms Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans (MoTrPAC) ( https://motrpac-data. org/data-access ): Data contain assay-specific results, associated metadata, quality control reports, and animal phenotype data related to molecular transducers that underlie the effects of physical activity Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) ( https://commonfund.

nih. gov/nutritionforprecisionhealth ): The goal of the NPH program is to predict individual responses to food and dietary patterns. Data being collected include metabolomics, clinical assays, microbiome, and dietary assessments.

This program is in its early phase and data generation is ongoing. Somatic Mosaicism Across Human Tissues (SmaHT) ( https://commonfund. nih.

gov/smaht ): Data on DNA sequence variants within personal genomes in tissues from human donors. This program is in its early phase and data generation is ongoing. Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) ( https://sparc.

science/ ): Maps and tools to identify and influence therapeutic targets that exist within the neural circuitry of a wide range of organs and tissues Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) ( https://commonfund. nih. gov/Diseases ): A network of clinical and research centers helping individual patients and families living with the burden of undiagnosed disease and using advanced technologies to solve the most challenging clinical mysteries.

Applications Not Responsive to this NOFO: This NOFO requires an Enhancing Educational Inclusivity Plan submitted as Other Project Information and a Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity submitted as a part of the Research Strategy (see Section IV below). Applications submitted without an Enhancing Educational Inclusivity Plan or a Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity will not be reviewed.

Frequently Asked Questions regarding this NOFO will be posted on the Common Fund Data Ecosystem Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ( https://commonfund. nih. gov/dataecosystem/faqs ) website.

Applicants are encouraged to review the FAQs prior to submitting their applications. 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.

Research education 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 NOFO. 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 NIH Common Fund intends to commit approximately $1,500,000 in total costs each year in FY 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026. Approximately 3-6 awards are anticipated, contingent upon availability of funds and receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Application budgets should reflect the actual needs of the proposed project and are limited to $350,000 per year in direct costs. The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is three 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.

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 NOFO. 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 Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government - NIH Intramural Program 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 Institutional Development Award (IDeA) eligible institutions are encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education ( https://www.

nigms. nih. gov/capacity-building/division-for-research-capacity-building/institutional-development-award-(idea) ).

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 SF424 (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 Grants Policy Statement Section 2. 3. 9.

2 Electronically Submitted Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission. 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. 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. eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants.

gov registration; 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 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 their 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. See, Reminder: Notice of NIH's Encouragement of Applications Supporting Individuals from Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups as well as Individuals with Disabilities, NOT-OD-22-019 .

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. This NOFO 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. NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2. 3.

7. 4 Submission of Resubmission Application . 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 NIH Grants Policy Statement 2. 3.

9. 4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications ). Researchers from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, persons with disabilities, and women are encouraged to participate as mentors.

Mentors should have research expertise and experience relevant to the proposed program. Collectively, the mentors expertise should span the multiple technical and scientific disciplines relevant to bioinformatics research using the planned Common Fund and other data sets. 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. This research education program is designed for doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and Early Stage Investigators (ESIs, see https://grants. nih.

gov/policy/early-stage/index. htm ) who have some prior training in research methods, biomedical science, and computational methods. This program does not include undergraduate participants.

Prospective participants should be recruited to attend the course from as broad a geographical area as possible and from a variety of institutions (e.g., research-intensive, resource-limited), beyond the applicant institution. 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 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 instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - 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 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 NOFO. 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) Application Guide.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information Component Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide with the following additional modifications: Facilities & Other Resources. Describe the educational environment, including the facilities, laboratories, participating departments, computer services, and any other resources to be used in the development and implementation of the proposed program.

List all thematically related sources of support for research training and education following the format for Current and Pending Support. Appropriate institutional commitment should include the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned research education program. An Advisory Committee is not a required component of a Research Education program.

However, if an Advisory Committee is intended, provide a plan for the appointment of an Advisory Committee to monitor progress of the research education program. The composition, roles, responsibilities, and desired expertise of committee members, frequency of committee meetings, and other relevant information should be included. Describe how the Advisory Committee will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program.

Proposed Advisory Committee members should be named in the application only if they have been invited to participate at the time the application is submitted. Please name your file Advisory_Committee. pdf .

The page limit for this optional attachment is 2 pages.

Enhancing Educational Inclusivity Plan: As described in the report on Best Practices for Diversity and Inclusion in STEM Education and Research: A Guide by and for Federal Agencies , When an organization’s workforce is diverse in terms of gender, race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, ability, geography, religion and other identities, and when that organization provides an inclusive environment, it better retains talent, and is more innovative and productive.

The same report also indicates that workplace climate can be a significant barrier to inclusion when there are real or perceived differences in the way individuals are treated by peers and leaders based on their race, gender, disability, or other demographics.

A critical component in addressing this barrier is intentionality , an approach outlined by the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report on Minority Serving Institutions: America’s Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce .

Intentionality is described as a purposeful, culturally mindful method of engagement that targets and tailors the design, implementation, and evaluation of an effort to effectively meet the needs of its intended population of students. To provide an inclusive, safe and supportive educational environment for all participants through intentionality, programs are expected to describe robust plans that they will implement if awarded.

The Enhancing Educational Inclusivity Plan must describe: Specific efforts to promote inclusion through an environment that supports the success of individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives.

Some examples may include, but should not be limited to, querying participants previous knowledge of the subject to guide course content and delivery, gathering participant questions in advance to address their unique needs, developing and disseminating a clear class protocol, providing reasonable accommodations for participants who request them, and developing customized terms of engagement for mentor-mentee interactions.

Efforts to cultivate an environment free from harassment and intimidation, in which everyone participating is treated in a respectful and supportive manner (see https://grants. nih. gov/grants/policy/harassment/policy-requirement.

htm ). Programs should include a description of their plans and how the effectiveness and impact of these activities will be monitored and evaluated. Centralized institutional efforts alone will not satisfy the requirement to create an inclusive environment.

Please name the file EEI_Plan. pdf . The page limit for this attachment is 2 pages.

This plan focuses on building an educational environment that welcomes and supports participants from all backgrounds enrolled in the course. It builds upon the Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity (described below). If this attachment is not included, the application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

The filename provided for each Other Attachment will be the name used for the bookmark in the electronic application in eRA Commons. SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile Expanded Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide with the following additional modifications: Include all personnel other than the PD(s)/PI(s) in the Other Personnel section, including clerical and administrative staff. Use the section on Participant/Trainee Support Costs to include all allowable categories of funds requested to support participants in the program.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement Follow all instructions provided in