[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26975-26977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12439]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Program Announcement 99139]


Grants for Minority Health Statistics Dissertation Research 
Notice of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 99 funds for a dissertation research 
grants program for the Minority Health Statistics Grants Program of the 
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC. This program 
addresses the Healthy People 2000'' priority area, Surveillance and 
Data Systems.
    The purpose of the Minority Health Statistics Grants Program is to 
make awards for (1) the conduct of special surveys or studies on the 
health of racial and ethnic populations or subpopulations; (2) analysis 
of data on ethnic and racial populations and subpopulations; and (3) 
research on improving methods for developing statistics on ethnic and 
racial populations and subpopulations.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants may be public or private nonprofit institutions 
that will administer the grant on behalf of the proposed Principal 
Investigator (doctoral candidate). Examples of public and private 
nonprofit organizations include universities, colleges, research 
institutions, hospitals, and other public and private nonprofit 
organizations, State and local governments or their bona fide agents, 
and federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Indian tribes, or 
Indian tribal organizations.
    The proposed Principal Investigator must be a registered doctoral 
candidate in resident or nonresident status. All requirements for the 
doctoral degree other than the dissertation must be completed by the 
time of the award. Students seeking a doctorate in any relevant 
research discipline are eligible.
    An applicant institution may be either the degree-granting 
institution or another non-profit institution with which the proposed 
Principal Investigator is professionally affiliated.

    Note: Public Law 104-65 states that an organization described in 
section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engages 
in lobbying activities is not eligible to receive Federal funds 
constituting an award, grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, 
or any other form.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $150,000 is available in FY 1999 to fund 
approximately 5 awards. It is expected that the average award will be 
$20,000 ranging from $15,000 to $30,000. It is expected that the awards 
will begin on or about September 30, 1999. The awards will be made for 
a 12-month budget period within a project period of up to 2 years. 
Funding estimates are subject to change.

D. Use of Funds

    The total costs must not exceed $30,000 for the entire project 
period. An application that exceeds this amount will be returned to the 
applicant. No supplemental funds will be awarded.
    Funding support may only be requested for the amount of time 
necessary to complete the dissertation within the authorized project 
period.
    Allowable costs include: the investigator's salary and direct 
project expenses such as travel, data processing, and supplies. Fees 
for maintaining matriculation or other fees imposed on those preparing 
dissertations are allowable costs, provided the fees are required of 
all students of similar standing, regardless of the source of funding. 
Applicants are expected to work full time on the project. Any level of 
effort that is less than full time must be fully justified.
    Indirect costs under this grant program are limited to eight 
percent of direct costs, excluding tuition and related fees and 
expenditures for equipment. Indirect costs will be awarded at the 
actual indirect cost rate for the institution, if the rate is less than 
eight percent.

E. Funding Preference

    Three factors influence the final funding decisions on applications 
for support of dissertations: (1) result of the initial review; (2) the 
potential of the applicant to contribute to the field; and (3) the 
availability of funds.

F. Program Requirements

    Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the 
proposed project will be solely that of the proposed Principal 
Investigator (the doctoral candidate).
    1. The dissertation must examine and/or develop some aspect of 
statistical research on racial and ethnic populations or 
subpopulations. It should focus on one or more of the following 
research program areas: community-based research, methods and theory 
development, health promotion and data standards development, and data 
analysis and dissemination.
    2. The dissertation must be officially accepted by the faculty 
committee or university official responsible for the candidate's 
dissertation and must be signed by the responsible officials.
    3. Prior to submission of the application, the dissertation 
proposal must be approved by the dissertation faculty committee and 
certified by the faculty advisor. This information must be verified in 
a letter of certification from the chairperson and submitted with the 
grant application.
    4. Applications from doctoral students who are women, members of 
minority groups, persons with disability, students of Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and 
other predominately minority and minority serving institutions are 
encouraged.
    5. The proposed investigator who receives support for dissertation 
research under a grant may not at the same time receive support under a 
predoctoral training grant or fellowship awarded by any other agency, 
or component, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

G. Application Content

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    The LOI should identify program announcement number 99139, and the 
name of the principal investigator. The LOI does not influence review 
or funding decisions, but it will enable CDC to plan the review more 
efficiently. The LOI should be submitted on or before June 15, 1999, to 
the Grants Management Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain 
Additional Information'' section of this announcement.

Application

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the

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criteria listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your 
program plan. The narrative should be double-spaced, printed on one 
side, with one inch margins, and unreduced font. Applications will be 
eligible for support only during the review cycle for which they are 
submitted. No application can be submitted more than once even in 
revised form.
    Applicants must follow the instructions in the research grant 
application PHS Form 398 in preparing the application with the 
following information/changes:
    1. The Doctoral candidate should be identified as the Principal 
Investigator.
    2. A questionnaire may be included as an appendix if it is 
essential to evaluate the proposal. A list of literature cited is 
required and may be included in the appendix. No other material should 
be provided in an appendix.
    3. A letter from the faculty committee or the university official 
directly responsible for supervising the dissertation research must be 
submitted with the grant application. The letter must certify that (a) 
the committee has approved the formal proposal for the dissertation, 
(b) the grant application represents the dissertation proposal, and (c) 
the applicant will complete all requirements for the doctoral degree 
except the dissertation by the anticipated date of the grant award.
    4. The application must identify all members of the faculty 
committee by listing the names on Form BB. A brief biographical sketch 
for each should be provided as explained in form 398, page FF.
    5. Applicants should give human subjects protection and gender and 
minority representation by addressing the applicability and method of 
confidentiality and compliance.
    6. The project description in the application must describe the 
scientific significance of the work, including its relationship to 
other current research, and the design of the project in sufficient 
detail to permit evaluation. It should also present and interpret 
progress to date if the research is already underway.
    7. A detailed budget must be provided identifying the items for 
which funds are requested and their estimated costs. A budget 
justification explaining the necessity of these expenses for the 
research should also be included.
    8. Statements of ``Current and Pending Support'' for both the 
student and the dissertation advisor must be identified on form GG.

H. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    On or before June 15, 1999, submit the LOI to the Grants Management 
Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' 
section of this announcement.

Application

    Submit the original and five copies of PHS-398 (OMB Number 0925-
0001) (adhere to the instructions on the Errata Instruction Sheet for 
PHS 398). Forms are available at the following Internet address: 
www.cdc.gov/...Forms, or in the application kit. On or before July 15, 
1999, submit the application to the Grants Management Specialist 
identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of 
this announcement.
    Deadline: Applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline 
if they are either: (a) Received on or before the deadline date; or (b) 
Sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for orderly 
processing. (Applicants must request a legibly dated U.S. Postal 
Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a commercial 
carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks shall not be 
acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria in 
(a) or (b) above are considered late applications, will not be 
considered, and will be returned to the applicant.

I. Evaluation Criteria

    Proposals are judged on the basis of their scientific merit, the 
theoretical importance of the research question and the appropriateness 
of the proposed data and methodology to be used in addressing the 
question.
    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria by an objective review panel appointed by CDC.
    1. Significance and originality of the research.
    2. Knowledge of research relevant to the topic.
    3. Appropriateness of methods and data, including a description and 
justification of the analytic techniques that will be employed and a 
discussion of the methodological problems that might be encountered.
    4. Availability and adequacy of data.
    5. Organization of the project.
    6. Adequacy of facilities and resources.
    7. Human subjects involvement and protection (when appropriate).
    8. Representation of women and minorities (when appropriate).
    9. Appropriateness of the budget.
    In evaluating applications and making recommendations reviewers 
assess the applicant's potential for making significant contributions 
to the field of minority health statistics research.

J. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    The dissertation constitutes the final report of the grant. Three 
copies of the dissertation shall be submitted to the CDC.
    Provide CDC with original plus two copies of--
    1. The annual progress reports, no more than 30 days after the end 
of the budget period;
    2. The financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end 
of the budget period; and
    3. The final financial status and performance reports, no more than 
90 days after the end of the project period.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment I. included 
in the application kit.

AR-1  Human Subjects Requirements
AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-4  HIV/AIDS Confidentiality Provisions
AR-9  Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2000
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions

K. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 306(m) of the Public 
Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. section 242k(m)], as amended. The Catalog 
of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.283.

L. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    You can download a copy of this program announcement and the PHS 
Form 398 from the CDC home page Internet site: http://www.cdc.gov 
double click on ``funding'.
    To receive additional written information call 1-888-GRANTS4 (1-
888-472-6874). You will be asked to leave your name, address, and phone 
number and will need to refer to Program Announcement 99131. You

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will receive a complete program description, information on application 
procedures, and application forms. CDC will not send application kits 
by facsimile or express mail.

    Please Refer To Announcement number 99139 When Requesting 
Information and Submitting an Application.

    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained by 
contacting: Victoria Sepe, Grants Management Specialist, Grants 
Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Announcement 99139, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, 
Room 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341, telephone (770) 488-2721, Email address: 
[email protected]
    For program technical assistance, contact: Audrey L. Burwell, M.S., 
Minority Health Statistics Grants, Program Director, National Center 
for Health Statistics, CDC, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 1100, Hyattsville, 
MD 20782, Telephone: (301) 436-7062, extension 127, Email: 
[email protected], Program Website: www.cdc.gov/nchswww/about/grants/
grants.htm

    Dated: May 12, 1999.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-12439 Filed 5-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P