[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6471-6475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3034]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 03024]


Grants for Violence-Related Injury Prevention Research: Intimate 
Partner Violence and Sexual Violence; Notice of Availability of Funds

    Application Deadline: April 8, 2003.

A. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 301(a) [42 U.S.C. 241(a)] 
of the Public Health Service Act and section 391(a) [42 U.S.C. 280b(a)] 
of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. The catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance number is 93.136.

B. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2003 funds for grants for Intimate 
Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Injury Prevention Research. This 
program addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' focus area of Injury and 
Violence Prevention.
    The purposes of the program are to:
    1. Solicit research applications that address the priorities 
reflected under the ``Programmatic Requirements.''
    2. Build the scientific base for the prevention and control of 
injuries, disabilities, and deaths.
    3. Encourage professionals from a wide spectrum of disciplines of 
engineering, epidemiology, medicine, biostatistics, public health, law 
and criminal justice, and behavioral, and social sciences to perform 
research in order to prevent and control injuries more effectively.
    4. Encourage investigators to propose research that involves 
intervention development and testing as well as research on methods, to 
encourage individuals, organizations, or communities to adopt and 
maintain effective intervention strategies.
    Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the 
following performance goal for the National Center for Injury 
Prevention and Control (NCIPC): Develop new or improved approaches for 
preventing and controlling death and disability due to injuries.

C. Eligible Applicants

    Applications may be submitted by public and private nonprofit and 
for profit organizations and by governments and their agencies; that 
is, universities, colleges, technical schools, research institutions, 
hospitals, other public and private nonprofit and for profit 
organizations, community-based organizations, faith-based 
organizations, state and local governments or their bona fide agents, 
including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic 
of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, Federally 
recognized Indian tribal governments, Indian tribes, or Indian tribal 
organizations, and small, minority, and/or women-owned businesses.

    Note: Title 2 of the United States Code section 1611 states that 
an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal 
Revenue Code that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to 
receive Federal funds constituting an award, grant or loan.

    Applications that are incomplete or non-responsive to the below 
requirements will be returned to the applicant without further 
consideration. The following are applicant requirements:
    1. A principal investigator who has conducted research, published 
the findings in peer-reviewed journals, and has specific authority and 
responsibility to carry out the proposed project.
    2. Demonstrated experience on the applicant's project team in 
conducting, evaluating, and publishing injury control research in peer-
reviewed journals.
    3. Effective and well-defined working relationships within the 
performing organization and with outside entities, which will ensure 
implementation of the proposed activities.
    4. The ability to carry out injury control research projects as 
defined under Attachment 2 (1.a-c). The attachment is posted with this 
announcement on the CDC Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/ncipchm.htm.
    5. The overall match between the applicant's proposed theme and 
research objectives and the program priorities as described under the 
heading, ``Program Requirements.''

D. Funding

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $1,200,000 is expected to be available in FY 2003 to 
fund approximately 4-6 awards for intimate partner violence and sexual 
violence research grants. It is expected that the awards will begin on 
or about September 1, 2003, and will be made for

[[Page 6472]]

a 12-month budget period within a three-year project period. The 
maximum funding level will not exceed $300,000 (including both direct 
and indirect costs) per year and $900,000 for the three-year project 
period. The specific program priorities for these funding opportunities 
are outlined with examples in this announcement under the section, 
``Programmatic Requirements.''
    Applications that exceed the funding caps noted above will be 
excluded from the competition and returned to the applicant. The 
availability of Federal funding may vary and is subject to change.
    Consideration will also be given to current grantees that submit a 
competitive supplement requesting one year of funding to enhance or 
expand existing projects, or to conduct one-year pilot studies. These 
awards will not exceed $150,000, including both direct and indirect 
costs. Supplemental awards will be made for the budget period to 
coincide with the actual budget period of the grant and are based on 
the availability of funds.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
based on satisfactory progress demonstrated by investigators at work-
in-progress monitoring workshops (travel expenses for this annual one 
day meeting should be included in the applicant's proposed budget), and 
the achievement of work plan milestones reflected in the continuation 
application.

Use of Funds

    Grant funds will not be made available to support the provision of 
direct care. Eligible applicants may enter into contracts, including 
consortia agreements, as necessary to meet the requirements of the 
program and strengthen the overall application.

Recipient Financial Participation

    Matching funds are not required for this program.

E. Program Requirements

    NCIPC is soliciting investigator-initiated research that will help 
expand and advance our understanding of violence, its causes, and 
prevention strategies.
    The following research themes are the focus of this investigator-
initiated solicitation:
    1. Evaluate strategies for disseminating and implementing evidence-
based interventions or policies for the prevention of intimate partner 
violence and sexual violence.
    2. Evaluate the efficacy, effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of 
interventions, programs, and policies to prevent intimate partner 
violence and sexual violence.
    3. Identify shared and unique risk and protective factors for the 
perpetration of intimate partner violence and sexual violence and 
examine the relationships among these forms of violence and others such 
as child maltreatment, youth violence, or suicidal behavior.
    Additional information may be found for all attachments as posted 
with this announcement on the CDC Web site: http://www.cdc.gov.

F. Content

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    A LOI is optional for this program. The narrative should be no more 
than two single-spaced pages, printed on one side, with one-inch 
margins, and unreduced 12-point font. The letter should identify the 
announcement number, the name of the principal investigator, and 
briefly describe the scope and intent of the proposed research work. 
The letter of intent does not influence review or funding decisions, 
but the number of letters received will enable CDC to plan the review 
more effectively and efficiently.

Applications

    The Program Announcement title and number must appear in the 
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 criteria 
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program 
plan. The narrative should be no more than 25 single-spaced pages, 
printed on one side, with one-inch margins, and unreduced 12-point 
font.
    Applications should follow the PHS-398 (Rev. 5/2001) application 
and Errata sheet (See Attachment 4 of this announcement). The narrative 
should include the following information:
    1. The project's focus that justifies the research needs and 
describes the scientific basis for the research, the expected outcome, 
and the relevance of the findings to reduce injury morbidity, 
mortality, disability, and economic losses. This focus should be based 
on recommendations in ``Healthy People 2010'' and the ``CDC Injury 
Research Agenda'' and should seek creative approaches that will 
contribute to a national program for injury control.
    2. Specific, measurable, and time-framed objectives.
    3. A detailed plan describing the methods by which the objectives 
will be achieved, including their sequence. A comprehensive evaluation 
plan is an essential component of the application.
    4. A description of the principal investigator's role and 
responsibilities.
    5. A description of all the project staff regardless of their 
funding source. It should include their title, qualifications, 
experience, percentage of time each will devote to the project, as well 
as that portion of their salary to be paid by the grant.
    6. A description of those activities related to, but not supported 
by the grant.
    7. A description of the involvement of other entities that will 
relate to the proposed project, if applicable. It should include 
commitments of support and a clear statement of their roles.
    8. A detailed first year's budget for the grant with future annual 
projections, if relevant.
    9. An explanation of how the research findings will contribute to 
the national effort to reduce the morbidity, mortality and disability 
caused by violence-related injuries within three to five years from 
project start-up.
    An applicant organization has the option of having specific salary 
and fringe benefit amounts for individuals omitted from the copies of 
the application, which are made available to outside reviewing groups. 
To exercise this option: on the original and two copies of the 
application, the applicant must use asterisks to indicate those 
individuals for whom salaries and fringe benefits are not shown; 
however, the subtotals must still be shown. In addition, the applicant 
must submit an additional copy of page four of Form PHS-398, completed 
in full, with the asterisks replaced by the salaries and fringe 
benefits. This budget page will be reserved for internal staff use 
only.

G. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission

    On or before March 10, 2003, submit the LOI to the Grants 
Management Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional 
Information'' section of this announcement.

Application Forms

    Submit the original and two 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: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm.
    If you do not have access to the Internet, or if you have 
difficulty accessing the forms on-line, you may contact the CDC 
Procurement and

[[Page 6473]]

Grants Office Technical Information Management Section (PGO-TIM) at: 
770-488-2700. Application forms can be mailed to you.

Submission Date, Time, and Address

    The application must be received by 4 p.m. Eastern Time April 8, 
2003. Submit the application to: Technical Information Management-
PA03024, CDC Procurement and Grants Office, 2920 Brandywine Road, 
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146.
    Applications may not be submitted electronically.

CDC Acknowledgment of Application Receipt

    A postcard will be mailed by PGO-TIM, notifying you that CDC has 
received your application.

Deadline

    Letters of intent and applications shall be considered as meeting 
the deadline if they are received before 4 p.m. Eastern Time on the 
deadline date. Applicants sending applications by the United States 
Postal Service or commercial delivery services must ensure that the 
carrier will be able to guarantee delivery of the application by the 
closing date and time. If an application is received after closing due 
to (1) carrier error, when the carrier accepted the package with a 
guarantee for delivery by the closing date and time, or (2) significant 
weather delays or natural disasters, CDC will upon receipt of proper 
documentation, consider the application as having been received by the 
deadline.
    Applications, which do not meet the above criteria, will not be 
eligible for competition and will be discarded. Applicants will be 
notified of their failure to meet the submission requirements.

H. Evaluation Criteria

    Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by CDC staff for 
completeness and responsiveness as outlined under the ``Eligible 
Applicants'' Section (Items one through five). Incomplete applications 
and applications that are not responsive will be returned to the 
applicant without further consideration. It is especially important 
that the applicant's abstract reflects the project's focus, because the 
abstract will be used to help determine the responsiveness of the 
application.
    Applications which are complete and responsive may be subjected to 
a preliminary evaluation (streamline review) by a peer review 
committee, the Injury Research Grant Review Committee (IRGRC), to 
determine if the application is of sufficient technical and scientific 
merit to warrant further review by the IRGRC; CDC will withdraw from 
further consideration applications judged to be noncompetitive and 
promptly notify the principal investigator/program director and the 
official signing for the applicant organization. Those applications 
judged to be competitive will be further evaluated by a dual review 
process.
    Competing supplemental grant awards may be made, when funds are 
available, to support research work or activities not previously 
approved by the IRGRC. Applications should be clearly labeled to denote 
their status as requesting supplemental funding support. These 
applications will be reviewed by the IRGRC and the secondary review 
group.
    All awards will be determined by the Director of the NCIPC based on 
priority scores assigned to applications by the primary review 
committee IRGRC, recommendations by the secondary review committee of 
the Science and Program Review Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee 
for Injury Prevention and Control (ACIPC), consultation with NCIPC 
senior staff, and the availability of funds.
    1. The primary review will be a peer review conducted by the IRGRC. 
All applications will be reviewed for scientific merit using current 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria (a scoring system of 100-
500 points) to evaluate the methods and scientific quality of the 
application. All categories are of equal importance, however, the 
application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged 
likely to have a major scientific impact. Factors to be considered will 
include:
    a. Significance. Does this study address an important problem? If 
the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge 
be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts 
or methods that drive this field?
    b. Approach. Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and 
analyses adequately developed, well-integrated, and appropriate to the 
aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem 
areas and consider alternative tactics? Does the project include plans 
to measure progress toward achieving the stated objectives? Is there an 
appropriate work plan included?
    c. Innovation. Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches 
or methods? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project 
challenge or advance existing paradigms, or develop new methodologies 
or technologies?
    d. Investigator. Is the principal investigator appropriately 
trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the proposed work 
appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and 
other significant investigator participants? Is there a prior history 
of conducting violence-related research?
    e. Environment. Does the scientific environment in which the work 
will be done contribute to the probability of success? Does the 
proposed research take advantage of unique features of the scientific 
environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there 
evidence of institutional support? Is there an appropriate degree of 
commitment and cooperation of other interested parties as evidenced by 
letters detailing the nature and extent of the involvement?
    f. Ethical Issues. What provisions have been made for the 
protection of human subjects and the safety of the research 
environments? How does the applicant plan to handle issues of 
confidentiality and compliance with mandated reporting requirements, 
e.g., suspected child abuse? Does the application adequately address 
the requirements of 45 CFR Part 46 for the protection of human 
subjects? (An application can be disapproved if the research risks are 
sufficiently serious and protection against risks is so inadequate as 
to make the entire application unacceptable.) The degree to which the 
applicant has met the CDC Policy requirements regarding the inclusion 
of women, ethnic, and racial groups in the proposed research (See 
Attachment 1, AR-2). This includes:
    (1) The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial 
and ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
    (2) The proposed justification when representation is limited or 
absent.
    (3) A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate 
to measure differences when warranted.
    (4) A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and 
outreach for study participants include the process of establishing 
partnerships with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits.
    g. Study Samples. Are the samples sufficiently rigorously defined 
to permit complete independent replication at another site? Have the 
referral sources been described, including the definitions and 
criteria? What plans have been made to include women and minorities and 
their subgroups as appropriate for the scientific goals of the

[[Page 6474]]

research? How will the applicant deal with recruitment and retention of 
subjects?
    h. Dissemination. What plans have been articulated for 
disseminating findings?
    i. Measures of Effectiveness. The Peer Review Panel shall assure 
that measures set forth in the application are in accordance with CDC's 
performance plans (See attachment). How adequately has the applicant 
addressed these measures?
    The IRGRC will also examine the appropriateness of the proposed 
project budget and duration in relation to the proposed research and 
the availability of data required for the project.
    2. The secondary review will be conducted by the Science and 
Program Review Subcommittee (SPRS) of the ACIPC. The ACIPC Federal 
agency experts will be invited to attend the secondary review, will 
receive modified briefing books (i.e., abstracts, strengths and 
weaknesses from summary statements, and project officer's briefing 
materials). The ACIPC Federal agency experts will be encouraged to 
participate in deliberations when applications address overlapping 
areas of research interest so that unwarranted duplication in 
federally-funded research can be avoided and special subject area 
expertise can be shared. The NCIPC Division Associate Directors for 
Science (ADS) or their designees will attend the secondary review in a 
similar capacity as the ACIPC Federal agency experts to assure that 
research priorities of the announcement are understood and to provide 
background regarding current research activities. Only SPRS members 
will vote on funding recommendations, and their recommendations will be 
carried to the entire ACIPC for voting by the ACIPC members in closed 
session. If any further review is needed by the ACIPC, regarding the 
recommendations of the SPRS, the factors considered will be the same as 
those considered by the SPRS.
    The committee's responsibility is to develop funding 
recommendations for the NCIPC Director based on the results of the 
primary review, the relevance and balance of proposed research relative 
to the NCIPC programs and priorities, and to assure that unwarranted 
duplication of federally-funded research does not occur. The secondary 
review committee has the latitude to recommend to the NCIPC Director, 
to reach over better-ranked proposals in order to assure maximal impact 
and balance of proposed research. The factors to be considered will 
include:
    a. The results of the primary review including the application's 
priority score as the primary factor in the selection process.
    b. The relevance and balance of proposed research relative to the 
NCIPC programs and priorities.
    c. The significance of the proposed activities in relation to the 
priorities and objectives stated in ``Healthy People 2010,'' the 
Institute of Medicine report, ``Reducing the Burden of Injury,'' and 
the ``CDC Injury Research Agenda.''
    d. Budgetary considerations.
    3. Continued Funding
    Continuation awards made after FY 2003, but within the project 
period, will be made on the basis of the availability of funds and the 
following criteria:
    a. The accomplishments reflected in the progress report of the 
continuation application indicate that the applicant is meeting 
previously stated objectives or milestones contained in the project's 
annual work plan and satisfactory progress demonstrated through 
presentations at work-in-progress monitoring workshops.
    b. The objectives for the new budget period are realistic, 
specific, and measurable.
    c. The methods described will clearly lead to achievement of these 
objectives.
    d. The evaluation plan will allow management to monitor whether the 
methods are effective.
    e. The budget request is clearly explained, adequately justified, 
reasonable and consistent with the intended use of grant funds.

I. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with an original plus two copies of:
    1. Annual progress report. The progress report will include a data 
requirement that demonstrates measures of effectiveness.
    2. A financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period.
    3. Final financial report and performance report, no more than 90 
days after the end of the project period.
    4. At the completion of the project, the grant recipient will 
submit a brief (2,500 to 4,000 words written in non-scientific 
[laymen's] terms) summary highlighting the findings and their 
implications for injury prevention programs, policies, environmental 
changes, etc. The grant recipient will also include a description of 
the dissemination plan for research findings. This plan will include 
publications in peer-reviewed journals and ways in which research 
findings will be made available to stakeholders outside of academia, 
(e.g., state injury prevention program staff, community groups, public 
health injury prevention practitioners, and others). CDC will place the 
summary report and each grant recipient's final report with the 
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) to further the agency's 
efforts to make the information more available and accessible to the 
public.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.

Additional Requirements

    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each see Attachment 1 of this 
announcement as posted on the CDC web site.

AR-1 Human Subjects Certification
AR-2 Requirements for inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-3 Animal Subjects Requirement
AR-9 Paperwork Reduction Requirements
AR-10 Smoke-Free Workplace Requirement
AR-11 Healthy People 2010
AR-12 Lobbying Restrictions
AR-13 Prohibition on Use of CDC funds for Certain Gun Control 
Activities
AR-21 Small, Minority, and Women-owned Business
AR-22 Research Integrity

    Executive Order 12372 does not apply to this program.

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    This and other CDC announcements, the necessary applications, and 
associated forms can be found on the CDC Web site, Internet address: 
http://www.cdc.gov. Click on ``Funding,'' then ``Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements.''
    For business management assistance, contact: Angie Nation, Grants 
Management Specialist, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, 
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: (770) 488-2719, E-mail address: 
[email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: Tom Voglesonger, Program 
Manager, Office of the Director, National Center for Injury Prevention 
and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 
Buford Highway, NE, Mail Stop K-02, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, Telephone: 
(770) 488-4823, Internet address: [email protected].


[[Page 6475]]


    Dated: February 1, 2003.
Sandra R. Manning,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-3034 Filed 2-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P