[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 68 (Thursday, April 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18580-18588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7936]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Grants for Education Programs in Occupational Safety and Health; 
Notice of Availability of Funds

    Announcement Type: New and Competing Continuation.
    Funding Opportunity Number: RFA OH05-001.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 93.263.
    Key Dates:
    Letter of Intent Deadline: None.
    Pre-Application Technical Assistance Conference Call: May 13, 2004 
(see Section VIII of this announcement).
    Application Deadline: July 1, 2004.
    Executive Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC)

[[Page 18581]]

announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2005 funds for a grant 
program for institutional training grants in occupational safety and 
health. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH) is mandated to provide an adequate supply of qualified 
personnel to carry out the purposes of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act. Projects are funded to support Occupational Safety and 
Health Education and Research Center Training Grants (ERCs) and 
Training Project Grants (TPGs). ERCs are academic institutions that 
provide interdisciplinary graduate training and continuing education in 
the industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational 
medicine, occupational safety, and closely related occupational safety 
and health fields. The ERCs also serve as regional resource centers for 
industry, labor, government, and the public. TPGs are academic 
institutions that primarily provide single-discipline graduate training 
in the industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational 
medicine, occupational safety, and closely related occupational safety 
and health fields.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Authority: This program is authorized under section 670(a) of 
the Occupational Safety and Health Act [29 U.S.C. 670(a)].

    Purpose: The purpose of the program is to provide financial 
assistance to eligible applicants to assist in providing an adequate 
supply of qualified professional occupational safety and health 
personnel. This program addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' focus 
area of Occupational Safety and Health.
    Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the 
following performance goal for the National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health: Ensure safer and healthier work environments for 
Americans through information dissemination, knowledge transfer, and 
training.

Activities

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the awardee will be responsible for the following activities that 
define the ERC and TPG programs to be conducted:
    1. All Applicants are required to provide Measures of Effectiveness 
that will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various objectives of 
the grant. Measures must be objective/quantitative and must measure the 
intended outcomes. These Measures of Effectiveness shall be submitted 
with the application and shall be an element of evaluation.
    2. ERC Applicants shall be an identifiable organizational unit 
within the sponsoring organization. Applicants must plan to conduct the 
following activities in order to be considered for an award. If the 
activities are not proposed, the application will be considered non-
responsive and will be returned to the applicant without a review.
    a. Establish cooperative arrangements with a medical school or 
teaching hospital (with an established program in preventive or 
occupational medicine), a school of nursing or its equivalent, a school 
of public health or its equivalent, or a school of engineering or its 
equivalent. It is expected that other schools or departments with 
relevant disciplines and resources shall be represented and shall 
contribute as appropriate to the conduct of the total program, e.g., 
epidemiology, toxicology, biostatistics, environmental health, law, 
business administration, and education. Specific mechanisms to 
implement the cooperative arrangements between departments, schools/
colleges, universities, etc., shall be demonstrated in order to assure 
that the intended interdisciplinary training and education will be 
engendered.
    b. Designate an ERC Director who possesses a demonstrated capacity 
for sustained productivity and leadership in occupational health and 
safety education and training. The Director shall oversee the general 
operation of the ERC Program and shall, to the extent possible, 
directly participate in training activities. A Deputy Director shall be 
responsible for managing the daily administrative duties of the ERC and 
to increase the ERC Director's availability to ERC staff and to the 
public.
    c. Designate Program Directors who are full-time faculty and 
professional staff representing various disciplines and qualifications 
relevant to occupational safety and health that are capable of 
planning, establishing, and carrying out or administering training 
projects undertaken by the ERC. Each academic program, as well as the 
continuing education and outreach program, shall have a Program 
Director.
    d. Designate faculty and staff with demonstrated training and 
research expertise, appropriate facilities and ongoing training and 
research activities in occupational safety and health areas.
    e. Establish a program for conducting education and training for 
four core disciplines: Occupational physicians, occupational health 
nurses, industrial hygienists, and occupational safety personnel. ERC 
core academic programs are intended to provide multi-level practitioner 
and research training. Core academic programs should offer masters 
degrees and, in research institutions, doctoral degrees. There shall be 
a minimum of five full-time students or full-time equivalent students 
in each of the core programs and a minimum of three full-time students 
or full-time equivalent students in each of the component programs, 
with a goal of a minimum of 30 full-time students (total in all of core 
and component programs together). ERCs are encouraged to recruit and 
train minority students to help address the under-representation of 
minorities among the occupational safety and health professional 
workforce. Although it is desirable for an ERC to have the full range 
of core programs, an ERC with a minimum of three academic programs of 
which two are in the core disciplines is eligible for support providing 
it is demonstrated that students will be exposed to the principles and 
issues of all four core disciplines. In order to maximize the unique 
strengths and capabilities of institutions, consideration will be given 
to the development of new and innovative academic component programs 
that are relevant to the occupational safety and health field, e.g., 
ergonomics, industrial toxicology, occupational injury prevention, 
occupational epidemiology, health services research, and agricultural 
safety and health; and to innovative technological approaches to 
training and education. ERCs must also document that the program covers 
an occupational safety and health discipline in critical need or meets 
a specific regional workforce need. Each core program curriculum shall 
include courses from non-core categories as well as appropriate 
clinical rotations and field experiences with public health and safety 
agencies and with labor-management health and safety groups. Where 
possible, field experience shall involve students representing other 
disciplines in a manner similar to that used in team surveys and other 
team approaches. ERCs should address the importance of providing 
training and education content related to special populations at risk, 
including minority workers and other sub-populations specified in the 
National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) special populations at 
risk category. Further information regarding NORA may be found at the 
CDC/NIOSH Internet address: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/.
    f. Establish a specific plan describing how trainees in core and 
component

[[Page 18582]]

academic programs will be exposed to the principles of all other 
occupational safety and health core and allied disciplines. ERCs that 
apply as a consortium (contracting with other institutional partners) 
generally have geographic, policy and other barriers to achieving this 
ERC characteristic and, therefore, must give special, innovative, 
attention to thoroughly describing the approach for fulfilling 
interdisciplinary interaction between students.
    g. Demonstrate impact of the ERC on the curriculum taught by 
relevant medical specialties, including family practice, internal 
medicine, dermatology, orthopedics, pathology, radiology, neurology, 
perinatal medicine, psychiatry, etc., and on the curriculum of 
undergraduate, graduate and continuing education of primary core 
disciplines as well as relevant medical specialties and the curriculum 
of other schools such as engineering, business, and law.
    h. Establish an outreach program to interact with and help other 
institutions or agencies located within the region. Programs shall be 
designed to address regional needs and implement innovative strategies 
for meeting those needs. Partnerships and collaborative relationships 
shall be encouraged between ERCs and TPGs. Programs to address the 
under-representation of minorities among occupational safety and health 
professionals shall be encouraged. Specific efforts should be made to 
conduct outreach activities to develop collaborative training programs 
with academic institutions serving minority and other special 
populations, such as Tribal Colleges and Universities, Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. 
Examples of outreach activities might include: interaction with other 
colleges and schools within the ERC and with other universities or 
institutions in the region to integrate occupational safety and health 
principles and concepts within existing curricula (e.g., Colleges of 
Business Administration, Engineering, Architecture, Law, and Arts and 
Sciences); exchange of occupational safety and health faculty among 
regional educational institutions; providing curriculum materials and 
consultation for curriculum/course development in other institutions; 
use of a visiting faculty program to involve labor and management 
leaders; cooperative and collaborative arrangements with professional 
societies, scientific associations, and boards of accreditation, 
certification, or licensure; and presentation of awareness seminars to 
undergraduate and secondary educational institutions (e.g., high school 
science fairs and career days) as well as to labor, management and 
community associations.
    i. Establish a specific plan for preparing, distributing and 
conducting courses, seminars and workshops to provide short-term and 
continuing education training courses for physicians, nurses, 
industrial hygienists, safety engineers and other occupational safety 
and health professionals, paraprofessionals and technicians, including 
personnel from labor-management health and safety committees, in the 
geographical region in which the ERC is located. The goal shall be that 
the training be made available to a minimum of 400 trainees per year 
representing all of the above categories of personnel, on an 
approximate proportional basis with emphasis given to providing 
occupational safety and health training to physicians in family 
practice, as well as industrial practice, industrial nurses, and safety 
engineers. Priority shall be given to establishing new and innovative 
training technologies, including distance learning programs and to 
short-term programs designed to prepare a cadre of practitioners in 
occupational safety and health. Where appropriate, it shall be 
professionally acceptable that Continuing Education Units (as approved 
by appropriate professional associations) may be awarded. These courses 
should be structured so that higher educational institutions, public 
health and safety agencies, professional societies or other appropriate 
agencies can utilize them to provide training at the local level to 
occupational health and safety personnel working in the workplace. 
Further, the ERC shall conduct periodic training needs assessments, 
shall develop a specific plan to meet these needs, and shall have 
demonstrated capability for implementing such training directly and 
through other institutions or agencies in the region. The ERC should 
establish and maintain cooperative efforts with labor unions, 
government agencies, and industry trade associations, where 
appropriate, thus serving as a regional resource for addressing the 
problems of occupational safety and health that are faced by State and 
local governments, labor and management.
    j. Establish a Board of Advisors representing the user and affected 
population, including representatives of labor, industry, government 
agencies, academic institutions and professional associations, shall be 
established by the ERC. The Board should meet at least annually to 
advise an ERC Executive Committee and to provide periodic evaluation of 
ERC activities. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the ERC 
Director and Deputy Director, academic Program Directors, the Director 
for Continuing Education and Outreach and others whom the ERC Director 
may appoint to assist in governing the internal affairs of the ERC.
    k. Establish a plan to incorporate research training into all 
aspects of training and, in research institutions, as documented by on-
going funded research and faculty publications, a defined research 
training plan for training doctoral-level researchers in the 
occupational safety and health field. The plan will include how the ERC 
intends to strengthen existing research training efforts, how it will 
integrate research training activities into the curriculum, field and 
clinical experiences, how it will expand these research activities to 
have an impact on other primarily clinically-oriented disciplines, such 
as nursing and medicine, and how it will build on and utilize existing 
research opportunities in the institution. Each ERC is required to 
identify or develop a minimum of one, preferably more, areas of 
research focus related to work environment problems. Consideration 
should be given to the CDC/NIOSH priority research areas identified in 
the National Occupational Health Research Agenda (NORA). The research 
training plan will address how students will be instructed and 
instilled with critical research perspectives and skills. This training 
will emphasize the importance of developing and working on 
interdisciplinary teams appropriate for addressing a research issue. It 
should also prepare students with the skill necessary for developing 
research protocols, pilot studies, outreach efforts to transfer 
research findings into practice, and successful research proposals. 
Such components of research training will require the ERCs to strive 
toward developing the faculty composition and administrative 
infrastructure essential to being Centers of Excellence in Occupational 
Safety and Health Research Training that are required to train research 
leaders of the future. The plan should address the incremental growth 
of such elements and evaluation of the plan commensurate with funds 
available. In addition to the research training components, the plan 
will also include such items as specific strategies for obtaining 
student and faculty funding, plans for acquiring equipment, if 
appropriate, and a plan for developing research-oriented faculty.
    l. Document evidence of support from other sources, including other 
Federal

[[Page 18583]]

grants, support from States and other public agencies, and support from 
the private sector including grants from foundations and corporate 
endowments, chairs, and gifts.
    3. TPG Applicants must plan to conduct an academic program that 
covers an occupational safety and health discipline in critical need or 
meets a specific regional workforce need. There shall be a minimum of 
three full-time students or full-time equivalent students in each 
academic program. Applicants should address the importance of providing 
training and education content related to special populations at risk, 
including minority and disadvantaged workers. The types of training 
currently eligible for support are:
    a. Graduate training for practice, teaching, and research careers 
in occupational safety and health. Priority will be given to programs 
producing graduates in areas of greatest occupational safety and health 
need. Strong consideration will be given to the establishment of 
innovative training technologies.
    b. Undergraduate and other pre-baccalaureate training providing 
trainees with capabilities for positions in occupational safety and 
health professions.
    c. Special technical or other programs for long-term training of 
occupational safety and health technicians or specialists.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Grant.
    Fiscal Year Funds: 2005.
    Approximate Total Funding: $6,500,000. See Funding Preferences 
below for a breakdown of funding and awards by category.
    Approximate Number of Awards: 20.
    Approximate Average Award: $656,000 for ERCs and $83,000 for TPGs. 
(This amount is for the first 12-month budget period, and includes both 
direct and indirect costs).
    Floor of Award Range: None.
    Ceiling of Award Range: None.
    Anticipated Award Date: July 1, 2005.
    Budget Period Length: 12 months.
    Project Period Length: Maximum of 5 years. Throughout the project 
period, CDC's commitment to continuation of awards will be conditioned 
on the availability of funds, evidence of satisfactory progress by the 
recipient (as documented in required reports), and the determination 
that continued funding is in the best interest of the Federal 
Government.
    Funding Preferences: These awards are intended to augment the 
scope, enrollment, and quality of training programs rather than to 
replace funds already available for current operations.
    Funding for ERCs: Approximately $4,660,000 of the total funds 
available will be utilized as follows:
    1. Approximately $3,250,000 is available to award five competing 
continuation or new ERC grants. This includes a total of $190,000 to 
augment the support of trainees in occupational medicine residency 
programs. Awards will range from $500,000 to $800,000 with the average 
award being $650,000.
    2. Approximately $180,000 is available to award three competing 
continuation or new training grants; two of the awards are planned for 
$120,000 for Hazardous Substance Academic Training (HSAT) Programs and 
one of the awards is planned for $60,000 for a Hazardous Substance 
Training (HST) Program. The awards are to support the development and 
presentation of continuing education and short courses (HST Programs), 
and academic curricula (HSAT Programs) for trainees and professionals 
engaged in the management of hazardous substances. Program support is 
available for faculty and staff salaries, trainee costs, and other 
costs to provide training and education for occupational safety and 
health and other professional personnel engaged in the evaluation, 
management, and handling of hazardous substances.
    3. Approximately $70,000 is available to award one competing 
continuation or new grant to support the enhancement of the ERC 
research training mission through the support of pilot project research 
training programs.
    4. Approximately $1,160,000 is available to award five competing 
continuation or new grants to support the enhancement of the ERC 
research training mission through the support of National Occupational 
Research Agenda (NORA) research support programs. The ERCs represent a 
variety of strengths and approaches that are required in order to 
promote high quality research in occupational safety and health, and 
are a major vehicle for the development of future leaders in 
occupational safety and health research. They are structured to foster 
development of interdisciplinary research skills that are needed to 
effectively address the NORA priority areas and are a critical link to 
practicing occupational safety and health professionals and others to 
translate research findings into interventions that prevent illness and 
injury in the workplace. Examples of activities that support the 
implementation of the National Occupational Research Agenda include: 
Assessing regional needs for research and research training in NORA 
areas; providing administrative and technical support for conducting 
research, including the administrative support of Pilot Project 
Research Training Programs; coordinating interdisciplinary research 
among graduate students; training graduate students in research 
principles, including students whose theses are in NORA priority areas, 
and training students who become occupational safety and health 
professionals to implement NORA findings in evidence-based practice; 
and, administering outreach and continuing education activities that 
bring NORA-related research findings to those who can effect changes 
that will reduce worker illness and injury.
    Funding for TPGs: Approximately $1,200,000 is available to fund 
fourteen competing continuation or new TPG grants. Awards will range 
from $40,000 to $250,000, with the average award being $85,000. This 
includes a total of $75,000 to augment the support of trainees in 
occupational medicine residency programs. These awards will support 
academic programs in the core disciplines (i.e., industrial hygiene, 
occupational health nursing, occupational medicine, and occupational 
safety and ergonomics) and relevant component programs (e.g., 
occupational injury prevention, industrial toxicology, and ergonomics).
    Funding for ERCs and TPGs: Approximately $750,000 is available to 
fund three competing continuation or new grants for occupational health 
services research training programs. Awards will range from $200,000 to 
$290,000, with the average award being $250,000. This program is 
intended to encourage new occupational health services research 
training programs and will only support doctoral-level training and 
trainees.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible applicants

    Any public or private non-profit university, college, educational 
or training institution that has demonstrated competency in the 
occupational safety and health field and is located in a State, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific 
Islands, Wake Island, Outer Continental Shelf lands defined in the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Johnston Island, and any other U.S. 
Territory or Trust Territory not named herein are eligible to apply for 
an institutional training grant.

[[Page 18584]]

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

    Matching funds are not required for this program.

III.3. Other

    If your application is incomplete or non-responsive to the 
requirements listed in this section, it will not be entered into the 
review process. You will be notified that your application did not meet 
submission requirements.
    Applicants must demonstrate competency by providing within the 
grant application, documentation of faculty training and experience in 
the occupational safety and health field being proposed, and an 
approved curriculum with course work in the occupational safety and 
health field.

    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.

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address To Request Application Package

    To apply for this funding opportunity use application form CDC 
2.145A (OMB Number 0920-0261). Application forms and instructions are 
available on the CDC Web site, 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 Grants Office Technical Information Management Section 
(PGO-TIM) staff at: 770-488-2700. Application forms can be mailed to 
you.

IV.2. Content and Form of Submission

    Application: You must submit a project narrative with your 
application forms. The narrative must be submitted in the following 
format:
     Maximum number of pages: 15 pages single-spaced 
per program. If your narrative exceeds the page limit, only the first 
pages which are within the page limit will be reviewed.
     Font size: 12 point unreduced.
     Paper size: 8.5 by 11 inches.
     Page margin size: One inch.
     Printed only on one side of page.
     Held together only by rubber bands or metal 
clips; not bound in any other way.
     Use standard size, black letters that can be 
clearly copied. Do not use photo reduction. Prepare all graphs, 
diagrams, tables, and charts in black ink. The application must contain 
only material that can be photocopied. Do not include course catalogue 
and course brochures. When additional space is needed to complete any 
of the items, use plain white paper (8.5 x 11 inches), leave one inch 
margins on each side, identify each item by its title, and type the 
name of the program director and the grant number (if the application 
is a competitive renewal) in the upper right corner of each page. All 
pages, including Appendices should be numbered consecutively at least 
one-half inch from the bottom edge.
    Your narrative should address activities to be conducted over the 
entire project period, and must include the items specified in the 
``Recommended Outline for Preparation of Competing New/Renewal Training 
Grant Applications (CDC 2.145A)'' available at the CDC Internet address 
listed in Section IV.1. The budget and budget justification pages will 
not be counted in the stated page limit. Additional information may be 
included in the application appendices. The appendices will not be 
counted toward the narrative page limit.
    You are required to have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal 
Numbering System (DUNS) number to apply for a grant or cooperative 
agreement from the Federal government. The DUNS number is a nine-digit 
identification number, which uniquely identifies business entities. 
Obtaining a DUNS number is easy and there is no charge. To obtain a 
DUNS number, access http://www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1-866-705-
5711.
    For more information, see the CDC Web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/pubcommt.htm.
    If your application form does not have a DUNS number field, please 
write your DUNS number at the top of the first page of your 
application, and/or include your DUNS number in your application cover 
letter.
    Additional requirements that may require you to submit additional 
documentation with your application are listed in section VI.2. 
Administrative and National Policy Requirements.

IV.3. Submission Dates and Times

    Application Deadline Date: July 1, 2004.
    Explanation of Deadlines: Applications must be received in the CDC 
Procurement and Grants Office by 4 p.m. eastern time on the deadline 
date. If you send your application by the United States Postal Service 
or commercial delivery service, you must ensure that the carrier will 
be able to guarantee delivery of the application by the closing date 
and time. If CDC receives your application 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, you will be given the opportunity to 
submit documentation of the carriers guarantee. If the documentation 
verifies a carrier problem, CDC will consider the application as having 
been received by the deadline.
    This announcement is the definitive guide on application submission 
address and deadline. It supersedes information provided in the 
application instructions. If your application does not meet the 
deadline above, it will not be eligible for review, and will be 
discarded. You will be notified that your application did not meet the 
submission requirements.
    CDC will not notify you upon receipt of your application. If you 
have a question about the receipt of your application, first contact 
your courier. If you still have a question, contact the PGO-TIM staff 
at: 770-488-2700. Before calling, please wait two to three days after 
the application deadline. This will allow time for applications to be 
processed and logged.

IV.4. Intergovernmental Review of Applications

    Executive Order 12372 does not apply to this program.

IV.5. Funding Restrictions

    Restrictions, which must be taken into account while writing your 
budget, are as follows:
     At least 50 percent of the funds awarded for 
each grant must be used for direct trainee expenses. Post-doctoral 
trainee support is discouraged with the exception of occupational 
medicine residents. Under this announcement, only one award will be 
made to any single institution or organization.
     Trainee appointments for support can only be 
made for students enrolled in academic programs that have been 
recommended for approval by NIOSH, as noted in the Summary Statement.
     Indirect costs under the training grant program 
will be reimbursed at 8 percent of total allowable direct costs 
exclusive of tuition and related fees, and equipment, or at the actual 
indirect cost rate, whichever results in a lesser dollar amount.
     Awards will not allow reimbursement of pre-award 
costs.
    Guidance for completing your budget can be found on the CDC Web 
site, at the following Internet address: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/budgetguide.htm.

[[Page 18585]]

IV.6. Other Submission Requirements

    Application Submission Address: Submit the original and two hard 
copies of your application by mail or express delivery service to: 
Technical Information Management--RFA OH05-001, CDC Procurement and 
Grants Office, 2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341.
    Applications may not be submitted electronically at this time.

V. Application Review Information

V.1. Criteria

    You are required to provide measures of effectiveness that will 
demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified objectives of 
the grant. Measures of effectiveness must relate to the performance 
goals stated in the ``Purpose'' section of this announcement. Measures 
must be objective and quantitative, and must measure the intended 
outcome. These measures of effectiveness must be submitted with the 
application and will be an element of evaluation.
    Your application will be evaluated against the following criteria:
    The Special Emphasis Panel will evaluate each application against 
the following criteria:
    1. ERC Comprehensive Evaluation Criteria are as follows:
    a. Plans to satisfy the regional needs for training in the areas 
outlined by the application, including projected enrollment, 
recruitment and current workforce populations. Special consideration 
should be given to the development of programs addressing the under-
representation of minorities among occupational safety and health 
professionals. Indicators of regional need should include measures 
utilized by the ERC such as previous record of training and placement 
of graduates. The need for supporting students in allied disciplines 
must be specifically justified in terms of user community requirements.
    b. Are plans proposed for day-to-day management, allocation of 
funds and cooperative arrangements designed to effectively achieve the 
Characteristics of an Education and Research Center (see Activities: 2. 
ERC Applicants).
    c. The establishment of new and innovative programs and approaches 
to training and education relevant to the occupational safety and 
health field and based on documentation that the program meets specific 
regional workforce needs. In reviewing such proposed programs, 
consideration should be given to the developing nature of the program 
and its capability to produce graduates who will meet such workforce 
needs.
    d. Does the curriculum content and design include formalized 
training objectives, minimal course content to achieve degree, course 
descriptions, course sequence, additional related courses open to 
occupational safety and health students, time devoted to lecture, 
laboratory and field experience, and the nature of specific field and 
clinical experiences including their relationships with didactic 
programs in the educational process?
    e. Academic training including the number of full-time and part-
time students and graduates for each core and component program, the 
placement of graduates, employment history, and their current location 
by type of institution (academic, industry, labor, etc.). Previous 
continuing education training in each discipline and outreach activity 
and assistance to groups within the ERC region.
    f. Methods in use or proposed methods for evaluating the 
effectiveness of training and outreach including the use of placement 
services and feedback mechanisms from graduates as well as employers, 
innovative strategies for meeting regional needs, critiques from 
continuing education courses, and reports from consultations and 
cooperative activities with other universities, professional 
associations, and other outside agencies.
    g. Competence, experience and training of the ERC Director, the 
Deputy ERC Director, the Program Directors and other professional staff 
in relation to the type and scope of training and education involved.
    h. Institutional commitment to ERC goals. An example of 
institutional commitment to the long-term stability of ERC programs is 
the commitment of tenured or tenure-track faculty positions to each 
participating academic program.
    i. Academic and physical environment in which the training will be 
conducted, including access to appropriate occupational settings.
    j. Is the budget adequate, justified, and consistent with the 
intended use of the grant funds? This includes a separate budget for 
the academic staff's time and effort in continuing education and 
outreach.
    k. Evidence of the integration of research experience into the 
curriculum, and field and clinical experiences. In institutions seeking 
funds for doctoral level research training, evidence of a plan 
describing the research and research training the ERC proposes. This 
should include goals, elements of the program, research faculty and 
amount of effort, support faculty, facilities and equipment available 
and needed, and methods for implementing and evaluating the program.
    l. Evidence of success in attaining outside support to supplement 
the ERC grant funds including other Federal grants, support from States 
and other public agencies, and support from the private sector 
including grants from foundations and corporate endowments, chairs, and 
gifts.
    m. Evidence of a strategy to evaluate the impact that the ERC and 
its programs have had on the region served by the Center. Examples 
could include a continuing education needs assessment and action plan, 
a workforce needs survey and action plan, consultation and research 
programs provided to address regional occupational safety and health 
problems, the impact on primary care practice and training, a program 
graduate data base to track the employment history and contributions of 
graduates to the occupational safety and health field, and the cost 
effectiveness of the program.
    n. Past performance based on evaluation of the most recent CDC/
NIOSH Peer Review Summary Statement and the grant application Progress 
Report (Competing Continuation applications only).
    2. ERC Specialty Program Evaluation Criteria are as follows:
    a. Hazardous Substance Training Program in Education and Research 
Centers:
    (1) Relevance of the proposed project to each element of the 
characteristics of a hazardous substance training program.
    (2) Comprehensiveness and soundness of the training plan developed 
to carry out the proposed activities. This is based on a documented 
need for the training and evidence to support the approach used to 
provide the required training. It includes descriptions of the scope 
and magnitude of the hazardous substance problem in the region served 
by the ERC and current activities and training efforts.
    (3) Education and experience of the Project Director, faculty, and 
staff assigned to this project with respect to handling, managing or 
evaluating hazardous substance sites and to the training of 
professionals in this field.
    (4) Creativity and innovation of the project leadership with 
respect to marketing the courses, structure in attracting trainees and/
or providing incentives for training.
    (5) Has the applicant considered the work of relevant agencies 
involved in hazardous substance activities, including EPA, and 
cooperated with

[[Page 18586]]

these agencies in developing and implementing this training program?
    (6) Suitability of facilities and equipment available for this 
project.
    (7) Is the budget adequate, justified, and consistent with the 
intended use of the grant funds?
    b. Hazardous Substance Academic Training Program in Education and 
Research Centers:
    (1) Evidence of a needs assessment directed to the overall 
contribution of the proposed training program toward meeting the needs 
of the job market, especially within the applicant's region. The needs 
assessment should consider the regional requirements for hazardous 
substance training, information dissemination and special industrial, 
labor or community training needs that may be peculiar to the region.
    (2) Evidence of a plan to satisfy regional needs for training in 
the areas outlined by the application, including Program projected 
enrollment and recruitment and current workforce populations.
    (3) Does the HSAT curriculum content and design include: formalized 
training objectives; minimal course content to achieve a degree or 
successful completion of the specialty area requirements; course 
descriptions; course sequence; additional related courses open to 
occupational safety and health students; time devoted to lecture, 
laboratory, and field experience; and the nature of specific field and 
clinical experiences including their relationships with didactic 
programs in the educational process?
    (4) Evidence that all trainees supported in the HSAT program have 
successfully completed a 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations training 
course, or equivalent, to meet the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.120 
(e)(3)(i). This training requirement may be accomplished prior to 
enrollment in the HSAT program of study.
    (5) Previous record of academic and/or short course training 
delivered in the hazardous substances field, including the number and 
type of students trained. Previous record of hazardous substances 
outreach activity and assistance to hazardous substance groups within 
the ERCs region.
    (6) Methods in use or proposed for evaluating the effectiveness of 
training and services including the use of placement services and 
feedback mechanisms from graduates as well as employers, student 
evaluations from academic and continuing education courses, and reports 
from consultations and cooperative activities with other universities, 
professional associations, and other outside agencies.
    (7) The competence, experience and training of the Program Director 
and other professional staff in relation to the type and scope of 
training and education involved.
    (8) Institutional commitment to HSAT Program goals.
    (9) Academic and physical environment in which the training will be 
conducted.
    (10) Is the budget adequate, justified, and consistent with the 
intended use of the grant funds? This includes the budget required to 
support the training courses developed, as well as accounting for the 
academic staff's time.
    (11) Evidence of a plan describing the hazardous substances 
academic training the Center proposes. This should include goals, 
elements of the program, faculty and amount of effort, support faculty, 
facilities and equipment available and needed, and methods for 
implementing and evaluating the program.
    (12) Evidence of success in attaining outside support to supplement 
the ERC grant funds including other federal grants, support from states 
and other public agencies, and support from the private sector 
including grants from foundations and corporate endowments, chairs, and 
gifts.
    (13) Has the applicant collaborated with state and federal agencies 
having hazardous substance management functions, including the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, and has the applicant cooperated with 
the agencies in developing and implementing this program?
    c. ERC Pilot Project Research Training Programs:
    (1) Relevance of the proposed program, including objectives that 
are specific and consistent.
    (2) Adequacy of the plan proposed to conduct the pilot projects 
program, including procedures for reviewing and funding projects, the 
scientific review mechanism, and program quality assurance.
    (3) Does the applicant demonstrate collaboration with other 
research training institutions in the region, including NIOSH Training 
Project Grantees?
    (4) Education and experience of the proposed Research Training 
Program Director and faculty in the occupational safety and health 
field, including the utilization of pilot projects as a research 
training mechanism.
    (5) Is the budget adequate, justified, and consistent with the 
intended use of the grant funds?
    (6) Adequacy of the plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
proposed pilot projects program.
    (7) Gender and minority issues--Are plans to include women, ethnic, 
and racial groups adequately developed (as appropriate for the 
scientific goals of the pilot projects)? (See AR-2, Requirements for 
Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Research.)
    d. ERC NORA Research Support Programs:
    (1) Adequacy of a detailed plan at the ERC level that will promote 
high quality NORA research and research training activities within the 
ERC and the region.
    (2) Does the plan outline the approaches and mechanisms that will 
be used by the ERC to carry out interdisciplinary research and research 
training activities?
    (3) Education and experience of the proposed Program Director, 
faculty, and staff in the occupational safety and health research 
training field.
    (4) Academic and physical environment, including laboratories and 
equipment, in which research training will be conducted.
    (5) Is the budget adequate, justified, and consistent with the 
intended use of the grant funds? Training grant funds may not be used 
to fund research projects. Some examples of how funds may be used for 
NORA-related research project technical support include laboratory 
supplies, training-related equipment, data entry/analysis, and 
technicians who work on multiple projects and thus enhance faculty 
ability to carry out training.
    3. TPG Evaluation Criteria are as follows:
    a. Need for training in the program area outlined by the 
application. This should include documentation of a plan for student 
recruitment, projected enrollment, job opportunities, regional need 
both in quality and quantity, and for programs addressing the under-
representation of minorities in the profession of occupational safety 
and health.
    b. Potential contribution of the project toward meeting the needs 
for graduate or specialized training in occupational safety and health.
    c. The establishment of new and innovative programs and approaches 
to training and education relevant to the occupational safety and 
health field and based on documentation that the program meets specific 
regional workforce needs. In reviewing such proposed programs, 
consideration should be given to the developing nature of the program 
and its capability to produce graduates who will meet such workforce 
needs.
    d. Curriculum content and design which should include formalized

[[Page 18587]]

program objectives, minimal course content to achieve degree, course 
sequence, related courses open to students, time devoted to lecture, 
laboratory and field experience, nature and the interrelationship of 
these educational approaches. There should also be evidence of 
integration of research experience into the curriculum, and field and 
clinical experiences.
    e. Previous records of training in this or related areas, including 
placement of graduates.
    f. Methods proposed to evaluate effectiveness of the training.
    g. Degree of institutional commitment: Is grant support necessary 
for program initiation or continuation? Will support gradually be 
assumed? Is there related instruction that will go on with or without 
the grant? An example of institutional commitment to the long-term 
stability of TPG programs is the commitment of tenured or tenure-track 
faculty positions to each academic program.
    h. Adequacy of facilities (classrooms, laboratories, library 
services, books, and journal holdings relevant to the program, and 
access to appropriate occupational settings).
    i. Competence, experience, training, time commitment to the program 
and availability of faculty to advise students, faculty/student ratio, 
and teaching loads of the program director and teaching faculty in 
relation to the type and scope of training involved. The program 
director must be a full-time faculty member.
    j. Admission Requirements: Student selection standards and 
procedures, student performance standards and student counseling 
services.
    k. Advisory Committee: Membership, industries and labor groups 
represented; how often they meet; who they advise, role in designing 
curriculum and establishing program need. The Committee should meet at 
least annually to provide advice and periodic evaluation of TPG 
activities.
    l. Evidence of a strategy to evaluate the impact that the program 
has had on the region. Examples could include a workforce needs survey 
and action plan, consultation and research programs provided to address 
regional occupational safety and health problems, a program graduate 
data base to track the employment history and contributions of 
graduates to the occupational safety and health field, and the cost 
effectiveness of the program.
    m. Past performance based on evaluation of the most recent CDC/
NIOSH Peer Review Summary Statement and the grant application Progress 
Report (Competing Continuation applications only).
    n. Is the budget adequate, justified, and consistent with the 
intended use of the grant funds?
    4. ERC and TPG Evaluation Criteria for Occupational Health Services 
Research Training Programs are as follows:
    a. Evidence of a plan to satisfy the need for training in the area 
outlined by the application, including projected enrollment, 
recruitment and job opportunities. Indicators of need may include 
measures utilized by the Program such as previous record of training 
and placement of graduates. Indicate the potential contribution of the 
project toward meeting the need for this specialized training.
    b. Are plans included for day-to-day management, allocation of 
funds and cooperative arrangements designed to effectively achieve the 
program requirements.
    c. Evidence of a plan describing the academic and research training 
the program proposes. This should include goals, elements of the 
program, research faculty and amount of effort, support faculty, 
facilities and equipment available and needed, and methods for 
implementing and evaluating the program.
    d. Does the curriculum content and design include formalized 
training objectives, minimal course content to achieve degree, course 
descriptions, course sequence, additional related courses open to 
students, time devoted to lecture, and clinical and research experience 
addressing the relationship with didactic programs in the educational 
process?
    e. Is the program effort capable of supporting the number and type 
of students proposed?
    f. Has the program initiated collaborative relationships with 
external agencies and institutions to expand and strengthen its 
research capabilities by providing student and faculty research 
opportunities?
    g. Evidence of previous record of training in health services 
research and occupational safety and health, including placement of 
graduates and employment history.
    h. Does the program document methods in use or proposed methods for 
evaluating the effectiveness of the training, including the use of 
feedback mechanisms from graduates and employers, placement of 
graduates in research positions, research accomplishments of graduates 
and reports from consultations and cooperative activities with other 
universities, professional associations, and other outside agencies?
    i. Competence, experience and training of the Program Director, 
faculty and advisors in relation to the type and scope of research 
training and education involved.
    j. Degree of institutional commitment to Program goals.
    k. Adequacy of the academic and physical environment in which the 
training will be conducted, including access to appropriate 
occupational health research resources.
    l. Is the budget reasonable, adequately justified, and consistent 
with the intended use of the grant funds?
    m. Evidence of a plan for establishment of an Advisory Committee, 
including meeting times, roles and responsibilities.

V.2. Review and Selection Process

    Applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Procurement 
and Grants Office (PGO) staff, and for responsiveness by the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Incomplete applications 
and applications that are non-responsive to the eligibility criteria 
will not advance through the review process. Applicants will be 
notified that their application did not meet submission requirements.
    The initial peer review will be conducted by a Special Emphasis 
Panel (SEP) appointed by CDC. SEP members are extramural peer reviewers 
with occupational safety and health expertise in the program areas 
under review. An application will be considered a complete document for 
review purposes. Thus, there will not be any other form of 
communication between the applicant and the reviewers. In special 
circumstances, site visits may be made by a SEP for all applications of 
a given type, but such site visits are not routine or anticipated and 
will only be conducted where it is essential to observe activities of 
the applicants that NIOSH determines are necessary for an adequate 
review. Such site visits would not be for the applicants to add new 
information or clarify issues in their applications. Each of the review 
criteria will be addressed and considered by the peer reviewers in 
assigning the overall priority score, weighting them as appropriate for 
each application. If an application is deemed responsive, a priority 
score will be assigned using a range of 100-500 representing adjectival 
equivalents from outstanding (100) to acceptable (500). Note that an 
application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged 
likely to have a major scientific impact and receive a good priority 
score.

[[Page 18588]]

    The secondary peer review will be conducted by the NIOSH Secondary 
Review Committee which evaluates how the applications will contribute 
to the purpose for this program as stated at the beginning of this 
announcement.

V.3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

    Award notification dates are expected to be June 1, 2005 with award 
start dates of July 1, 2005.

VI. Award Administration Information

VI.1. Award Notices

    Successful applicants will receive a Notice of Grant Award (NGA) 
from the CDC Procurement and Grants Office. The NGA shall be the only 
binding, authorizing document between the recipient and CDC. The NGA 
will be signed by an authorized Grants Management Officer, and mailed 
to the recipient fiscal officer identified in the application.
    Unsuccessful applicants will receive notification of the results of 
the application review by mail.

VI.2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

45 CFR Part 74 and Part 92

    For more information on the Code of Federal Regulations, see the 
National Archives and Records Administration at the following Internet 
address: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html html.
    The following additional requirements apply to this project:

 AR-1* Human Subjects Requirements
 AR-2* Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial 
and Ethnic Minorities in Research
 AR-3* Animal Subjects Requirements
 AR-10 Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
 AR-11 Healthy People 2010
 AR-12 Lobbying Restrictions


    *Applies only to ERC Pilot Project Research Training Program.

    Additional information on these requirements can be found on the 
CDC Web site at the following Internet address: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/ARs.htm.

VI.3. Reporting Requirements

    You must provide CDC with an original, plus two hard copies of the 
following reports:
    1. Initial interim progress report is due December 1, 2004. This 
report is required on December 1, on an annual basis. The progress 
report will serve as your non-competing continuation application, and 
must contain the following elements:
    a. Current Budget Period Activities Objectives.
    b. Current Budget Period Financial Progress.
    c. New Budget Period Program Proposed Activity Objectives.
    d. Budget and justification.
    e. Additional Requested Information.
    f. Measures of Effectiveness.
    2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
each budget period. The initial report is due September 30, 2006.
    3. Final financial and performance reports, no more than 90 days 
after the end of the project period. These reports must be mailed to 
the Grants Management or Contract Specialist listed in the ``Agency 
Contacts'' section of this announcement.

VII. Agency Contacts

    For general questions about this announcement, contact:
    Technical Information Management Section, CDC Procurement and 
Grants Office, 2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341, Telephone: 770-
488-2700.
    For program technical assistance, contact:
    John T. Talty, Program Officer, Office of Extramural Programs, 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Mailstop C-7, 
Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998, Telephone: (513) 533-8241, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For financial, grants management, or budget assistance, contact: 
Cynthia Y. Mitchell, Grants Management Specialist, CDC Procurement and 
Grants Office, 626 Cochrans Mill Rd., Mailstop P05, Pittsburgh, PA 
15236, Telephone: (412) 386-6434, E-mail: [email protected].

VIII. Other Information

    A pre-application technical assistance conference call will be held 
from 2 to 3 p.m. (eastern time) on May 13, 2004, to allow potential 
applicants the opportunity to ask questions about this announcement. 
The call in number is 1-866-524-1250, and the participant passcode is 
469181.

    Dated: April 2, 2004.
William P. Nichols,
Acting Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 04-7936 Filed 4-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P