[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 54 (Friday, March 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15020-15021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06468]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Notice of Intent To Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement 
for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers

AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides information on the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH) intent to publish a funding opportunity 
announcement for Education and Research Centers (ERCs). The purpose of 
this program is to support existing NIOSH ERCs and establish new ERCs, 
as appropriate, to address the burden of Occupational Safety and Health 
(OSH) in the United States by providing state-of-the-art 
interdisciplinary graduate and research training for the next 
generation of OSH practitioners and researchers.

Table of Contents

Dates
For Further Information Contact
Supplementary Information
    Recipient Reporting Requirements
    Award Information
    Needs Assessment
    Regional Presence
    Budget Limits for Required and Optional Components

DATES: 

 Anticipated Publication Date of Announcement: May 2015
 First Anticipated Application Due Date: November 2015
 Earliest Anticipated Award Date: June 2016
 Earliest Anticipated Start Date: July 2016

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Elizabeth H. Maples, National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease 
Control, 1600 Clifton Road NE., Mailstop E-74, Atlanta, GA 30333; Phone 
(not toll-free numbers): (404) 498-2557, Fax: (404) 498-2571, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC), intends to publish a funding opportunity announcement for 
Education and Research Centers (ERCs) that are focused on occupational 
safety and health graduate training and research training.
    NIOSH is mandated to provide an adequate supply of qualified 
personnel to carry out the purposes of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act, and the ERCs are one of the principal means for meeting 
this mandate. ERCs are academic institutions that provide high-quality 
interdisciplinary graduate training, continuing education, and outreach 
in the core occupational safety and health disciplines of industrial 
hygiene (IH), occupational health nursing (OHN), occupational medicine 
residency (OMR), and occupational safety (OS), as well as closely 
related allied disciplines. Research and research training are integral 
components of ERCs, with ERC faculty and NIOSH trainees conducting 
research on issues related to the NIOSH National Occupational Research 
Agenda (NORA). The ERCs also serve as regional resources for industry, 
labor, government, and the public.
    This Notice of Intent is being provided to allow potential 
applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and 
responsive projects. The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is 
expected to be published in May 2015 with an expected application due 
date in November 2015.
    The FOA will utilize the T42 activity code. ERCs are located in 
accredited academic institutions across the country and provide 
graduate degree and certificate training in core and allied disciplines 
of OSH. ERCs also provide interdisciplinary research training to 
identify, assess, address, and improve OSH. ERCs conduct outreach to 
help improve knowledge and awareness of work-related safety and health 
issues, and they provide continuing education for OSH professionals. 
Through comprehensive, integrated programs, ERCs improve the safety and 
health of our nation's workers.
    Recipient Reporting Requirements: Recipients funded with NIOSH ERC 
appropriations will be required to report project status on an annual 
basis. Specific reporting requirements will be detailed in the Terms 
and Conditions of the Notice of Award.
    Award Information:
     Approximate Current Fiscal Year Funding: $24,000,000.
     Approximate Number of Awards: 15-20.
     Approximate Average Awards: Up to $1,800,000/year.
     Fiscal Year Funds: 2016.
     Budget Period: 12 months.
     Project Period: Up to 5 years for established ERCs and up 
to 3 years for new ERCs.
    Application Selection Process: Applications will be evaluated for 
scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group, in 
accordance with CDC peer review policy and procedure using review 
criteria that will be stated in the Funding Opportunity Announcement 
(FOA).
    As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will:
     Undergo a selection process in which all responsive 
applications will be discussed and assigned an overall impact/priority 
score, and
     Receive a written critique.
    Needs Assessment: ERCs must document that their proposed academic 
and research training programs meet specific regional or national 
workforce need and demand.
    Regional Presence: ERCs should demonstrate collaborative efforts by 
working with a diverse and broad range

[[Page 15021]]

of organizations to enhance worker safety and health in their region.
    This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insights in 
the area of occupational safety and health to begin to consider 
applying for this upcoming FOA.
    Budget Limits for Required and Optional Components: ERCs are 
complex, interdisciplinary centers. Up to $1,800,000/year total costs 
may be requested by an ERC. The following table lists required and 
optional ERC components and budget information:

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                                           Funding information  (total
             ERC components                           costs)
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Planning and Evaluation Core (Required)  Up to $370,000/year.
Center Administration, Planning and      Up to $250,000/year.
 Evaluation.
Interdisciplinary Activities...........  Up to $30,000/year.
Diversity Recruitment and Retention....  Up to $5,000/year.
Outreach in Occupational Safety and      Up to $35,000/year.
 Health.
Developmental Program Support            Up to $50,000/year.
 (Optional).
Academic Training Core (Required)......  Up to $930,000/year with 70% to
                                          Direct Trainee Costs.
Required minimum of 3 Academic Training  There are no budget limits for
 Programs. At least 2 from the core       individual academic training
 disciplines of IH, OHN, OMR, or OS,      programs. Applicants must stay
 and 1 may be a core or allied            within the total $1.8 million
 discipline.                              per year request in total
There is no minimum number of trainees    costs.
 required for any one academic program.. A minimum of 70% of the overall
Applicants must fully justify need for    Academic Training Core budget
 all programs and their capacity to       must go to Direct Trainee
 meet training demand..                   Costs that provide stipends,
NIOSH will consider applications for      tuition and fees, research
 Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs..    support, and travel.
Complementary and Special Pathways for   A maximum of 30% of the overall
 OMRs are eligible for NIOSH support if   Academic Training Core budget
 administered by an OMR Program           may go to support Training-
 accredited by the ACGME.                 related Expenses that include
Applicants may request trainee support    support for faculty and staff
 for academic certificate training        salaries, supplies, equipment
 programs in approved core and allied     and non-trainee travel. This
 disciplines. Trainee support is          70%/30% allocation of funding
 limited to tuition only and is           may be applied across all
 included in the minimum 70% allocation   academic training programs in
 toward Direct Trainee Costs.             aggregate, and need not be
 Certificate trainees should be clearly   applied to each individual
 identified in academic training          academic training program.
 program budgets..
Research Training Core (Optional)......  Up to $400,000/year with 70% of
                                          Collaborative Research
                                          Training (CRT) to Direct
                                          Trainee Costs.
Pilot Projects Research Training         Up to $100,000/year.
 (Optional).
Collaborative Research Training          Up to $300,000/year.
 (Optional).                             CRT supports the research
                                          training needs of NIOSH
                                          trainees and students from
                                          other disciplines who receive
                                          NIOSH support during their
                                          academic training program. A
                                          minimum of 70% of requested
                                          funds must go to support
                                          Direct Trainee Costs that
                                          provide stipends, tuition and
                                          fees, research supplies, and
                                          travel; a maximum of 30% may
                                          go to support Training-related
                                          Expenses that include support
                                          for faculty and staff
                                          salaries, supplies, equipment
                                          and non-trainee travel.
Continuing Education Program (Required)  Up to $100,000/year.
Needs-based training should be offered
 to safety and health practitioners and
 allied disciplines to have a positive
 impact on workplace practices and
 policies..
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    Dated: March 16, 2015.
John Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-06468 Filed 3-19-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-19-P