Applicant Resources for RFA-AG-24-030 & RFA-AG-24-031

Q: What is the overall purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA)?

A: The purpose of this initiative is to establish a coordinating center and propose research projects to advance economic research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD) by supporting a consortium of research projects examining the development and diffusion of treatment/care innovations, payment and treatment models for care, care quality and access for people living with dementia and their caregivers, as well as economic factors influencing disease progression to address NIA’s AD/ADRD Research Implementation Milestones 1.P , 13.P , 13.M , and 13.N .

Q: What are the goals of the coordinating center?

A: The center will aim to accomplish the following:

• Foster collaboration and synergies across consortium member research projects
• Initiate new research projects
• Expand the network of researchers studying the economics of AD/ADRD
• Disseminate findings to key stakeholders to support policymaking

Q: What are the non-responsiveness criteria for RFA-AG-24-030 and RFA-AG-24-031?

A: The following types of applications will be considered non-responsive and will be withdrawn prior to review:

RFA-AG-24-030:

• Applications that fail to propose research objectives utilizing economic methodology to provide evidence-based foundations for AD/ADRD prevention, treatment, and care, as well as addressing health disparities
• Applications that do not propose the required organizational structure, including the Administrative Core, Research Project Core, Translation Core, and Stakeholder Engagement Core
• Applications that do not include a plan for conducting a national competition for research project funding, with at least 70% of the awards assigned to institutions not affiliated with the cooperative agreement
• Applications that do not propose a plan for stakeholder engagement, including engaging a wide range of stakeholders, such as public entities, private organizations, academia, professional associations, advocacy groups, and individuals directly affected by dementia and their caregivers
• Applications that do not describe a plan for collaborating with consortium research projects and NIA staff as described in the Research Strategy and Cooperative Award sections of this NOFO
• Applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, that do not address a Data Management and Sharing Plan

RFA-AG-24-031:

• Applications without aim(s) describing how research will address health disparities in the subject area
• Applications that do not provide a plan for how the research will explore economic aspects of AD/ADRD prevention, treatment, or care
• Applications that do not provide plans to coordinate with the coordinating center
• Applications that focus solely on the biological or clinical aspects of AD/ADRD, without addressing the economic implications of the disease
• Applications that do not address Stage IV and Stage V of the NIH Stage Model when pursuing clinical trials
• Clinical trial applications that do not provide a plan for how the research will facilitate the recruitment of health disparities populations
• Applications that do not provide the required Milestone schedule for all years of the project with a clear timeline for achieving these milestones

Q: When are applications due?

A: RFA-AG-24-030 receipt date: November 30, 2023 (per NOT-AG-23-066 )

RFA-AG-24-031 receipt date: October 30, 2023

Q: How many projects will be funded?

A: RFA-AG-24-030: NIA intends to commit $3 million in fiscal year 2024 to fund one award.

RFA-AG-24-031: NIA intends to commit $3 million in FY24 to fund four or five awards.

Q: When is the earliest start date?

A: The earliest grant start date is July 2024.

Q: What is the award budget?

A: RFA-AG-24-030: Application budgets are limited to $2.75 million in direct costs per year and need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

RFA-AG-24-031: Application budgets are limited to $400,000 per year in direct costs and need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

Q: Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?

A: Neither nondomestic (non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions)) or nondomestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. organizations are eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy statement , are allowed.

Q: Can my organization submit more than one application?

A: Yes. Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application . This means that NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications )

Q: Who should I contact if I have further questions?

A: Investigators are highly encouraged to contact Dr. Partha Bhattacharyya during the planning stages of an application.

Partha Bhattacharyya, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3131
Email: bhattacharyyap@mail.nih.gov

DBSR