Frequently Asked Questions for RFA-AG-26-006 & RFA-AG-26-007

Q. Do I need to submit a resource sharing plan in addition to a Data Management and Sharing plan?

A. Yes. Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide .

Q. Do I need to propose external advisory board members?

A. No. The NOFO states, “The AITCC is expected to propose suitable EAP members to NIA for final approval.”

Q. Can you clarify the budget limits of the NOFO?

A. The NOFO specifies the following:

• “Each award is limited to $4,900,000 in total costs per year.” This is the maximum total cost one can request.
• “Application budgets are limited to $4,000,000 in direct costs per year.” This is the maximum direct cost less subaward F&A one can request.
• “Each Collaboratory must allocate $4,000,000 in total costs per year for five years exclusively for research projects.” This cost is inclusive of direct cost and indirect cost associated with subawards. Indirect costs may include subaward F&A and prime F&A on the subaward costs, in accordance with the applicable negotiated F&A rate agreement(s) and/or federal funding guidelines.

Q. The RFA states "Core Directors must commit and sustain 3 person-months of effort... across all years of funding." Is 3 person months required per year or can effort be spread across the five years at 0.6 CM annually?

A. 3 person-months per year. In NIH and other federal funding guidelines, effort is expressed on a per year basis.

Q. For the Research Innovation Core, is it allowable to appoint two Core Directors, each committing 1.5 person-months of effort, in lieu of one Core Director committing 3 person-months?

A. No

Q. Can the Overall PD/PI be the Admin Core Director? What is the total effort requirement in this case?

A. We anticipate that the Overall PD/PI will be the Admin Core Director in many cases. The required total effort in this case would be 3 months allocated to the admin core. There is no budget in the ‘Overall’ section of the application and therefore no effort requirement for ‘Overall’.

Q. Can the Admin Core Director also be the Core Director for one of the other cores?

A. Yes, with appropriate effort committed for each core.

Q. Are the specific research project cost limits under the Research Innovation Core intended to be Direct or Total Cost?

A. Direct cost

Q. Is the $4 million annual research project fund allocation restricted exclusively to research projects, or can a portion be used for related administration?

A. The RFA states: “Each Collaboratory must allocate $4,000,000 in total costs per year for five years exclusively for research projects.” If the related administration costs are part of the research project cost, then this is allowable.

Q. Can you clarify the budget limits of the NOFO?

A. The NOFO specifies the following:

• “Application budgets are limited to $1,900,000 in total costs per year.” This is the maximum total cost one can request.

Q. Does this NOFO have non-responsive criteria?

A. Yes, the NOFO states:

• “The following types of applications will be considered non-responsive and will be withdrawn prior to review:
  • Applications that do not clearly articulate relevance of the CC activities to promote AI and technology approaches in aging and AD/ADRD.
  • Applications that do not propose administration, commercialization, consulting, and stakeholder engagement activities.”

Q. The NOFO states that AITCC Research and Consulting Team activities may include “coordinating with AITC PIs to develop and facilitate challenge prize competitions.” Do “challenge prize competitions” include the “AD Innovation Award Competition” and “rapid-response innovation project” research funding mechanisms described in the RFA-AG-26-006?

A. Yes, ‘challenge prize competitions’ may include the AD Innovation Award Competition and Rapid Response Innovation Projects described in RFA-AG-26-006. The Coordinating Center will be responsible for working with the AITC PIs on the solicitation and review process, and the AITCs will facilitate the awards.

Q. Is cost sharing allowed?

A. The NOFO states, “This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms .”

Voluntary committed cost sharing is allowed but not expected under Federal research grants. NIH may not use voluntary committed cost sharing as a factor during the merit review of applications submitted to RFA-AG-26-007. Please review 2 CFR 200.306 for more information.