AAMC-ORI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Program for Academic Societies

Request for Applications

Summary

The DHHS Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has continued its cooperative agreement with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to make awards to academic societies to generate activities aimed at promoting research integrity through responsible conduct of research. The RCR Program for Academic Societies makes awards in three categories. The first category will fund awards of up to $5,000 each to support activities, such as, special meetings to address responsible conduct of research (RCR) issues, the development of a society task force on RCR, or a modest publication. The second category will fund larger awards of up to $25,000 each for major program initiatives aimed at promoting RCR, such as the development of research practice guidelines, a national leadership summit meeting on the integration of RCR issues into society publications, instructions for authors, or the development of a curricular module. A third category of awards up to $50,000 has been created to help fund major program initiatives involving a strategic approach to promoting RCR that may include assessment, RCR program planning, development, and evaluation of educational or leadership activities to promote research integrity.

Purpose of the Request for Applications

To provide awards to academic societies to undertake activities aimed at promoting research integrity through the responsible conduct of research.

Objectives

Academic societies play a crucial role in defining and promoting standards for the responsible conduct of research in their respective disciplines. We believe academic societies fulfill this important role. This program will provide awards to academic societies to assist them in undertaking activities aimed at promoting the responsible conduct of research. Please note that this program is focused on establishing and sustaining long-term commitments on the part of societies to RCR involving multiple generations of researchers, and the development of initiatives that are integrated and maintained as enduring elements of an academic society's infrastructure, and, most importantly, into the culture of a discipline. Proposals focused on bioethics and bioethical research will not be funded under this program. Proposals that focus on providing young scientists, including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and residents with RCR instruction and guidance, are strongly encouraged.

Mechanisms of Support

Three categories of awards will be funded in the current competition. The first category will fund awards up to $5,000 to support a single event or activity (e.g., the design and implementation of a RCR self-assessment project; a RCR publication on core competencies in one of the nine components listed above; or a meeting to generate a new sub-committee or task force on RCR).

The second category of awards, of up to $25,000, will fund awards of major program initiatives aimed at promoting the responsible conduct of research (e.g., an RCR curriculum for members, other researchers, and staff in the nine core areas of RCR education; the revision of publication policies related to authorship, retractions, submissions of data, instructions to authors; development of guidelines for mentoring or collaborative research; standards for reviewing articles and proposals; curricular projects directed toward the integration of RCR into extant research courses).

The final category of awards will provide up to $50,000 for major program initiatives involving a more strategic approach to RCR such as an RCR society self-assessment process, and the development of RCR guidelines and/or curricula, and educational sessions or publications based on the assessment findings, as well as evaluation of educational projects as appropriate.

Awards under this program will be considered as contracts, not grants.

Funds Available

A total of $250,000 is available for awards over the two review cycles in fiscal year 2005.

Performance Period

The performance period for awards is up to eighteen months. Written requests for extensions will be considered.

Eligible Entities

Groups eligible for funding under this program are non-profit academic societies, headquartered in the United States, and active in the United States in the fields of medicine, biomedical, or the behavioral sciences and whose primary missions include advancing medical education and/or biomedical or behavioral research. Educational institutions are not eligible.

Individuals Eligible to Participate

Individual society members may submit applications but society sponsorship must be exhibited at the time of application. Award funds will be distributed to the appropriate academic society official.

Eligible Costs

Funds will be distributed only to academic societies and not to individuals. No facilities and administrative (indirect) costs will be awarded in relation to this program. Costs that are allowable and unallowable for funding under this program are detailed in the PHS Grants Policy Statement (rev. April 1992).

Where to Direct Inquiries

A list of Frequently Asked Questions concerning this program is available. Additional questions about the program should be directed to: Anthony J. Mazzaschi Director of CAS Affairs Associate VP for Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Association of American Medical Colleges 2450 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 tmazzaschi@aamc.org (202) 828-0059 (phone) (202) 828-1125 (fax)

Requests for application forms should be directed to: Yolanda Thomas Manager, Member Services Division of Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Association of American Medical Colleges 2450 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 ythomas@aamc.org (202) 828-0481 (phone) (202) 828-1125 (fax)

Submitting an Application

Application form template:
Word (118 KB)
Plain Text (4 KB)

Applications should be submitted electronically to cas@aamc.org. An electronic application receipt and tracking number will be provided by return e-mail.

Review Process

The AAMC, in consultation with ORI, will invite selected individuals to serve as reviewers of the submitted award applications. Individual reviewers will be asked to submit comments on the application and to provide a recommendation as to whether or not the application merits funding. AAMC will confer with ORI on funding decisions. Final funding decisions will be made by the AAMC, and applicants will be notified of the results. No critique of unfunded applications will be provided.

Review Criteria

The goal of this awards program is to encourage and facilitate academic societies to undertake activities aimed at promoting the responsible conduct of research. The following criteria will be used, based on the nature of the proposal.

Overall

• Are one or more of the nine core areas of RCR the focus of the proposed project
• Is RCR featured prominently in the proposed project?
• Does the application describe how existing gaps in the society's or discipline's RCR activities will be addressed by the project?
• Are the expected outcomes described?
• If appropriate, are performance measures or other effectiveness indicators proposed?
• Does the proposed project demonstrate the beginnings (or continuation) of a long-term commitment to RCR on the part of the society?
• Is the project targeted toward RCR activities (as opposed to bioethics and bioethics research)?

Meeting and conference-related applications:

The strengths and weaknesses of the proposed meeting or conference will be reviewed based on the following considerations:

• The adequacy of the scope and content of the proposed event.
• The appropriateness of the proposed format for achieving the stated goals and objectives.
• Sufficient time for discussion/interactive learning.
• The adequacy of plans to disseminate the information generated by the event.
• Appropriate representation of women and minorities and persons with disabilities.
• The competence of the principal investigator and key personnel to organize and conduct the proposed event.

Program initiatives:

The strengths and weaknesses of the proposed program initiative(s) or project will be reviewed based on the following considerations:

• Is the proposed project clearly described?
• Is the proposed product or outcome needed?
• Will the proposed plan produce the expected outcome?
• Can the plan be executed in the time allotted?
• Do the personnel have the needed expertise?
• Are the resources adequate?
• Is there an adequate plan to disseminate the information generated by the project?

Other questions that will be used, as appropriate to consider applications include:

• Is the meeting or project likely to be effective?
• Is the project or meeting likely to serve as a model for other societies or disciplines?
• Can any proposed products be easily used?
• Can the event, product or outcome be used in some way to instruct a broad range of research personnel?

Receipt and Review Schedule

Applications for this program will be considered in two rounds, based on the following schedule:

Required Assurances

Based on the nature of the proposal, various assurances and certifications may be required. All assurance documentation requirements will be based on "just in time" principles, meaning that they will be required only after the notification of award, but before award funds can be distributed. Such assurances and certifications may include:

• Human Subjects
• Women and Minority Inclusion Policy
• Inclusion of Children Policy
• Financial Conflicts of Interest

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