Ongoing Program Announcement
Note: This announcement has been superseded and is maintained for archival purposes only. Select for the current AHRQ Individual Awards for Postdoctoral Fellows (F32) announcement.
NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, October 16, 1998
Program Announcement
PA: PA-99-005
Application Receipt Dates: December 5, April 5, August 5 (Annually)
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
Purpose
The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) announces its continuing interest in
supporting the postdoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA) individual fellowships
(F32) in health services research. These postdoctoral research fellowships provide opportunities
for one or more years of academic training and supervised experience in applying quantitative
research methods to the systematic analysis and evaluation of health care services.
AHCPR supports and conducts research to improve the outcomes, quality, access to, and cost
and utilization of health care services. AHCPR achieves this mission through health services
research designed to: (1) improve clinical practice, (2) improve the health care system s ability to provide access to and deliver high quality, high-value health care, and (3) provide policymakers
with the ability to assess the impact of system changes on outcomes, quality, access, cost and use
of health care services.
AHCPR programs and products are designed to be responsive to the needs of consumers,
patients, clinicians, and other providers, institutions, plans, purchasers, and public and private
policymakers at all levels for evidence-based information they may need to improve quality and
outcomes, control costs, and ensure access to needed services.
This Program Announcement (PA) updates and supersedes the "NRSA Individual Postdoctoral
Fellowship" PA-94-068, published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts on May 20, 1994.
Healthy People 2000
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease
prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting health
priority areas. AHCPR encourages applicants to submit grant applications with relevance to the
specific objectives of this initiative. Potential applicants may obtain a print copy of Healthy People
2000 (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or Summary Report: Stock No.
017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402-9325, telephone 202-512-1800.
Nondiscrimination
The AHCPR postdoctoral fellowship program is conducted in compliance with applicable laws
that provide that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or
age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination.
Applicant organizations are required to have appropriate
Assurance of Compliance forms filed with the Office of Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary,
HHS, before a grant may be made to that institution. The Research Education Division, Office
of Research Review, Education and Policy (ORREP), should be contacted with any questions
concerning compliance (see Inquiries).
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for an award under this program applicants for postdoctoral fellowships must, at the
time of award, be citizens of the United States, non-citizen nationals, or non citizens who have
been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and have in their possession
an Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551 or I-151 or other legal verification of such status.
Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
Applicants must have received, by the activation date of the NRSA fellowship, a Ph.D., M.D.,
D.D.S., D.M.D., Sc.D., Dr.P.H., D.Pharm., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited
domestic or foreign institution. Certification from an authorized official of the degree-granting
institution specifying that all degree requirements have been met is acceptable. (Persons
possessing the J.D. degree as the sole advanced degree are not considered postdoctoral for NRSA
purposes.) NRSA fellowships may not be used to support studies leading to the M.D., D.O.,
D.D.S., D.M.D., or equivalent health professional degree—nor do they support residency training.
Before submitting a postdoctoral fellowship application, applicants must identify a sponsoring
institution and an individual who will supervise their training and research experience. The
sponsoring institution may be private (profit or non-profit) or public. Applicants should select an
advisor who is an active investigator in the area of the proposed research. As part of the
application the advisor must document the training plan for the applicant, the availability of staff,
research support, and facilities for high-quality research training.
Applicants proposing training at their doctorate institution or at the institution where they have
been training for more than a year must document the opportunity for new training experiences
that would broaden their scientific background and prospective.
Under exceptional circumstances, applicants may request support for training abroad. In such
cases, applicants are required to provide a detailed justification for why the facilities, the advisor,
or other aspects of the proposed experience are more appropriate and relevant than training in a
domestic setting.
Mechanism of Support
Under the NRSA postdoctoral fellowship (F32) mechanism, responsibility for the planning,
direction, and execution of the proposed project is solely that of the applicant and the sponsoring
institution.
Research Objectives
Through the NRSA postdoctoral fellowship program, AHCPR seeks to expand the number of
researchers who conduct health services research in areas identified in the "AHCPR Health
Services Research" Program Announcement (PA), which was published in the NIH Guide on March 26, 1998. The PA outlines broad research interests in the following areas:
- Health outcomes, at the clinical and system levels.
- Quality measurement and improvement including the use of evidence-based practice information and tools.
- Organization, financing, and delivery of health care and the characteristics of primary care
practices with emphasis on health issues related to priority populations including minority
populations, women, and children.
- Health services research, especially cost-effectiveness analysis.
- Ethical issues across the spectrum of health care delivery.
Applicants who have questions regarding the relevance of their research to AHCPR goals should
contact by telephone, E-mail, or letter, staff listed under Inquiries.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities,
and Children in Research Study Populations Involving Human Subjects
It is the policy of AHCPR that women and members of minority groups should be included in all
AHCPR-supported research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling
rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the research.
All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines on
the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which was published in
the Federal Register on March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513), and printed in the NIH Guide for Grants and
Contracts on March 18, 1994. AHCPR follows the NIH Guidelines, as applicable.
AHCPR is also encouraging investigators to consider including children in study populations, as
appropriate. AHCPR announced in the NIH Guide on May 9, 1997, that it is developing a policy
and implementation plan on the inclusion of children in health services research. This Notice is
available online.
Investigators may obtain copies of these guidelines and policies from the sources listed above or
from the AHCPR Publications Clearinghouse (see Inquiries).
AHCPR program staff may also provide information concerning these policies (see Inquiries).
Application Procedures
Applications are to be submitted on the Individual NRSA application form PHS 416-1 (rev. 8/95)
and will be accepted on the application receipt dates indicated in the application kit.
If the applicant is lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, a notarized
statement documenting this status is required.
The completed, signed, typewritten, original application and two copies must be sent or delivered
to:
Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive
ROOM 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)
Review Considerations
Applications for NRSA fellowships will be reviewed by a peer review committee that includes
experts from appropriate fields of science. The committee will use the following criteria in
evaluating applications:
- An applicant's past academic and research accomplishments.
- An applicant's research and training goals and potential for a health services research
career.
- Research training program proposed (including the training potential, and the scientific
merit of the research project).
- Qualifications and suitability of the proposed sponsor and appropriateness of the
institutional environment.
- References and other relevant information.
Award Criteria
For AHCPR applications, awards will be made based on the recommendations of the peer review
committee, relevance of the application to AHCPR research priorities and training needs, and
availability of funds.
Stipends and Other Training Costs
A stipend is provided to each NRSA fellow to help defray living expenses during the research
training experience. The stipend amount is determined by the number of full years of relevant
postdoctoral experience as of the date the award is issued. Relevant experience may include
research experience, teaching, internship, residency, or other time spent in full-time studies in a
health-related field beyond that of the qualifying doctoral degree.
No departure from the standard stipend schedule may be negotiated between the institution and
the fellow. Current postdoctoral stipend levels are listed below:
Full years
of relevant Annual
experience stipend
________________________________
None $21,000
1 22,176
2 26,160
3 27,492
4 28,824
5 30,144
6 31,476
7 or more 33,012
_________________________________
Select for updated information on increased NRSA stipend levels.
AHCPR will provide an allowance of $4,000 per 12-month period to non-Federal,
non-profit sponsoring institutions to cover such awardee expenses as self-only health insurance,
research supplies, equipment, travel to scientific meetings, and related educational items.
AHCPR will provide for-profit institutions with up to $3,000 for the fellow's self-only health
insurance, scientific meeting travel expenses, and books. The $3,000 is paid to the for-profit
institution for disbursement to the fellow, and any unexpended funds are to be returned to
AHCPR.
For new competing fellowships applications submitted in response to this program announcement,
tuition and fees (except health insurance), when applicable, are no longer included as part of the
institutional allowance. That cost will be awarded in accordance with tuition policy below.
Additional funds may be requested by the institution for extraordinary costs for fellows who are
disabled, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Such additional funds are provided
only in exceptional circumstances and must be fully justified and explained by the institution.
Supplementation. Institutions may use non-Federal funds to supplement NRSA stipends. Federal
funds may be used for stipend supplementation only if specifically authorized under the terms of
the program from which the supplemental funds are derived. An individual may use Federal
educational loan funds or Veterans Administration benefits when permitted by those programs.
Supplementation, when provided, must be without obligation to the trainee.
Compensation. Trainees may be permitted to receive compensation for work in another position
(for example, teaching or laboratory assistance) when the trainee is in an employee-employer
relationship, the payments are for services rendered, and the situation otherwise meets conditions
for student compensation as specified in the PHS Grants Policy Statement. Compensation may
not be from a research grant that supports the same research that is part of the NRSA experience.
Compensation for services must occur on a limited, part-time basis apart from the normal,
full-time training activities. A minimum of 40 hours per week of training activities is required;
other activities must not interfere with the successful completion of the training program.
Under no circumstances can the conditions of either stipend supplementation or student
compensation for coincidental employment detract from or prolong the research training. Further
information on stipend supplementation and compensation is available in "National Research
Service Awards—Guidelines for Individual Awards Institutional Grants." This guideline may be obtained at: http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsaguidelines/nrsa_toc.htm
Tuition and fees. For competing awards submitted in response to this solicitation, tuition and fees
are limited to specific courses required by the sponsoring institution and must receive approval
from AHCPR prior to the award. Applicable tuition and fees (excluding health insurance) will be
reimbursed at the following rate: 100 percent of all costs up to $2,000, and 60 percent of costs
above $2,000. Future years provide no escalation. Tuition costs (both adjusted and unadjusted in
accordance with this policy), need to be clearly identified by the applicant and certified by the
sponsoring institution. This information needs to be included at the time of submission with the
application materials.
Conditions of the Award
Applications may be for 1, 2, or 3 years of fellowship support. No one is eligible for more than 3
years of aggregate NRSA support at the postdoctoral level, including any combination of support
from institutional training grants and individual fellowships.
Fellowships are awarded for full-time research training. However, it is recognized that a close
interrelationship between teaching and research may exist in the academic environment. Fellows
are permitted, with the approval of the sponsor, to undertake teaching that can contribute
meaningfully to their academic training. Any teaching undertaken by a fellow may not occupy
more than 10 percent of work time during the year or exceed 4 hours per week. Fellows in
clinical areas are expected to devote their time to the proposed research training program and to
confine limited clinical duties to those that are part of the research training.
Concurrent awards. An NRSA postdoctoral fellowship may not be held concurrently with
another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award that provides a stipend or
otherwise duplicates provisions of the NRSA.
Activation. The awardee must start work on the fellowship within 6 months of the issue date on
the award notice. No funds may be disbursed until the award is activated. Under unusual
circumstances, AHCPR may grant an extension of the activation period upon receipt of a specific
request from the fellow.
Tax liability of stipends. Section 117 of the Internal Revenue Code applies to the tax treatment of
all scholarships and fellowships. It must be emphasized that the interpretation and implementation
of tax laws are the domain of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. courts. AHCPR does
not have the authority to advise students or institutions about their tax liability. The business
office of the sponsoring institution is responsible for the annual preparation and issuance of the
IRS Form 1099 for postdoctoral fellows training at the institution. Individuals should consult their
local IRS office for more detailed information on the proper steps to be taken regarding their tax
obligations.
The taxability of stipends in no way alters the relationship between NRSA fellows and their
institutions. NRSA stipends are not now, and have never been, salaries. Fellows supported under
a National Research Service Award are not in an employer-employee relationship with AHCPR or
with the institution in which they are pursuing research training. It is inappropriate and
unallowable for institutions to seek funds or to charge individual fellowship awards for costs
normally associated with employee benefits (such as FICA, workers compensation, or
unemployment insurance).
Termination and post-award reporting. At the conclusion of the fellowship, the fellow must
submit a termination notice (form PHS 416-7) to AHCPR. NRSA fellowship recipients are
responsible for informing AHCPR of changes in their status or address and for submitting the
Annual Payback Activities Certification (form PHS 6031-1) yearly until any required payback
service obligation is satisfied. The Termination Notice Form PHS 416-7 and the Annual
Payback Activities Certification Form 6031-1 will be sent to the fellow by AHCPR prior to the
scheduled termination date. For early terminations, the forms will be issued immediately upon
receipt of notification from the fellow or an authorized institutional official.
Payback provision. Before an award is made, the fellow must sign an agreement to fulfill the
congressionally mandated payback requirements. The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993
substantially modified the existing service payback requirements for individuals supported under
NRSA programs. For fellowship awards beginning after June 10, 1993, only fellows in the first
12 months of postdoctoral NRSA support will incur a service obligation of 1 month for each
month of support. Postdoctoral fellows in the 13th and subsequent months of NRSA support will
not sign the Payback Agreement Form (Form PHS 6031) and will incur no further obligation.
The 13th and each subsequent month of postdoctoral NRSA support will be considered
acceptable payback service; therefore, individuals who begin the initial postdoctoral fellowship on
or after June 10, 1993, and continue under that award for 2 years will have fulfilled their first year
obligation by the end of the second year of training.
Service payback obligations can also be repaid after the period of training by engaging in health
services related research (including research assistantship/associateships and fellowships) and/or
teaching for at least 20 hours per week averaged over a full year.
Positions after training are arranged by the individual, not AHCPR.
Recipients must undertake the obligated service on a continuous basis within 2 years after
termination of NRSA support. The period for undertaking payback service may be delayed for
temporary disability, for completion of residency requirements, or for completion of the
requirements for a graduate degree. Requests for an extension must be made in writing to
AHCPR and must specify the need for additional time and the length of the required extension.
Individuals who fail to fulfill any required obligation through service must pay back the total
amount of NRSA funds paid to them for the obligation period plus interest at a rate determined by
the Secretary of the Treasury. Financial payback must be completed within 3 years beginning on
the date the United States becomes entitled to recover such amount.
Under certain conditions, the Secretary, HHS, or an authorized delegate may extend the period
for starting service or for repayment, permit breaks in the period of service or repayment, or
otherwise waive or suspend the payback obligation of an individual.
Written and telephone inquires are encouraged. AHCPR welcomes the opportunity to clarify any
issues or questions from potential applicants.
Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues, including information on the policies of inclusion
of women, minorities, and children to:
Division of Research Education
Office of Extramural Research, Education and Priority Populations (OEREP)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road, Suite 2000
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (301) 427-1349
E-mail: training@ahrq.gov
Authority and Regulations
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, Number 93.225.
NRSA individual postdoctoral fellowship awards are made under authorization of Section 487 of
the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 USC 288). Title 42 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, part 66, is applicable to this program. This program is not subject to the
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency
review.
The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace
and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, The
Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of
a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care, or early childhood
development services are provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect
and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.
AHCPR Publication No. 99-R002
Current as of October 1999
Internet Citation:
National Research Service Award: Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships. Ongoing program announcement. AHCPR Publication No. 99-R002, October 1999. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/99005.htm
540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850