Frequently Asked Questions

Programs can supplement student stipends to defray the cost-of-living, as long as the supplement carries no additional obligation from the student, is awarded according to the institution's policies, and is uniformly applied to all students in a similar category. Public Health Service (PHS) funds or Federal funds cannot be used for this unless specifically authorized.

Check the NIH Guide each Fiscal Year for a Notice regarding that Fiscal Year's Policy for Funding of Tuition, Fees, and Health Insurance on Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards.

If the Ph.D. has been achieved less than a year ago, the first level of experience is "0" years of experience.

Yes, TRE funds may be used to cover part of the remainder of the tuition. However, the rebudgeting of funds out of TRE should not be detrimental to accomplishing the aims of the program. Rebudgeting funds awarded for TRE does not require prior AHRQ approval.

Unobligated funds are unspent funds that accumulate in the grant. These funds are reported on the annual Federal Financial Report (FFR). AHRQ routinely uses these funds to offset future year funding.

Reported unobligated balances will be generally used to offset future year costs of the grant, and will not be approved for carryover. For example, if a grantee files a Federal Financial Report (FFR) indicating $50,000 in in unobligated funds, these funds will be used to offset the total approved amount of a future year of funding for the grant.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) convenes peer review groups to conduct a scientific and technical evaluation of grant applications. With the new policy, it is AHRQ's intent that priority populations be included in studies such that the research design will explicitly allow for valid analyses to be conducted. Specifically related to the issue of peer review of grant applications, AHRQ reviewers will assess the proposed research plan, including the applicant's discussion of intent to include one or more priority populations or the justification when priority populations are absent. Reviewers will also assess proposed study plans for outreach, recruitment, and retention of study participants, as well as the methods for conducting subgroup analyses for priority populations if applicable. These criteria will be factored in as a component of the overall assigned score for the application.

The policy does not mean that Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will not fund a grant if the project does not include any of the priority populations within its research design. Rather, AHRQ intends that the overall portfolio of health services research conducted and supported by the Agency will be inclusive of all priority populations (inner city; rural; low income; minority; women; children; elderly; and those with special health care needs, including those who have disabilities, need chronic care, or need end of life health care).

With this policy, the goal is that AHRQ-supported research findings and related advances in health care practice and policy will be applicable to individuals from these populations.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) ended its Public Health Emergency Preparedness Research Program in 2011. To access those resources, go to the AHRQ Archive.

Other Federal agencies continue helping the Nation prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. They include:

• The Department of Homeland Security.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce is a collaboration of U.S. Government agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries which provides timely, convenient access to selected public health resources on the Internet. Go to: http://phpartners.org 

Yes. This is one of a number of actions that, per HHS grants policy, require awarding agency prior approval. The grantee must submit a written request to change the Principal Investigator (PI) of a grant. The request should include the effective date of the change, a justification for the change, qualifications of the proposed replacement PI, the curriculum vitae of the proposed replacement PI, level of effort to be committed by this individual, complete current Other Support for the proposed PI, and budgetary changes resulting from the proposed change. The request is to be signed by the departing PI (if possible), the proposed PI, and an authorized institutional official.

If the departing PI is to remain on the grant in any capacity, his or her new title and level of effort should be indicated as well as whether or not he or she will be acting in a key personnel capacity.

The grantee institution should submit this information to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days before the expected date of the original PI's departure.

Approval is not automatic. If AHRQ deems the proposed replacement PI unacceptable, the grantee may propose another individual. If an acceptable replacement cannot be found, the grant may have to be terminated.