Grants for Education Programs in Occupational Safety and Health To Prepare Health Services Researchers; Availability of Funds for Fiscal Year 2000

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 145 (Thursday, July 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41124-41126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19358]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Program Announcement 00012]


Grants for Education Programs in Occupational Safety and Health 
To Prepare Health Services Researchers; Availability of Funds for 
Fiscal Year 2000

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2000 funds for training grants in 
occupational safety and health. This program addresses the ``Healthy 
People 2000'' priority area of Occupational Safety and Health. The 
purpose of this program is to train health services researchers in the 
field of occupational safety and health.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Any public or private educational or training agency or institution 
that has demonstrated competency in the occupational safety and health 
field and/or health services research and is located in a State, the 
District of Columbia, or U.S. Territory, is eligible to apply for a 
training grant.
    For existing Educational Resource Centers (ERC) or Training Project 
Grants (TPG) that will be requesting supplemental funding, it is 
imperative to include the present grant number, so it may be processed 
as a supplement.

    Note: Public Law 104-65 states that an organization described in 
section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engages 
in lobbying activities is not eligible to receive Federal funds 
constituting an award, grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, 
or any other form.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $500,000 is expected to be available in FY 2000 to 
fund three awards. It is expected that the average award will be $ 
165,000, ranging from $150,000 to $200,000. It is expected that the 
awards will begin on July 1, 2000 and will be made for a 12-month 
budget period within a project period of up to five years. Funding 
estimates may change.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.

D. Program Requirements

    The following are intended to serve as applicant requirements:
    1. Programs should train researchers to examine the impact of the 
organization, financing, and management of preventive, clinical, and 
rehabilitative occupational health services and indemnity policies on 
the delivery, quality, cost, access to, and outcomes of such services.
    2. Programs should establish training that comprises the following 
two components: (a) Health services research curricula and expertise; 
(b) occupational health and safety training, research curricula and 
expertise. Programs could be established through the following 
approaches: (i.) Programs within a University Department including 
these two components; (ii) linkages between programs addressing these 
two components, either within the University (linking separate 
Departments) or between Universities.
    3. Applicants should address the need for preparing health services 
researchers in this field. Justification should be provided supporting 
the degree levels requested.
    4. A plan should be provided outlining collaborative relationships 
between Departments and/or Universities, addressing institutional 
roles, goals and objectives, proposed curriculum, faculty and policies 
and administrative measures to establish appropriate coordination.
    5. A program for education and research training in occupational 
health services research should be established. Programs may be at the 
Masters, Doctoral and Post-doctoral levels. Doctoral programs presently 
will be given higher priority to address the dearth of senior 
researchers evaluating occupational health services.
    Curricula and research training plans must be structured and 
clearly identified for each level of training as well as the number of 
full and part time students proposed.
    6. Course work should contain, as a minimum, training in (a) health 
services research methodologies, such as: epidemiology, biostatistics, 
health economics, frameworks for analysis (e.g., decision sciences, 
benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses), health policy, program 
evaluation, performance measurement, survey design and implementation 
and, data systems for health services research; and, (b) occupational 
safety and health topic areas, such as: organization, finance and 
management of occupational health services, workers' compensation/
disability systems administration and policy, occupational health 
prevention services (industrial hygiene, safety and ergonomics, 
occupational health and safety policy, labor economics), industrial 
relations, and data systems in occupational safety and health. Required 
core and elective courses should be outlined. Flexibility in 
structuring curricula is acceptable, e.g., specific tracks may be 
established focusing on select program area emphases, such as, economic 
analysis or performance measurement.
    7. A plan should be provided to incorporate research experience (as 
principal or co-investigators) in original occupational health services 
research for students at all degree levels. The plan should also 
document ongoing funded research and faculty publications and how the 
school intends to expand and strengthen existing research efforts. The 
plan should also include items such as strategies for obtaining student 
and faculty funding.
    8. Programs are strongly encouraged to incorporate collaborative 
relationships with external agencies and institutions that can serve as 
resources for the program, to coordinate research with public and 
private policy needs, and to provide sources of data for research. Some 
examples of potential collaborating organizations include the 
following: State agencies managing workers' compensation and State 
workers' compensation funds, private insurance carriers in health care, 
disability insurance and workers' compensation; managed care 
organizations; large employers; and, private health research institutes 
and foundations.
    9. The Program Director should be a full-time faculty member and 
have education and experience in training health services researchers 
and/or occupational safety and health professionals. If the Program 
Director is from a Health Services research background, a Co-Director 
should be designated with an Occupational Health and Safety background. 
The Director should have currently funded research grants in 
occupational safety and health and/or health services research. He/she 
should be responsible for the coordination of the program across 
Departments or Universities.
    10. Key faculty and research advisors should be full-time faculty 
with documented expertise and education in their appropriate fields. 
Qualifications include having current research grants in the field of 
health services research and/or research in the field of occupational 
safety and health. Research advisors should have recent research 
experience in health services research, preferably addressing 
occupational health services.

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    11. The applicant should develop a plan for student recruitment, 
including entrance requirements.
    12. The applicant should develop a plan for evaluation of the 
program, including placement of graduates and tracking of graduates.
    13. An Advisory Committee should be established representing 
stakeholders for occupational health services, including, labor, 
industry, and government.

E. Application Content

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria 
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program 
plan. The narrative should be no more than 15 single-spaced pages per 
program, printed on one side, with one-inch margins, and unreduced 
font.

    Note: Please consult the detailed Recommended Outline for 
Preparation of Competing New/Supplemental Training Grant 
Applications to prepare Health Services Researchers provided in the 
application kit. (CDC 2.145 A).

F. Submission and Deadline

1. Letter of Intent

    Although not a prerequisite of application (optional), a non-
binding letter of intent-to-apply is requested from potential 
applicants. The letter should identify the announcement number, name 
and address of principal investigator, brief description of the program 
proposed, and the names of the participating institutions. The letter 
of intent does not influence review or funding decisions, but it will 
enable CDC to determine the level of interest in the announcement and 
to plan the review more efficiently. Please submit on or before 
September 24, 1999, the letter of intent to the Grants Management 
Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' 
section of this announcement.

2. Application

    Submit the original and two copies of CDC 2.145 A (OMB Number 0920-
00261) Forms are in the application kit. On or before November 30, 
1999, submit the application to the Grants Management Specialist 
identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of 
this announcement. Please be reminded that for existing ERC or TPG that 
will be requesting supplemental funding, it is imperative to include 
the present grant number, so it may be processed as a supplement.
    Deadline: Applications should be considered as meeting the deadline 
if they are either:
    (a) Received on or before the deadline date; or
    (b) Sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
orderly processing. (Applicants must request a legibly dated U.S. 
Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a 
commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks 
should not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria in 
(a) or (b) above are considered late applications, will not be 
considered, and will be returned to the applicant.

G. Evaluation Criteria

    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria by an independent review group appointed by CDC:
    1. Evidence of a plan to satisfy the need for training in the area 
outlined by the application, including projected enrollment, 
recruitment and job opportunities. Indicators of need may include 
measures utilized by the Program such as previous record of training 
and placement of graduates. Indicate the potential contribution of the 
project toward meeting the need for this specialized training.
    2. Extent to which arrangements for day-to-day management, 
allocation of funds and cooperative arrangements are designed to 
effectively achieve the program requirements.
    3. Evidence of a plan describing the academic and research training 
the program proposes. This should include goals, elements of the 
program, research faculty and amount of effort, support faculty, 
facilities and equipment available and needed, and methods for 
implementing and evaluating the program.
    4. Extent to which curriculum content and design includes 
formalized training objectives, minimal course content to achieve 
degree, course descriptions, course sequence, additional related 
courses open to students, time devoted to lecture, and clinical and 
research experience addressing the relationship with didactic programs 
in the educational process.
    5. The extent to which the program effort is capable of supporting 
the number and type of students proposed.
    6. Extent to which the program has initiated collaborative 
relationships with external agencies and institutions to expand and 
strengthen its research capabilities by providing student and faculty 
research opportunities.
    7. Evidence of previous record of training in health services 
research and occupational safety and health, including placement of 
graduates and employment history.
    8. The extent to which the program documents methods in use or 
proposed methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the training, 
including the use of feedback mechanisms from graduates and employers, 
placement of graduates in research positions, research accomplishments 
of graduates and reports from consultations and cooperative activities 
with other universities, professional associations, and other outside 
agencies.
    9. Competence, experience and training of the Program Director, 
faculty and advisors in relation to the type and scope of research 
training and education involved.
    10. Degree of institutional commitment to Program goals.
    11. Adequacy of the academic and physical environment in which the 
training will be conducted, including access to appropriate 
occupational health research resources.
    12. The extent to which the budget is reasonable, adequately 
justified, and consistent with the intended use of the grant funds.
    13. Evidence of a plan for establishment of an Advisory Committee, 
including meeting times, roles and responsibilities.

H. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with original plus two copies of:
    1. Progress reports (annual).
    2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period; and
    3. Final financial status report and performance report, no more 
than 90 days after the end of the project period.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment I in the 
application kit.

AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2000
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions

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I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 21(a) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act [29 U.S.C. 670 (a)]. The Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance number is 93.263.

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    You may obtain Program Announcement 00012 from the CDC home page 
address on the Internet, <www.cdc.gov>. To receive additional 
written information and to request an application kit, call 1-888-
GRANTS (1-888-472-6874).
    You will be asked to leave your name and address and will be 
instructed to identify the announcement number of interest.
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained 
from: Sonia Phelix, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Announcement 00012, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, 
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: (770) 488-2724, Email address: 
svp1@cdc.gov.
    For program technical assistance, contact: Bernadine Kuchinski, 
Occupational Health Consultant, Office of Extramural Coordination and 
Special Projects, National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600 Clifton 
Road, N.E., Mailstop D-40, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, telephone (404) 639-
3342, Email address: bbk@cdc.gov.

    Dated: July 23, 1999.
Diane D. Porter,
Acting Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-19358 Filed 7-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P