[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25055-25058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11967]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Announcement 98036]
Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center (VAWPRC) Notice
of Availability of Funds
A. Purpose
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the
availability of fiscal year 1998 cooperative agreement funds to
establish a Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center (VAWPRC).
This program addresses the Healthy People 2000 priority area of Violent
and Abusive Behavior.
The purposes of the Prevention Research Center are to:
1. Support research on prevention and policy issues relevant to
Violence Against Women;
2. Encourage professionals from a spectrum of disciplines such as
public health, criminal justice, health care, behavioral and social
sciences, education, law enforcement, and others to undertake and
collaborate in research and evaluation activities for preventing
violence against women;
3. Foster interdisciplinary collaboration for the purpose of
developing integrated theoretical and scientific models about the
nature of violence against women, its relationship to other forms of
violence and injury, and effective prevention strategies;
4. Integrate research on child maltreatment and other forms of
violence into the study of violence against women;
5. Foster creative and innovative approaches to collaborative
research and evaluation efforts among research institutions and sexual
assault and intimate partner violence service providers;
6. Develop a knowledge base for evaluating current and new
programs, strategies, and policies designed to prevent or control
violence against women;
7. Create training programs that develop interdisciplinary
knowledge and expertise among new investigators and investigators
retraining in the field. These efforts should emphasize training
researchers in evaluation methodology and developing the research
skills of scientists from racial and ethnic minorities and other
historically under represented and underserved groups;
8. Provide technical assistance to other investigators around
methodological issues related to the field of violence against women;
and
9. Provide a national focus for interdisciplinary public fora
designed to disseminate research knowledge about violence against
women.
For additional information please see Addendum 2, Background and
Definitions (included in the application package).
B. Eligible Applicants
Applications may be submitted by public and private nonprofit
organizations and by governments and their agencies. Thus,
universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, and other
public and private nonprofit organizations, State and local governments
or their bona fide agents, and federally recognized Indian tribal
governments, Indian tribes or Indian tribal organizations.
Note: Pub. L. 104-65, which became effective January 1, 1996,
states that an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which engages in lobbying activities
shall not be eligible to receive Federal funds constituting an
award, grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, or any other
form.
C. Availability of Funds
Approximately $600,000 is available in FY 1998 to fund one (1)
cooperative agreement. It is expected that the award will begin on or
about September 1, 1998 and will be made for a 12-month budget period
within a project period not to exceed five (5) years. Funding estimates
may vary and are subject to change and availability of funds.
Non-competing continuation awards for new budget periods within the
approved project period will be made on the basis of satisfactory
progress as evidenced by required reports and site visits.
D. Program Requirements
1. Applicants must provide a Principal Investigator (Director) who
has specific authority and responsibility to carry out the project.
Applicants must demonstrate high level institutional support for the
Prevention Research Center (e.g., from the dean of a school, vice-
president of a university, or a commissioner of health). The Principal
Investigator must have no less than 20 percent effort devoted solely to
this
[[Page 25056]]
project with an anticipated range of 20 to 50 percent of time.
2. Applicants must provide assurances that a full-time Program
Manager will be hired and will devote 100 percent time to this project.
E. Cooperative Activities
In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program,
the recipient will be responsible for the activities under 1.
(Recipient Activities), and CDC will be responsible for the activities
listed under 2. (CDC Activities).
1. Recipient Activities
a. Design, implement, and assess a Violence Against Women
Prevention Research Center;
b. Foster creative and innovative approaches to collaborative
research and evaluation efforts among research institutions and service
providers;
c. Develop and disseminate a knowledge base for evaluating current
and new programs, strategies, and policies designed to prevent violence
against women;
d. Develop interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise among new
investigators, and investigators retraining in this field. Emphasis
should be given to training investigators from racial and ethnic
minorities and other historically under represented and underserved
groups;
e. Foster interdisciplinary collaboration for developing integrated
theoretical and sound scientific models about the nature of violence
against women, its relationship to other forms of violence and injury,
and effective prevention strategies; and
f. Collaborate with the CDC on these activities, and the activities
listed below.
2. CDC Activities
a. Collaborate in establishing research and evaluation priorities,
designing program protocols, and evaluating the cost, process(es), and
outcomes resulting from the Center's activities.
b. Collaborate in establishing reporting systems to monitor the
progress of the Center's activities.
c. Collaborate with Center staff in identifying up-to-date
scientific and programmatic information about violence against women
prevention.
F. Application Content
Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other
Requirements, Evaluation Criteria sections and the Errata Sheet
(Addendum 3, included in the application package) 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. Each application should be limited to 40 pages, excluding
attachments.
The application should include the following sections:
1. Abstract: (page 2-PHS398).
A summary of the proposed Prevention Research Center, outlining its
goals and objectives, its working partners and collaborators, the
proposed research, evaluation, training and collaborative activities
which will be undertaken, and the procedure by which the Center will
assess the achievement of its goals.
2. Research Capacity: (Research Plan items A-I:PHS398).
The applicant should provide details about the Center's capacity
for conducting a Violence Against Women research program. In
particular, the applicants should:
(a) Demonstrate their experience in successfully designing,
implementing, and evaluating Violence Against Women prevention
programs, and/or conducting, publishing, and disseminating Violence
Against Women research and evaluation studies.
(b) Outline the vision of the Center and how the proposed
collaboration between researchers will contribute to the overall goals
and objectives of the Center; describe how the collaborative activities
of the applicants were or will be developed and how the proposed Center
will expand and develop on work that has already been undertaken by the
applicant(s) and other researchers.
(c) Describe the proposed focus of the Center's research and its
relevance to the field of VAW, particularly in terms of the proposed
interdisciplinary collaboration. Provide sufficient detail to allow
assessment of the scientific merit of the research activities. Indicate
how results of the proposed research program will advance the field and
have relevance for the prevention and control of violence against
women.
Within this section, applications must include the following:
Women, Racial, and Ethnic Minorities: describing the proposed plan for
the inclusion of both sexes and racial and ethnic minority populations
for appropriate representation.
3. Training Capacity
The applicant should outline plans for attracting and involving
high quality students (undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral) in
Center activities, and identify how participants will receive
interdisciplinary training and experience using multiple research
methodologies. The applicant should emphasize how scientists from
racial and ethnic minorities and other under represented and
underserved populations will be encouraged to participate in activities
of the Center.
4. Management Capcity
The applicant should provide a description of the key staff, their
qualifications and experience in the field of violence against women,
and the role each person will play in designing, implementing, and
assessing the Prevention Research Center's activities. The applicant
should clearly describe how disciplines will be integrated to achieve
the goals and objectives of the Prevention Research Center. The
applicant should provide resumes of key staff as an appendix. An
organizational chart should be included that shows the Center's
proposed program structure, its relationship to the broader institution
of which it is a part, and if applicable, operational lines of
authority with collaborating organizations. If following the Consortium
model, the applicant should outline the procedures for focusing
consortium activities, selecting and integrating research across
institutions, allocating funds and other resources, and managing the
involvement of other research groups. The applicant should show where
Consortium partners are housed within existing organizations.
5. Plan of Operation
The applicant should provide a plan of operations which indicates
how the goals and objectives of the Prevention Research Center will be
met. The goals and objectives should be specific, relevant, achievable,
time-phased, and should be related to the purposes of this announcement
(see PURPOSE section). The plan of operation should describe the
program activities for achieving the Prevention Research Center's goals
and objectives, and specifically who among the core staff and
collaborating partners is responsible for doing what and when. A
detailed timeline should be provided illustrating concurrent
activities.
Applicants should also demonstrate that the facilities and
resources are sufficient to conduct the Center's research and training
activities and should include: sufficient office space to house staff
and conduct training, adequate furniture to accommodate staff, conduct
seminars; adequate training equipment for presentations, such as
overhead and slide projectors, and video cassette recorder; and
computer hardware and software resources for data entry, storage,
analysis, and retrieval.
[[Page 25057]]
6. Assessment Plan
The applicant should include a detailed plan for assessing the
Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center's progress toward
achieving its stated goals and objectives, as they relate to the
purposes of this announcement. (See PURPOSE section)
7. Collaboration
The applicant should specify the exact nature of the contribution
each of the working partners makes to the Prevention Research Center's
program, e.g., program planning and design, training, space,
instructors and other faculty, curriculum development and evaluation,
program evaluation activities, etc. Applicants drawn from different
disciplines is not, in itself, sufficient evidence of multidisciplinary
collaboration. A more important indicator is the extent to which
research from different disciplines will be integrated.
The application must also show evidence of collaboration with
practitioners and victim advocates working in the intimate partner
violence and sexual assault field. This collaboration may be with
organizations such as National/State Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault Coalitions. Collaboration may also be undertaken with
governmental agencies, other institutions of higher learning, and other
organizations making substantive contributions to advancing the field
of violence against women.
Letters of support or memoranda of understanding should state the
specific contribution, activities to be undertaken, or resources to be
provided by all collaborators.
8. Proposed Budget
The application must provide a detailed proposed first-year budget
and a narrative justification. The budget requests should be reasonable
and consistent with the intended use of cooperative agreement funds.
9. Human Subjects
Indicate whether human subjects will be involved, and if so, how
they will be protected, and describe the review process which govern
their participation.
G. Submission and Deadline
Submit the original and five copies of PHS 398 (OMB Number 0925-
0001) and adhere to the instructions on the Errata Instruction sheet
for PHS 398). Forms are in the application kit.
On or before June 30, 1998, submit to: Lisa T. Garbarino, Grants
Management Specialist, Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants
Office Announcement #98036, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Mailstop E-13, Room 300, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, N.E.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2209.
Applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline if they
are received at the above address on or before the deadline date; or
sent on or before the deadline date, and received in time for the
review process. Applicants should request a legibly dated U.S. Postal
Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a commercial
carrier or the U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks shall not
be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.
H. Evaluation Criteria
Each application will be evaluated individually against the
following criteria: (maximum 100 points):
1. Research Capacity (25 points)
The degree to which the applicant:
a. demonstrates experience in successfully designing, implementing,
and evaluating Violence Against Women prevention programs, and/or
conducting, publishing, and disseminating Violence Against Women
research and evaluation studies.
b. outlines the vision of the Center and how the proposed
collaboration will contribute to the overall goals and objectives of
the Center.
c. describes how the collaborative activities of the applicants
were or will be developed and how the proposed Center will expand and
develop on work that has already been undertaken by the applicants and
other researchers.
d. describes the proposed focus of the Center's research and its
relevance, particularly in terms of the proposed interdisciplinary
collaboration, integration of fields of violence research, and multiple
methodologies.
e. provides sufficient detail to allow assessment of the scientific
merit of the research activities and indicated how results of the
proposed research program will advance the violence against women field
and have relevance for the prevention and control of violence against
women.
f. describes the facilities available for conducting the planned
research and supporting research staff (e.g., computer facilities,
office space, data management and statistical support).
g. The degree to which the applicant has met the CDC policy
requirements regarding the inclusion of women, and ethnic and racial
groups in the proposed center.
2. Training Capacity (20 points)
The degree to which the applicant:
a. outlines plans for attracting and involving high quality
students (undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral) in Center
activities and how participants will receive interdisciplinary training
and experience using multiple research methodologies.
b. addresses the needs of scientists from racial and ethnic
minorities and other under-represented and underserved populations and
will encourage them to participate in activities of the Center.
c. describes the facilities available for delivering training and
supporting students (e.g., computer facilities, office space,
audiovisual and other training related equipment).
3. Management Capacity (10 points)
The degree to which the applicant:
a. demonstrates that the Principal Investigator has the vision,
professional standing, research expertise and managerial qualifications
to lead the Center.
b. describes the qualifications and experience of key staff and
outlined the role each person will play in designing, implementing, and
assessing the Center's activities.
c. describes how disciplines will be integrated to achieve the
goals and objectives of the Center.
d. illustrates the Center's proposed program structure
(organizational chart), its relationship to the broader institution of
which it is a part, and if applicable, operational lines of authority
with collaborating organizations. If following the Consortium model,
how effectively did the applicant outline the procedures for focusing
consortium activities, selecting and integrating research across
institutions, allocating funds and other resources, and managing the
involvement of other research groups.
4. Plan of Operation (15 points)
The degree to which the applicant:
a. outlines goals and objectives that are specific, relevant,
achievable, time-phased, and related to the purposes of this program
announcement (See Purpose section).
b. describes the program activities for achieving the Center's
goals and objectives, and specifically who among the core staff and
collaborating partners is responsible for doing what and when.
c. provides a timeline which illustrates proposed concurrent
activities.
[[Page 25058]]
5. Assessment Plan (10 points)
The degree to which the applicant provides a detailed plan for
assessing the Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center's
progress toward achieving its stated goals and objectives.
6. Collaboration (20 points)
The degree to which the applicant:
a. describes the collaboration they will undertake with sexual
assault and intimate partner violence service providers, victim
advocates, policy makers, and other key stakeholders in the field.
b. includes letters of support or memoranda of understanding
stating the specific contribution that each collaborator intends to
make to the Center's program.
7. Proposed Budget: (Not Scored)
Did the application provide a detailed proposed first-year budget
and a narrative justification? Are budget requests reasonable and
consistent with the intended use of cooperative agreement funds? (See
PURPOSE section)
8. Human Subjects (Not Scored)
The extent to which the applicant complies with the Department of
Health and Human Services Regulations (45 CFR Part 46) regarding the
protection of human subjects.
Other Requirements
Technical Reporting Requirements.
Provide CDC with original plus two copies of:
1. progress report semi-annually;
2. financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of
the budget period; and
3. final financial report and performance report, no more than 90
days after the end of the project period.
Send all reports to: Lisa T. Garbarino, Grants Management
Specialist, Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mailstop E-13, Room
300, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2209.
The following additional requirements are applicable to this
program. For a complete description of each see Addendum 1 (included in
the application package).
AR98-1 Human Subjects Certification.
AR98-2 Requirements for inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic
Minorities in Research.
AR98-9 Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements.
AR98-10 Smoke-Free Workplace Requirement.
AR98-11 Healthy People 2000.
AR98-12 Lobbying Restrictions.
AR98-13 Prohibition on Use of CDC funds for Certain Gun Control
Activities.
Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number
This program is authorized under sections 391(a) and 393(a) of the
Public Health Service Act, [42 U.S.C. 280b(a), and 280b-1a] as amended.
The catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.136.
Where To Obtain Additional Information
Please refer to Program Announcement 98036 when you request
information. For a complete program description, information on
application procedures, an application package, and business management
technical assistance contact: Lisa T. Garbarino, Grants Management
Specialist, Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Mailstop E-13, Room
300, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2209,
Telephone: (404) 842-6796. See also the CDC home page on the Internet:
http://www.cdc.gov.
For program technical assistance contact: Denise Johnson and Joyce
McCurdy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence
Prevention, Mailstop K-60, 1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia,
30333, Telephone: (770) 488-4410.
Dated: April 30, 1998.
Joseph R. Carter,
Acting Associate Director for Management and Operations, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 98-11967 Filed 5-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
