98-21274. Discretionary Cooperative Agreement to Support Biomechanical Research  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 153 (Monday, August 10, 1998)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 42656-42658]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-21274]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    
    
    Discretionary Cooperative Agreement to Support Biomechanical 
    Research
    
    AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.
    
    ACTION: Announcement of discretionary cooperative agreement to support 
    biomechanical research.
    
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    SUMMARY: This notice announces a discretionary cooperative agreement 
    program to support research studies to evaluate the biomechanical 
    response of human surrogates to impact, and solicits applications for 
    projects under this program.
    
    DATE: Applications must be received on or before September 30, 1998.
    
    ADDRESS: Applications must be submitted to the National Highway Traffic 
    Safety Administration, Office of Contracts and Procurement (NAD-30), 
    ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 5301, Washington, 
    D.C. 20590, USA. All applications submitted must include a reference to 
    NHTSA Cooperative Agreement Program No. NRD-01-8-07346. Interested 
    applicants are advised that no separate application package exists 
    beyond the contents of this announcement.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    General administrative questions may be directed to Rose Watson, Office 
    of Contracts and Procurement, at (202) 366-9557. Programmatic questions 
    relating to this cooperative agreement program should be directed to 
    Emily A. Sun, National Transportation Biomechanics Research Center 
    (NRD-51), 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 6221E, Washington, D.C. 20590, 
    USA, at (202) 366-4722.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    
    Background and Objectives
    
        The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is 
    responsible for devising strategies to save lives and reduce injuries 
    from motor vehicle crashes. The purpose of this cooperative agreement 
    program is to promote the improvement of traffic safety for the public 
    through the support of research studies designed to evaluate the 
    biomechanical response of human surrogates to impact, as a means of 
    expanding the base of scientific knowledge in this field and to provide 
    for the coordinated exchange of scientific information collected as a 
    result of the studies conducted.
    
    [[Page 42657]]
    
        Impact trauma research employs the principles of mechanics to 
    discover the physical response and physiological results of impacts to 
    the human body. Generally, the teams doing the research are comprised 
    of individuals from different disciplines: engineering, physiology, 
    medicine, biology, and anatomy. The team studies the physical response 
    of the body to impact by measuring and recording engineering parameters 
    defining the event, such as force, accelerations, displacements, 
    surface contours, strains, pressure, etc., and observing the 
    physiological consequences in terms of physical or functional 
    alterations to the body.
        One of the major research materials used to simulate injury to the 
    living human is the human cadaver, or human surrogate, exposed to 
    impact and detailed response measurement.
        The focus of this cooperative research effort is the study of human 
    surrogate response and injury to physical impacts simulating some 
    significant aspect of automotive impact injury e.g., head, neck, torso, 
    or lower extremity injury produced in drivers and passengers restrained 
    by various safety devices and exposed to either a frontal, lateral, or 
    rear impact. The specific objectives of this cooperative research 
    effort are to perform human surrogate impact tests to: (1) delineate 
    the mechanism of injury, (2) develop functional relationships between 
    the measurable engineering parameters and the extent and severity of 
    injury, and (3) quantify the impact response of the body in such a way 
    as to allow the development of mechanical analogs of the human body. 
    NHTSA will consider applications which propose the use of human 
    surrogates, such as human cadavers or other innovative techniques, to 
    achieve these objectives.
    
    NHTSA Involvement
    
        The NHTSA National Transportation Biomechanics Research Center will 
    be involved in all activities undertaken as part of the cooperative 
    agreement program and will:
        1. Provide, on an as-needed basis, one professional staff person, 
    to be designated as the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative 
    (COTR), to participate in the planning and management of the 
    cooperative agreement and coordinate activities between the 
    organization and the NHTSA;
        2. Make available information and technical assistance from 
    government sources, within available resources and as determined 
    appropriate by the COTR;
        3. Provide liaison with other government agencies and organizations 
    as appropriate; and
        4. Stimulate the exchange of ideas among cooperative agreement 
    recipients, and, if appropriate, NHTSA contractors and other interested 
    parties
    
    Involvement for Recipient of an Award
    
        Any recipient of an award will:
        1. Perform an effort in accordance with the application proposal 
    and any incorporated revisions;
        2. Contribute any in-kind resources that might have been specified 
    by the recipient in the application, for the performance of the effort 
    under the agreement;
        3. Meet periodically with the NHTSA COTR to promote the exchange of 
    information so as to assure coordination of the cooperative effort and 
    related projects; and
        4. Provide the NHTSA COTR with following required deliverables:
        a. Data Package: The dynamic and other data measured in each human 
    surrogate impact test will be provided by the recipient(s) within four 
    (4) weeks after the test is run. For each and every test performed with 
    a human surrogate, a data package shall be submitted to the COTR. For 
    example, where a human subject to be impacted by pendulum to the right 
    femur and later to be impacted by pendulum to the thorax, the two (2) 
    impacts are separate tests even though there was only one (1) human 
    surrogate.
        A data package consists of (1) high speed film or an equivalent 
    digitally-captured video, (2) two copies of the test report, and (3) 
    test data stored on magnetic tape, CD-ROM, or floppy disk complying 
    with the NHTSA Data Tape Reference Guide. The NHTSA National 
    Transportation Biomechanics Research Center maintains a Biomechanics 
    Data Base which provides information, upon request, to the public, 
    including educational institutions and other research organizations.
        To facilitate the input of data as well as the exchange of 
    information, any recipient of a cooperative agreement awarded as a 
    result of this notice must provide the magnetic tape in the format 
    specified in the ``NHTSA Data Tape Reference Guide.'' A copy of this 
    document may be obtained from the programmatic information contact 
    designated in this notice.
        b. Performance Reports: The recipient shall present one (1) hour 
    semiannual technical performance briefings at the NHTSA headquarters 
    building (at 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590) which 
    shall be due 30 days after the reporting period and a final performance 
    report within 90 days after the completion of the research effort. An 
    original and two copies of the final performance report shall be 
    submitted to the COTR.
    
    Period of Support
    
        The research effort described in this notice will be supported 
    through the award of at least one cooperative agreement. NHTSA reserves 
    the right to make multiple awards depending upon the merit of the 
    applications received.
        Contingent upon the availability of funds and satisfactory 
    performance, a cooperative agreement(s) will be awarded to an eligible 
    organization(s) for project periods of up to five years. No cooperative 
    agreement awarded as a result of this notice shall exceed $550,000 per 
    year or $2,750,000 for five years.
    
    Eligibility Requirements
    
        In order to be eligible to participate in this cooperative 
    agreement program, an applicant must be an educational institution or 
    other nonprofit research organization. For-profit research 
    organizations may apply; however, no fee or profit will be allowed:
    
    Application Procedure
    
        Each applicant must submit one original and two copies of their 
    application package to: Cooperative Agreement Program No. NRD-01-8-
    07346, Office of Contracts and Procurement (NAD-30), NHTSA, 400 Seventh 
    Street, S.W., Room 5301, Washington, D.C. 20590, USA. Only complete 
    application packages received on or before the due date identified 
    above will be considered. Submission of three additional copies will 
    expedite processing but is not required.
    
    Application Contents
    
        The application package must be submitted with OMB Standard Form 
    424 (Rev, 4-88, including 424A and 242B), Application for Federal 
    Assistance, with the required information filled in and the certified 
    assurances included. While the Form 424-a deals with budget 
    information, and section B identifies Budget Categories, the available 
    space does not permit a level of detail which is sufficient to provide 
    for a meaningful evaluation of the proposed costs. A supplemental sheet 
    should be provided which represents a detailed breakdown of the 
    proposed costs, as well as any costs which the applicant proposes to 
    contribute in support of this effort.
        Applications shall include a program narrative statement which 
    addresses the following:
    
    [[Page 42658]]
    
        1. The objectives, goals, and anticipated outcomes of the proposed 
    research effort;
        2. The method or methods that will be used:
        3. The source of the human surrogates to be used;
        4. The number, quality, and anticipated ages at death of the human 
    surrogates the applicant expects to use for this research effort along 
    with documentation that provides evidence that the applicant has access 
    to the proposed quantity, quality, and projected ages of the 
    experimental material (because NHTSA has interest in obtaining 
    knowledge of the impact injury process and its effect on the total 
    automotive-population-at-risk, an experimental human subject pool with 
    ages representative of this population is highly desirable);
        5. The proposed program director and other key personnel identified 
    for participation in the proposed research effort, including a 
    description of their qualifications and their respective organizational 
    responsibilities;
        6. A description of the general, as well as specialized impact 
    simulation, test facilities and equipment (including sled impact 
    systems, component test systems, and data acquisition systems with high 
    channel capabilities) currently available or to be obtained for use in 
    the conduct of the proposed research effort; and
        7. A description of the applicant's previous experience or on-going 
    research program that is related to this proposed research effort.
    
    Review Process and Criteria
    
        Initially, all applications will be reviewed to confirm that the 
    applicant is an eligible recipient and to assure that the applicant 
    contains all of the information required by the Application Contents 
    section of this notice. Each complete application from an eligible 
    recipient will then be evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee. 
    The applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:
        1. The applicant's understanding of the purpose and unique problems 
    represented by the research objectives of this cooperative agreement 
    program as evidenced in the description of their proposed research 
    effort. Specific attention shall be placed upon the applicant's stated 
    means for obtaining the quantity of experimental material necessary to 
    conduct the proposed research effort.
        2. The potential of the proposed research effort accomplishments to 
    make an innovative and/or significant contribution to the base of 
    biomechanical knowledge as it may be applied to saving lives and 
    reducing injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
        3. The technical merit of the proposed research effort, including 
    the feasibility of the approach, planned methodology, and anticipated 
    results.
        4. The adequacy of test facilities and equipment identified to 
    accomplish the proposed research effort, including impact simulation.
        5. The adequacy of the organizational plan for accomplishing the 
    proposed research effort, including the qualifications and experience 
    of the research team, the various disciplines represented, and the 
    relative level of effort proposed for professional, technical, and 
    support staff.
    
    Award Selection Factors
    
        The award selection may not be based solely on the evaluation 
    results. Award preference may be given to an innovative or creative 
    approach that offers a potentially significant contribution to achieve 
    the specific objectives of this cooperative research effort. Award 
    preference may be given to a proposal with a larger percentage of cost 
    sharing.
    
    Terms and Conditions of the Award
    
        1. The protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects and 
    the ethical use of human surrogates in NHTSA-sponsored research is 
    governed by NHTSA Orders 700-1 through 700-4. Any recipient must 
    satisfy the requirements and guidelines of these NHTSA Orders prior to 
    award of the cooperative agreement. A copy of NHTSA Orders 700-1 
    through 700-4 may be obtained from the programmatic information contact 
    designated in this notice.
        2. Prior to award, each recipient must comply with the 
    certification requirements of 49 CFR Part 29--Department of 
    Transportation Government-wide Department and Suspension 
    (Nonprocurement) and Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free 
    Workplace (Grants), as well as 49 CFR Part 20--Department of 
    Transportation New Restrictions on Lobbying.
        3. During the effective period of the cooperative agreement(s) 
    awarded as a result of this notice, each agreement shall be subject to 
    the general administrative requirements of the requirements of 49 CFR 
    Parts 190, 20 and 29, the cost principles of OMB Circular A-21, A-122, 
    or FAR 31.2 as applicable to the recipient, and the NHTSA General 
    Provisions for Assistance Agreements.
    
        Issued: July 27, 1998.
    Raymond P. Owings,
    Associate Administrator for Research Development.
    [FR Doc. 98-21274 Filed 8-7-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-M
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
08/10/1998
Department:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Announcement of discretionary cooperative agreement to support biomechanical research.
Document Number:
98-21274
Dates:
Applications must be received on or before September 30, 1998.
Pages:
42656-42658 (3 pages)
PDF File:
98-21274.pdf