Questions and Answers on AHRQ ARRA Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: AHRQ Mentored Clinical Scientists Comparative Effectiveness Development Award (K12) (HS-10-007)

AHRQ Mentored Clinical Scientists Comparative Effectiveness Development Award
Questions and Answers

The following are responses to frequently-asked questions received in response to the solicitation. This list will be updated once or twice weekly as needed:



Program Scope and Focus
Question 1: Is AHRQ looking for training programs that offer a wide variety of CER experiences, or could the design/approach be more focused?

Answer 1: It may be appropriate to focus the design/approach of the program to fit the strengths experiences of the applicant institution/faculty mentors. The particular focus would need to be explained, supported, and adequately justified in the application.

Question 2: Is it expected that applicants will propose only one cohort of K-12 recipients for 3 years of funding? Is there a possibility of competitive renewal after the three year cycle?

Answer 2: Yes, it is expected that applicants will propose only one cohort of K-12 scholars for 3 years of funding. We have no plans at this time regarding any possibility for competitive renewal at the end of the 3 year cycle for grantees under this award program.

Question 3: Is there a requisite (minimum) number of scholar candidates that can be requested in the application?

Answer 3: A cohort will have a minimum of two scholars.

Institution and Scholar Eligibility
Question 4: What does the term “limited” signify in the title of the announcement?

Answer 4: If your institution meets the eligibility requirements and fits with the research objectives outlined in the announcement, you are eligible to apply.

Question 5: We are considering developing residency fellowship program with a focus on translational research. If we include 3 years worth of 75% effort for the research mentoring and projects within the residency/fellowship structure would this be considered as responsive to the RFA?

Do K12 scholars need to have faculty appointments, or can they be appointed as post-graduate fellows (e.g., post-MD and/or post-PhD)?

Answer 5: For the K12 program, a scholar candidate must have a “full time” appointment at the academic institution that is the applicant institution at the time of the award. With respect to levels of prior research experience, candidates should resemble those candidates supported by the individual mentored Clinical Scientist Development (K08) or the Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) described at http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/training/rsrchtng.htm#MRSDA. Each institution determines the appointment status of an individual. Generally, however, applicants for Career Development awards, hold a full-time faculty or research appointment at the institution. Candidates must be able to commit a minimum of 9 person-months (75% of full-time professional effort) conducting research career development activities associated with this award for a consecutive three-year period of time. The remaining 3 months (25% effort) can be divided among other research, clinical, and teaching activities only if these activities are consistent with the goals of the Award, i.e., the candidate's development into an independent investigator. Career development funds do not support clinical training. In addition, these programs must be focused in the area of Comparative Effectiveness Research.

Appointment Periods
Question 6: Can the potential start dates for faculty scholars be 9/1/10 or later? Will the end date for the award then be 8/30/13? If the start date is later, will the end date be later as well?

Answer 6: We are hoping to be able to have the start dates for faculty scholars to occur as early as July 1, 2010 and as late as September 30, 2010. Ideally, we would want the end dates for the K12 faculty scholars to be the last day of the grant award, but are flexible so long as the end date occurs prior to October 1, 2013.

Allowable Costs
Question 7: Does the 90K in maximum annual salary support fort the faculty member include fringe benefits?

Answer 7: Fringe benefits will be included in addition to the 90K salary.

Question 8: Can Assistant Program Director and Administrative Assistant costs be covered under the grant?

Answer 8: An Assistant Program Director is not included as an allowable cost. Limited administrative and clerical salary costs associated distinctly with the program that are not normally provided by the applicant institution may be direct charges to the grant only when specifically identified, reasonable, and justified.

Question 9: Is it reasonable to use grant support to enhance or develop one or more methodological emphases area, such as supporting biostatisticians to create seminars or courses on methods for analyzing observational data?

Answer 9: These costs are not included in allowable costs.


Current as of December 2009

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Internet Citation:

Questions and Answers on AHRQ Mentored Clinical Scientists Comparative Effectiveness Development Award (RFA) HS-10-0007. December 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/HS-10-007QandA.htm


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