Outreach & Engagement

Research Opportunities

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Science and Technology - NASA

ROA 2009: C.3 NextGen Airportal Project (AP1R) (Recovery Act) The NextGen-Airportal Project works in close collaboration with the NextGen- Airspace Project to conduct airspace and Airportal foundational research and discipline-based technology development for the nation. The Project focuses NASA’s technical expertise and world-class facilities to enable the highest possible efficiency in the use of gates, taxiways, runways, metroplex airspace, and other Airportal resources. In pursuit of that goal, the project is researching, developing, demonstrating, and validating operational concepts, proof-of-concept systems, algorithms, technologies, tools, and operational procedures designed to maximize capacity and throughput in the Airportal environment while enabling associated elements of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) as defined by the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO). Project performance objectives seek to use 4-D trajectories (aircraft path from “block-to-block,” including the path along the ground) to plan and execute system-wide operations; integrate 4-D trajectory operations with safe, optimized surface and terminal area traffic operations (particularly those associated with C-14 wake hazard prediction and avoidance); balance environmental issues in, and around, airports; match surface and airside capacities with arrival and departure air traffic flow; and assess local benefits of Airportal transformation by modeling changes to the current airport configuration. In support of these objectives, research activities will focus on: • Optimization of surface traffic • Dynamic airport configuration management • Advanced technologies to detect and avoid wake vortex hazards • New procedures for performing safe, closely spaced and converging approaches at closer distances than are currently allowed • Modeling, simulation, and experimental validation focused on efficient operations of single and multiple regional airports (metroplex) NextGen-Airportal Project research focus areas (RFAs) are the following: Safe and Efficient Surface Operations (SESO), Coordinated Arrival and Departure Operations Management (CADOM), and Airportal and Metroplex Integration (AMI). SESO conducts research to manage traffic on the airport surface (gates, taxiways, and runways) safely and efficiently to enable maximum throughput and capacity in the airport environment. CADOM focuses on concepts and technologies needed to mitigate operational constraints to maximizing single and multiple airport capacity. AMI focuses on management of metroplex operations, integration of work across the Project’s technical areas, and crosscutting research (e.g., human/system integration and concept analyses for portfolio management). The NextGen-Airportal Project team has developed a plan that will enable capacity and efficiency improvements in the airportal domain through joint research efforts and partnerships with other government agencies. In addition to conducting core research and development, NASA will establish Space Act Agreements with U.S. industry to address research partnerships at the systemwide level, including systems integration and operational applications. The Project will utilize this NASA Research Announcement (NRA) to leverage inhouse foundational research with academic institutions, non-profit organizations and industry performing foundational research to address technology gaps. 

ROA 2009: C.4 NextGen-Airspace Project (AS2R) (Recovery Act) The NextGen Airspace Project develops and explores fundamental concepts and integrated solutions that address the optimal allocation of ground and air automation technologies necessary for next generation air transportation system (NextGen). The Project will focus NASA’s technical expertise and world-class facilities to address the question of where, when, how and the extent to which automation can be applied to moving aircraft safely and efficiently through the National Airspace System (NAS). Research in this Project will address 4D Trajectory Operations, including advances in the C-34 science and applications of multi-aircraft trajectory optimization that solves the demand/capacity imbalance problem while taking into account weather information and forecast uncertainties and while keeping aircraft safely separated. The Project’s research will develop and test concepts for advanced traffic flow management to provide trajectory planning and execution across the spectrum of time horizons from “strategic planning” to “separation assurance.” Ultimately, the roles and responsibilities of humans and automation influence every technical area and will be addressed. The NextGen Airspace Project team has developed a plan that will integrate solutions for a safe, efficient and high-capacity airspace system through joint research efforts and partnerships with other government agencies. In addition to core research and development to be conducted by NASA, Space Act Agreements will be established with U.S. industry to address research partnerships at the system-wide level including systems integration and operational applications. The Project will utilize this NASA Research Announcement (NRA) to leverage in-house foundational research with academic institutions, non-profit organizations and industry performing foundational research to address technology gaps. This current solicitation seeks proposals related to the following NextGen Airspace Project research focus areas: System-Level Design, Analysis, and Simulation Tools (SLDAST). SLDAST will develop system design and analysis tools to assess the functional/temporal distribution of authority and responsibility among/between automation and humans. Solicitations for other research focus areas will be posted in future announcements. Milestone references for Subtopics in this section of the NRA are provided below under the heading ”Milestones Supported” so that it is possible to see how the NRA topics fit into the NASA Aeronautics research plan. These milestones are listed on project roadmaps that are available on the ARMD website (www.aeronautics.nasa.gov, under the Programs link).  

ROA 2009: A.4 Supersonics Project (SUP1) (Recovery Act)   The Supersonics Project is aligned with the ARMD principles of maintaining intellectual stewardship of aeronautical core competencies for the nation in the supersonic flight regime and of focusing research in areas that are appropriate to NASA’s unique capabilities. The Project supports the Fundamental Aeronautics Program strategy of developing systems level multidisciplinary capabilities for supersonic civilian and military applications. The Supersonics Project is a broad-based effort designed to develop knowledge, capabilities and technologies that support vehicles that fly in the supersonic speed regime with a focus on eliminating the efficiency, environmental and performance barriers to practical supersonic cruise vehicles. The Project has identified a set of key Technical Challenges that are barriers to success for this vehicle type. These are: Efficiency Challenges Supersonic Cruise Efficiency Light Weight, Durable Airframes and Engines for Supersonic Cruise Temperatures • Environmental Challenges Airport Noise Reduction Sonic Boom Modeling High Altitude Emissions Reduction • Performance Challenges Aero-Propulso-Servo-Elastic (APSE) Analysis and Design • Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis and Optimization Challenges (Understanding and exploiting the interactions of all these supersonic technology challenges is the key to the creation of practical design.) Systems Integration, Assessment and Validation • Flight Research & Validation Flight Validation and Test Technique Development In this solicitation, the Supersonics project is seeking proposals in the Sonic Boom Modeling Technical Challenge to further investigate Auralization of Sonic Booms Transmitted into Buildings, Community Response to Low-amplitude Sonic Booms, and Sonic Boom Focusing. For a more detailed overview of the Supersonics project efforts, please refer to: http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/nra_ref_docs.htm For a more detailed description of the current Supersonics Project tasks and associated milestones that are relevant to this NRA solicitation please refer to the following documents under the “Other Documents” section of NSPIRES for this solicitation: • Sonic Boom Modeling Task Plan http://tinyurl.com/ykvq58d
Pre-Solicitation Workshop - http://tinyurl.com/yh92jrt

A.2 Subsonic Fixed Wing (SSFW1) (Recovery Act)   The top-level goal of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program is to develop system-level, multi-disciplinary capabilities for both civilian and military applications. The program also provides long-term investment in research to support and sustain expert competency in critical core areas of aeronautics technology. The Fundamental Aeronautics Program encompasses research and technology spanning four (4) flight regimes: Subsonic Fixed Wing, Subsonic Rotary Wing, Supersonics and Hypersonics. It also supports NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration by providing key aeronautical capabilities that can be adapted for high-speed vehicles exiting and entering the atmosphere of our planet as well as operating throughout the atmospheres of other planetary bodies such as Mars. The work in the Fundamental Aeronautics Program directly benefits the public through the development of techniques and concepts for both subsonic and supersonic vehicles that are cleaner, quieter, and more energy efficient. Research efforts in revolutionary configurations, lighter and stiffer materials, improved propulsion systems, and advanced concepts for high-lift and drag reduction all target the efficiency and environmental compatibility of future air vehicles. NASA's Vision for Space Exploration will benefit from fundamental technology advances that can impact our ability to both access space and survive the planetary entry, descent, and landing phase. The program also helps the country develop and maintain excellence in the aeronautics workforce by providing significant research opportunities in all of its projects. A major emphasis of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program is on the mastery and intellectual stewardship of key core competencies of Aeronautics for the Nation across all flight regimes. However, NASA will principally conduct long-term research that is both focused and integrated across disciplines in areas that are appropriate to our unique capabilities. NASA will invest broadly and deeply producing knowledge, technology, and tools that are applicable across a broad range of air vehicles. NASA has defined four distinct levels to describe its approach to Fundamental Aeronautics technology development: (1) conduct foundational research to further our fundamental understanding of the underlying physics and our ability to model that physics, (2) leverage the foundational research to develop technologies and analytical tools focused on discipline-based solutions, (3) integrate methods and technologies to develop multi-disciplinary solutions, and (4) solve the aeronautics challenges for a broad range of air vehicles with system-level optimization, assessment and technology integration. Interaction with the aeronautics community aligns with the four levels: (1) NASA will advance the state of knowledge of the underlying physics and its modeling by partnering with universities and companies engaged in foundational research, (2) NASA will investigate discipline-related challenges and will interact with the aeronautics community A-2 through published reports and direct technology transfer, (3) NASA will develop multidisciplinary methods and technologies, and disseminate them in published reports and direct technology transfer, and (4) NASA will collaborate with industry by means of non-reimbursable cooperative agreements to address system-level challenges at the precompetitive level. The awards from this NRA will support U.S. leadership in aerospace through its commitment to identify and advance innovative ideas, concepts, technologies, and approaches to the aeronautics challenges described below for each of the four Fundamental Aeronautics thrust areas. Milestone references are provided in the sections below under the heading "NASA Milestones" so that it is possible to see how the NRA topics fit into the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics research plan. These milestones are listed on project roadmaps that are available on the ARMD website (www.aeronautics.nasa.gov, under the Programs link).

DOD/Army Research Laboratory

RECOVERY ACT, ARL-PHOTOVOLTAICS  The fundamental research solutions sought through this announcement are intended to revive the renewable energy industry and provide the capital over the next three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity. Offerors should be mindful of this objective in their responses to this announcement The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Contracting Center, Research Triangle Park Contracting Division on behalf of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate (SEDD) is soliciting white papers for Novel Materials and Device Development for High Efficiency Solar Photovoltaics and intends to award no more than two assistance instruments or contracts under topic areas 2.48 Directed Energy, Paragraph 7 Photovoltaic (PV) Power Sources and/or; 2.52 Infrared Detectors and Power Sources through Army Research Laboratory and Army Research Office Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Number W911NF-07-R-0001-03 effective from 01 October 2007 through 30 September 2011. Awards will be subject to the final Recovery Act approval and funding. It is anticipated that award(s) made will be firm fixed price contracts or cost reimbursable (no profit/fee) assistance instruments. Research and Development solutions are sought for new semiconductor materials and device architectures for high efficiency (>30%) solar photovoltaic solutions that will: -Provide power for charging batteries (during daylight hours) for small autonomous systems. These microsystems will have ambulation as well as avionic capabilities. -Enable extended runtimes on unattended ground sensors and surveillance cameras. The photovoltaic solution for these applications will be geared towards Army's high value systems and high value missions and must address compact, conformable and a light weight substrate with a small volume. The proposed solutions must be able to obtain conversion efficiencies of >30% and these photovoltaic devices may consist of multi-color tandem photovoltaic devices. The Army's goal is photovoltaic panels that are very light weight and having areas of 2000 cm2. A key requirement for these photovoltaic panels is very high power per unit area and weight. These photovoltaic arrays will be integrated to the skins of small microsystems to produce power and ultimately to provide multifunction "smart skins" for small autonomous systems. At the end of the award(s) the awardee(s) shall be able to deliver a small (~1W under one sun) high efficiency photovoltaic array demonstrating scalability to 100W or higher. Offerors must address the following: -High efficiency solar photovoltaic devices and cells for un-attended ground sensors, Soldier systems, and very small autonomous systems. Proposals should address the investigation of novel approaches, highly integrated advanced materials, and device structures to reduce weight, volume and self powering for emerging Army Systems. -Very high power and energy density solutions to powering very small systems. -Higher efficiency cells integrated with flexible electronics and displays. -Rigid crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells for anticipated future sensors, taggants and micro autonomous systems; -Cheaper thin film solutions offering higher efficiencies and smaller areas to produce power Offerors are invited to submit a white paper not exceeding five (5) pages under the topic areas referenced above and shall be sent via email to Parvez Uppal (e:mail: Puppal@arl.army.mil) by 01 June 2009. The subject line of the email shall be: RECOVERY - ARL PHOTOVOLTAICS. The Government will evaluate all white papers and provide a written response / proposal invitation to the offerors on or about 15 June 2009. Two awards valued at $1,500,000.00 each or one award valued $3,000,000.00 are expected. Offerors invited to submit a proposal should note that Federal agencies are required to include terms and conditions in contract documents necessary to ensure the transparency and accountability objectives of the Recovery Act are met.

Health Resources Services Administration

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ARRA-American Reinvestment and Recovery Act – Emergency Medical Services for Children - closing date May 12, 2010 -- Limited competition to current HRSA U03 grantees. Applications may be submitted only by accredited schools of medicine that are current activity code U03 grantees (EMSC-Network Development Demonstration Project whose cooperative agreements collectively form PECARN)  The grant is intended to meet HHS/OS priorities of improving the research network infrastructure for purposes of comparative effectiveness research. Applicants should address specific needs in the field of pediatric emergency care that transcend state boundaries. Objectives must meet a demonstrable need, and methodologies and strategies for achieving the objectives must be realistic, appropriate and scientifically sound. Each application must contain an evaluation plan that includes measurable outcomes and clearly defined time frames for conducting the evaluation.

Recovery (ARRA) CHARN Research Node Centers - closing date June 9, 2010  The Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) is being established in response to the funding opportunities made available under the Recovery Act for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Data Infrastructure. The CHARN will be comprised of four Research Nodes and a Central Data Management Coordinating Center (CDMCC). Research Nodes are health center-led consortia of safety net providers in partnership with one or more academic institutions and will be funded through four separate cooperative agreements. This funding announcement is for four Research Node Centers to support the four Research Nodes. Each Research Node Center will serve as the coordinating arm of the Research Node and will maintain a research partnership with the other affiliate organizations within the Research Node. Support for the Research Node will include arranging and managing the participation of at least 3 affiliates, maintaining scientific and technical personnel for research protocol development and implementation, coordinating intra-node activities, and providing resources for intra-node activities. 

Recovery Act (ARRA) - CHARN Central Data Management Coordination Center - eligible entities are Academic Research Centers - closing date June 9, 2010  The Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) is being established in response to the funding opportunities made available under the Recovery Act for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Data Infrastructure. The CHARN will be comprised of four Research Nodes and a Central Data Management Coordinating Center (CDMCC). Research Nodes are health center-led consortia of safety net providers in partnership with one or more academic institutions and will be funded through four separate cooperative agreements. This funding announcement is for the Central Data Management Coordinating Center (CDMCC) to support the Network. This cooperative agreement will fund a Center whose mission will be to coordinate activities across research nodes in the following areas: administrative support for inter-node coordinating functions (such as the management of the steering committee); central data management; technical assistance in study design, data infrastructure, and analytic methods. Support for the Network will include the provision of appropriate and capable leadership and expertise in biostatistics, developmental study design, data management, data analysis, clinical data review, and project management, including, but not limited to, staff and site training and quality assurance procedures.

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NIH

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Recovery Act Limited Competition: The NIH Directors ARRA Funded Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce (DP4) - closing date May 4, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications for the NIH Directors ARRA Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce. The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research workforce. The NIH expects all of its efforts to diversify the workforce to lead to the recruitment of the most talented researchers from all groups; to improve the quality of the educational and training environment; to balance and broaden the perspective in setting research priorities; to improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols; and to improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities. .This new FOA introduces a new research grant program to encourage exceptionally creative individual scientists to develop highly innovative and possibly transforming approaches for promoting diversity within the biomedical research workforce. To be considered highly innovative, the proposed research must reflect ideas substantially different from those already being pursued or it must apply existing research designs in new and innovative ways to unambiguously identify factors that will improve the retention of students, postdocs and faculty from diverse backgrounds. Awardees must commit a major portion (generally 30% or more) of their research effort to activities supported by the Directors Pathfinder Award and the proposed research must be endorsed by the highest levels of institutional management. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the DP4 grant mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. NIH intends to commit approximately $10 million under this FOA. We anticipate that up to 5 awards will be made in fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: The NIH Directors ARRA Funded Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce (DP4) - closing date May 4, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications for the NIH Directors ARRA Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce. The NIH recognizes a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research workforce. The NIH expects all of its efforts to diversify the workforce to lead to the recruitment of the most talented researchers from all groups; to improve the quality of the educational and training environment; to balance and broaden the perspective in setting research priorities; to improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols; and to improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities. .This new FOA introduces a new research grant program to encourage exceptionally creative individual scientists to develop highly innovative and possibly transforming approaches for promoting diversity within the biomedical research workforce. To be considered highly innovative, the proposed research must reflect ideas substantially different from those already being pursued or it must apply existing research designs in new and innovative ways to unambiguously identify factors that will improve the retention of students, postdocs and faculty from diverse backgrounds. Awardees must commit a major portion (generally 30% or more) of their research effort to activities supported by the Directors Pathfinder Award and the proposed research must be endorsed by the highest levels of institutional management. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the DP4 grant mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. NIH intends to commit approximately $10 million under this FOA. We anticipate that up to 5 awards will be made in fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds

ARRA OS Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Enhanced State Data for Analysis and Tracking of Comparative Effectiveness Impact: Improved Clinical Content and Race-Ethnicity Data (R01) - Closing date March 20, 2010    Purpose. This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites infrastructure development research grant (R01) applications from organizations seeking to either 1) enhance the clinical content of statewide, all-payer, hospital-based encounter-level data to support comparative effectiveness research, or 2) improve the reliability and validity of information in hospital-based encounter-level data related to race and ethnicity. Enhancing clinical content. This project will make resources available to organizations that collect statewide all-payer, hospital-based encounter-level data (inpatient, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery) and that have the capacity to significantly broaden and supplement their existing population-based data for the purpose of both producing the evidence base for comparative effectiveness and evaluating efforts to implement comparative effectiveness. Data organizations will link their existing core data to a choice of additional data base enhancements, including but not limited to: hospital-based electronic pharmacy data, electronic clinical data, electronic pre-hospital emergency care data, clinical registries, and vital record birth and death certificates. Because the cost of augmenting an existing, encounter-level, statewide, administrative hospital data base varies considerably depending on the specific clinical data elements to be added, the application should inventory and discuss the reasons for selecting the specific clinical data elements that are to be added to the statewide, encounter-level, hospital-based administrative data set.

ARRA OS Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Comparative Effectiveness Delivery System Demonstration Grants (R18)   Closing Date March 23, 2010  Purpose. This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Demonstration and Dissemination Grant (R18) applications from organizations to conduct demonstrations of (1) broad strategies and/or specific interventions for improving care by redesigning care delivery, or (2) strategies and interventions for improving care by redesigning payment. (For examples and definitions of terms, see below, Objectives of this Funding Opportunity and Nature of this Funding Opportunity.) The demonstrations will aim to achieve major improvements in care quality (including clinical outcomes and other dimensions), improve access to care, reduce disparities, or improve population-based measures of health outcomes. The demonstration will address issues related to HHS priorities, including those of Medicare and Medicaid. In specifying its requirements for using ARRA funds in support of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopts the definition of CER as the conduct and synthesis of research comparing the benefits and harms of different interventions and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor health conditions in real world settings. HHS added that interventions compared may include medications, procedures, medical and assistive devices and technologies, diagnostic testing, behavioral change, and delivery system strategies. The current FOA concentrates primarily on delivery system strategies, which in turn may affect other types of interventions. In formulating its requirements related to CER, HHS drew on the recommendations of the Federal Coordinating Council for CER and on the 100 priority topics identified by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its 2009 report, Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12648.html

ARRA OS Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Comparative Effectiveness Delivery System Evaluation Grants (R01) - Closing Date March 18, 2010  Purpose. This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Project Grant (R01) applications from investigators seeking to conduct rigorous comparative evaluations of alternative system designs, change strategies, and interventions that have already been implemented in healthcare and are likely to improve quality and other outcomes. (For definitions of system design, strategies, and related terms, see below, Nature of this Funding Opportunity).

ARRA OS: Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Accelerating Implementation of Comparative Effectiveness Findings on Clinical and Delivery System Interventions by Leveraging AHRQ Networks (R18) - Closing Date March 24, 2010   Purpose. This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Demonstration and Dissemination grant (R18) applicationsto promote the increased implementation and widespread use of findings from comparative effectiveness research (CER) that have been demonstrated to improve the prevention, diagnosis, management or treatment of a clinical condition or to otherwise improve care quality, improve access to care, reduce disparities, or improve population-based measures of health outcomes. For purposes of this FOA, the scope of CER findings includes not only clinical findings but also findings on the effectiveness of implementation approaches, including behavioral change and delivery system strategies, as spelled out in the Federal Coordinating Council recommendations and Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations. This FOA also reflects HHS recognition that, for the CER enterprise to be successful, funds must be directed at accelerating the dissemination and translation of CER findings into health care practice improvement. To achieve maximum impact, applicants will leverage broad-based, multi-stakeholder or multi-site collaborations or partnerships to develop and implement comprehensive initiatives composed of one or more interventions and strategies, including, but not limited to, those listed below (see below, Nature of this Funding Opportunity

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Program to Enhance NIH-supported Global Health Research Involving Human Subjects (S07) - Closing date March 2, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications from U.S. institutions for one year of support for resources and activities that will strengthen oversight of NIH supported human subjects research conducted collaboratively with institutions in low- to middle-income countries (LMIC). Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Biomedical Research Support Grants (S07) mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The Fogarty International Center (FIC) intends to commit $650,000 under this FOA. We anticipate that 12-13 awards will be made for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Framework Programs for Global Health Signature Innovations Initiative (R24) - Closing date  March 22, 2010   Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications from U.S. institutions and their partners to enhance the infrastructure and opportunities at the participating institutions for training postdoctoral investigators to carry out innovative, multidisciplinary research in Global Health. The initiative emphasizes hands on, problem solving, and collaborative approaches and may require the development of new training models and new partnerships within and beyond the university community. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Resource-Related Research Project (R24) award mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The Fogarty International Center intends to commit up to $2.7 million under this FOA. We anticipate that 6-10 awards will be made for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds.

ARRA OS: Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Scalable Distributed Research Networks for Comparative Effectiveness Research (R01) - Closing date March 10, 2010   This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ by the Office of the Secretary (OS) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Project Grant (R01) applications from organizations that propose to develop the infrastructure and improve the methodology for collecting prospective data from electronic clinical databases to generate new evidence on the comparative effectiveness of healthcare interventions. Purpose. The goal of this FOA is to enhance the capability and capacity of electronic health networks designed for distributed research to conduct prospective, comparative effectiveness research on outcomes of clinical interventions. The clinical interventions include, but are not limited to, diagnostics, therapeutics (drugs and biologics), medical devices, behavioral interventions, and surgical procedures used in clinical care.

ARRA OS Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Enhanced Registries for Quality Improvement and Comparative Effectiveness Research (R01) - Closing date March 29, 2010   Purpose. This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ by the Office of the Secretary (OS) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Project Grant (R01) applications from organizations that propose to develop the infrastructure and improve the methodology for collecting prospective data from electronic clinical databases to generate new evidence on the comparative effectiveness of healthcare interventions

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Institutional Comparative Effectiveness Research Mentored Career Development Award (KM1) - Closing date March 25, 2010    Purpose. Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), entitled Institutional Comparative Effectiveness Research Mentored Career Development Award (KM1), which is supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, the NIH invites applications from research-intensive institutions to support mentored career development in support of comparative effectiveness research (CER) in an interdisciplinary environment catering to the needs of diverse populations of scholars including (but not limited to) those with backgrounds in biostatistics, epidemiology, health economics, pharmacology, medicine, and dentistry. Scholars should be encouraged to register for higher degrees, where appropriate. Successful applicant institutions will be expected to include course development work in their proposal and make provision for expanding the pool of experienced CER mentors. This FOA is responsive to the NIH mission to build capacity in critical research areas (http://www.nih.gov/about/index.html#mission). Mechanism of Support. This FOA will use the ARRA-specific NIH mechanism KM1 with funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NIH intends to commit up to $25,000,000 for this FOA. It is anticipated that eight to 10 awards will be made for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications.

ARRA OS: Recovery Act 2009: Accelerating Adoption of Comparative Effectiveness Research Results by Providers and Patients (R18) - Closing Date March 11, 2011  Purpose. This ASPE FOA, supported by funds provided to ASPE under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites grant applications from organizations that propose to develop and test interventions to improve the translation and adoption of existing comparative effectiveness research (CER) information and incorporate these findings into practice in both the public and private sectors. Doing so effectively would demonstrate a return on the CER investment, and, more importantly, improve the health of patients. Funds will be used to support organizations that 1) develop and implement evidence-informed and innovative CER-based adoption interventions targeting patients and/or providers; 2) develop proposals that test the implementation of CER-based adoption strategies within and across organizations and delivery systems and analyze any behavior change (in patients and/or providers) associated with the intervention. CER-based entails the applicant describing and justifying the existing comparative evidence that is the focus of the adoption intervention. Organizations applying for these funds will need to utilize existing or create new measurement systems to track adoption or adherence rates (thus measuring clinician and patient behavior changes) associated with the adoption of CER and measurement of health outcomes if possible. Applicants should also seek to understand the underlying factors associated with adoption. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the R18 grant mechanism Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. $300,000 to $3,000,000 per award; 5-10 awards

You may submit an application(s) if your institution/organization has any of the following characteristics:
Integrated health care systems
Integrated provider systems
Academic Medical Centers
Provider consortia
Community Health Center Networks
Private payers
Other non-governmental organizations that administer or directly provide health care services
Organizations that serve health care consumers
University-based school (e.g. School of Public Policy or Public Health)
Private research institutes

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet) Short-term Mentored Career Development Awards in the Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences for Mid-career and Senior Investigators (K18) - closing date February 18, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications for short-term mentored career development (K18) awards in the basic behavioral and social sciences research (b-BSSR) from three months to one year in duration. The program targets established, mid-career and senior investigators, to support their development of research capability in b-BSSR.Two categories of candidates are targeted: (a) biomedical or clinical researchers with little experience in basic behavioral and social sciences research who seek training with a well established b-BSSR investigator in order to explore the introduction of b-BSSR into their research programs; and (b) investigators in the basic or applied behavioral and social sciences who wish to build new components or domains of basic-BSSR into their research programs. The intent of this FOA is to provide candidates with protected time to achieve a shift in the focus of their research direction in the basic behavioral and social sciences, or to substantially enrich a current b-BSSR research program through the introduction of tools, theories or approaches from another discipline or area of science; it is not intended as a substitute for research project support. This FOA is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet). OppNet strongly encourages investigators to consult NIH-OBSSRs definitions related to b-BSSR for OppNet-related FOAs. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the K18 grant mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. OppNet intends to commit up to $2 million to this FOA. We anticipate that 10-20 awards will be made for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Research On Biosamples From Selected Diabetes Clinical Studies (RC4) - closing date March 11, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applicants to apply for: 1) Access to non-renewable (non- DNA) samples generated by selected NIDDK-funded clinical trials and studies and funding to perform validated laboratory assays on the requested samples; OR 2) To apply for funding for assays to be performed on non-renewable (non- DNA) samples generated by selected NIDDK-funded clinical trials and studies, with proof of access approved by the consortia. Samples and funding will not be provided for assay development or exploratory research with animal models, or any research utilizing samples other than those that derive from studies listed below. Investigators should propose to test scientifically meritorious hypotheses related to the clinical trial or studys goals, and within the intent of the signed consent form for each study or trial. Data generated under this FOA is expected to be returned to the consortium or NIDDK repository. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the RC4 grant mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. NIDDK intends to commit up to $3,000,000 under this FOA. We anticipate that 5-10 awards will be made for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds.

Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Expansion of Research Capability to Study Comparative Effectiveness in Complex Patients (R24) - Closing date January 20, 2010   This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) solicits Infrastructure Development (R24) grant applications from applicant organizations that propose to build or enhance partnerships, datasets and methodologies that will improve the capacity to study, and the quality of studies, of patients with multiple chronic illnesses (referred to as Complex Patients).Purpose. This FOA, supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Infrastructure Development grant (R24) applications from organizations that propose to increase the capacity of high quality epidemiologic and comparative effectiveness research to be done that will inform the health system of the future in its ability to care for people of all backgrounds with multiple chronic illnesses. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will use the AHRQ Research Infrastructure Development (R24) grant mechanism.

ARRAOS: Recovery Act Limited Competition: Behavioral Economics for Nudging the Implementation of Comparative Effectiveness Research: Clinical Trials (RC4) - Closing date April 7, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications proposing clinical trials using the principles of behavioral economics to enhance the uptake of the results of comparative effectiveness research (CER) among health care providers in their practice. For this FOA, applicants must propose controlled trials that randomize units (whether individuals or clusters such as practices, hospitals, or larger units) to conditions, resulting in a randomized clinical trial (RCT) or cluster randomized trial (CRT). Research to foster the uptake of CER is seen to be necessary given the surprisingly modest behavioral response of health care providers and health care systems to information concerning treatments or procedures judged to be superior in CER trials. An additional possible benefit is that some behavioral economic interventions to promote the uptake of CER (e.g., those that rely on manipulating a providers default options) could be more cost effective than conventional approaches including some pay for performance schemes (P4P). For the purposes of this FOA, the definition of comparative effectiveness research will adhere to that adopted by the Federal Coordinating Council given at http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/cerannualrpt.pdf. Behavioral economics refers to the interdisciplinary efforts involving cognitive and social psychologists, decision scientists, and other social scientists together with economists to model economic decision-making and consequent actions. The approach is inclusive, since at its heart it tries to take into account what is known about how people actually make decisions rather than relying on the assumption that economic agents are fundamentally rational in the sense of expected utility theory (see, e.g., Kahneman and Tverskys (1979) work on Prospect Theory and Kahnemans (2003) Nobel lecture). It is hoped that this line of research will lead to significantly greater consideration of CER by health care providers and therefore enhance the quality of the nations health.

ARRAOS: Recovery Act Limited Competition: Behavioral Economics for Nudging the Implementation of Comparative Effectiveness Research: Pilot Research (RC4) - closing date March 19, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH and AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications to study how the principles of behavioral economics could be used to enhance the uptake of the results of comparative effectiveness research (CER) among health care providers in their practice. (For this FOA, applications should be thought of as large pilot or preliminary studies rather than definitive trials.) This funding opportunity seeks applications that will investigate whether the principles of behavioral economics could be used to enhance the uptake of the results CER among health care providers and also enhance the maintenance of such treatments in patient populations. Research to foster the uptake of CER is seen to be necessary given the surprisingly modest behavioral response of health care providers and health care systems to information concerning treatments or procedures judged to be superior in CER trials. An additional possible benefit is that some behavioral economic interventions to promote the uptake of CER could be far more cost effective than other approaches including some pay for performance schemes (P4P). For the purposes of this FOA, the definition of comparative effectiveness research will adhere to that adopted by the Federal Coordinating Council given at http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/cerannualrpt.pdf. Behavioral economics refers to the interdisciplinary efforts involving cognitive and social psychologists, decision scientists, and other social scientists together with economists to model economic decision-making and consequent actions. The approach is inclusive, since at its heart it tries to take into account what is known about how people actually make behavioral decisions rather than relying on the assumption that economic agents are fundamentally rational in the sense of expected utility theory (see, e.g.,Kahneman and Tverskys (1979) work on Prospect Theory and Kahnemans (2003) Nobel lecture). It is hoped that this line of research will lead to significantly greater understanding of the adoption of CER by health care providers and therefore enhance the quality of the nations health.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Directors Opportunity for Research in Five Thematic Areas (RC4) - closing date March 15, 2010  The NIH has received new funds for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2009 and 2010 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA). This is one of a number of NIH initiatives related to the Recovery Act. These are listed at the following site: http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/. Under the Recovery Act, the NIH has established a program entitled NIH Directors Opportunity for Research in Five Thematic Areas. This program will support projects that address research endeavors in specific areas that will benefit from significant three-year funds without the expectation of continued NIH funding beyond this period. The research supported by the program should have high short-term impact, and a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and development, public health, and health care delivery. Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, solicits through this limited competition applications from domestic (United States) institutions/organizations proposing to develop and implement critical research innovations in one or more of the following five thematic areas: Applying Genomics and Other High Throughput Technologies Translating Basic Science Discoveries into New and Better Treatments Using Science to Enable Health Care Reform Focusing on Global Health Reinvigorating the Biomedical Research Community

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Comparative Effectiveness Research on Upper Endoscopy in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Eradication Methods for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Dementia Detection and Management Strategies (RC4) - closing date February 26, 2010  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications to conduct preliminary comparative effectiveness research (CER) projects in targeted, high-priority areas in which such efforts have been lacking. (For this FOA, applications should be thought of as large pilot or preliminary studies rather than definitive trials.) For the purposes of this FOA, the definition of comparative effectiveness research will adhere to that adopted by the Federal Coordinating Council given at http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/execsummary.html. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will use the ARRA-specific NIH mechanism RC4. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NIH intends to commit $15,000,000 for use under this FOA, $5,000,000 in each of the 3 targeted areas. We anticipate that 4-6 awards will be made in each area for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds. Budget and Project Period. Total costs are limited to a cumulative total of $1,250,000 throughout the grant period. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed three years.

Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition OS ARRA: Comparative Effectiveness Research to Optimize Prevention and Healthcare Management for the Complex Patient (R21) - Closing date January 20, 2010  Purpose. This AHRQ FOA, supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Exploratory/Developmental grant (R21) applications from organizations that aim to understand the comparative value of different strategies in the prevention and management of chronic illness in persons with specific constellations of co-morbid conditions. Exploratory research studies will contribute evidence to help guide the appropriate integration (i.e., prioritization, timing, provision and coordination) of therapeutic and preventive services in individuals with multiple chronic conditions. This work should improve our understanding of the comparative value of interventions to patients with multiple conditions, how the safety and effectiveness of specific interventions may be affected by co-morbid conditions, and how interventions may need to be modified for specific patient populations with multiple conditions. This information should help clinicians better integrate care provided to such individuals, help patients make informed decisions about health care choices, and help policymakers identify better ways to measure and promote quality care for complex patients.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Health Information Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects - Closing date January 25, 2010  This Program will support competitively-awarded cooperative agreements to establish Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP). Projects (or Awardees) under this program will conduct research focusing on where breakthrough advances are needed to address well-documented problems that have impeded adoption of health IT and to accelerate progress towards achieving nationwide meaningful use of health IT in support of a high-performing, learning health care system. The goal of these research efforts is to improve the process for adoption of HIT and providing a more efficient pathway towards meaningful use. 

AHRQ ARRA Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: AHRQ Institutional National Research Service Award (NRSA) Postdoctoral Comparative Effectiveness Development Training Award (T32) - closing date January 20, 2010  Purpose: This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications from institutions that have received new five-year NRSA institutional training awards from AHRQ in FY 2008 to compete for the AHRQ institutional NRSA Postdoctoral Comparative Effectiveness Development Training Award (T32). The purpose of this program is to support the postdoctoral training of health services and clinical researchers who have made a commitment to focus their research on the generation, translation, and dissemination of new scientific evidence and analytical tools in comparative effectiveness. The award will provide two years of supervised study and research for two cohorts of clinical and research doctorates, with one cohort initiating training in the first year of the grant and the second initiating training in the second year of the grant. Mechanism of Support: This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will utilize the NRSA Institutional award (T32) mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards: It is anticipated that AHRQ will make approximately 5-7 awards for a total of $5 million. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Because the nature and scope of the proposed training program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size of each award may also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the number, quality, and costs of the applications received.

AHRQ ARRA Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: AHRQ Mentored Clinical Scientists Comparative Effectiveness Development Award (K12) - closing date January 20, 2010  Purpose: This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites applications from institutions for the AHRQ Mentored Clinical Scientists Comparative Effectiveness Development Award (K12). The purpose of this program is to support the career development of health services and clinical researchers who have made a commitment to focus their research on the generation, translation, and dissemination of new scientific evidence and analytical tools in comparative effectiveness. The award will provide three years of supervised study and research for one cohort of clinical and research doctorates. Mechanism of Support: This FOA will utilize the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program Institutional (K12) award mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards: It is anticipated that AHRQ will make 5-6 awards for a total of $15 million. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Because the nature and scope of the proposed career award program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the number, quality, and costs of the applications received.

ARRA-AHRQ Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: PROSPECT Studies: Building New Clinical Infrastructure for Comparative Effectiveness Research (R01) Deadline January 20, 2010   This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Project Grant (R01) applications from organizations that propose to develop the infrastructure and improve the methodology for collecting prospective data from electronic clinical databases to generate new evidence on the comparative effectiveness of healthcare interventions Purpose. The primary purpose of the PROSPECT (Prospective Outcome Systems using Patient-specific Electronic data to Compare Tests and therapies) Studies will be to advance the quality, depth and scale of the electronic data collection infrastructure as a basis for comparative effectiveness research. The projects will substantially enhance the nations ability and capacity to systematically collect prospective data that will inform comparative effectiveness research on diagnostics, therapeutics, devices, behavioral interventions, and procedures used in clinical care, especially in populations typically under-represented in randomized control clinical trials or that have limited access to healthcare, or both, such as patients with multiple co-morbidities, extremes of age, and minorities.

ARRA-AHRQ Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum for Comparative Effectiveness Research (U13) Deadline January 20, 2010   This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Large Conference Support (U13) grant applications from organizations that propose to advance methods related to the development of the infrastructure and methodology for collecting and analyzing prospective data from electronic clinical databases for comparative effectiveness research. Purpose. The Electronic Data Methods (EDM) forum will convene investigators who are conducting PROSPECT (Prospective Outcome Systems using Patient-specific Electronic data to Compare Tests and therapies) studies on comparative effectiveness of clinical interventions used in priority conditions and populations (please see RFA-HS-10-005), other experts in clinical registries, distributed research methods, health information technology and outcomes research, practicing clinicians, representatives from relevant organizations, and other stakeholders as needed. The EDM forum, through a series of meetings and workshops, will identify the challenges to conducting comparative effectiveness research using electronic data, including but not limited to scientific, technical, organizational, clinical, legal, and ethical issues, and challenges related to compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).The EDM forum will propose realistic solutions to such challenges, or outline a research agenda and/or discussion that will advance resolution of the issues identified by the forum.

Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Innovative Adaptation and Dissemination of AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Research Products (iADAPT) (R18) -  DEADLINE 12-16-09  This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Demonstration and Dissemination grant (R18) applications from organizations to extend the reach and impact of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Reviews and associated products, particularly Comparative Effectiveness Research Summary Guides (CERSGs) prepared by the John M. Eisenberg Center for Clinical Decisions and Communications Science part of the AHRQ Effective Health Care Program. (See http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/healthInfo.cfm?infotype=sg and http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/healthInfo.cfm?infotype=rr for information about CERSGs and CER Reviews respectively.) Summary guides are intended to help bridge the gap between research and practice by translating and disseminating findings on the comparative effectiveness of clinical interventions for three broad audiences patients/consumers, clinicians, and policymakers. Applicants are invited to propose innovative customizations or adaptations (as defined in this FOA under Part II Section I.1 Research Objectives subsection) to the content presentation and/or delivery mechanism(s) of one or more Comparative Effectiveness Research Review Products, such as Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, Comparative Effectiveness Review Executive Summaries, or Comparative Effectiveness Research Summary Guides (CERSGs) where additional adaptations or customizations are aimed at increasing their use, implementation, and impact among difficult-to-reach populations, including the elderly, those with limited English proficiency, limited education or insurance coverage, minority or immigrant status, health literacy problems, or other underserved populations who may have limited contact with the health care system or health information. Adaptations should aim to increase the impact and effective use of one or more CER Review Products by developing, implementing, and evaluating customizations that target important audiences, stakeholders, systems, or settings; these customizations may be in the adaptation of the original CER Review or Executive Summary contents to a specialized clinical audience of potential users (such as Formulary or Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committees, health care systems with electronic platforms such as electronic medical records (EMRs) that could support clinical decision support) or adaptation of CERSGs (supplemented as deemed necessary with pertinent information found solely in the CER Reviews) to underserved populations of patients/consumers whose interface with medical or Internet sources of information is limited and who may instead use health care information and advice provided through traditional means, such as neighborhood-, community-, or faith-based groups. For CER Review Products or CERSGs, adaptations may address the presentation of the content and/or the mechanisms by which the contents are delivered or used.

Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: AHRQ Clinical and Health Outcomes Initiative in Comparative Effectiveness (CHOICE) Grants (R01)  -- DEADLINE 12-16-09   This AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to AHRQ under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5, invites Research Project Grant (R01) applications for large projects in comparative effectiveness aimed at generating new knowledge to help inform decision making in priority areas of clinical care. The impact of these studies should have a high likelihood of creating major advancements in clinical care.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Building Sustainable Community-Linked Infrastructure to Enable Health Science Research (RC4) - DEADLINE 12-11-09 
This FOA is particularly directed towards Academic Health Centers who have engaged with the community and may have collaborated on projects of mutual interest.

Purpose. The NIH has established a new program entitled Building Sustainable Community-Linked Infrastructure to Enable Health Science Research, hereafter called the Community Infrastructure grants program. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5, solicits applications from domestic (United States) institutions/organizations proposing to support the development, expansion, or reconfiguration of infrastructures needed to facilitate collaboration between academic health centers and community-based organizations for health science research. Such collaboration should transform the way in which health science research is conducted in communities, and accelerate the pace, productivity, dissemination, and implementation of health research; applications that build upon extant collaborative infrastructures supported by other Federal agencies are strongly encouraged. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the RC4 grant mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. This initiative is funded under the Recovery Act.NIH has designated up to $30 million in FY2009-2010 to fund 30 or more grants, contingent upon the submission of a sufficient number of scientifically meritorious applications.

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Recovery Act Limited Competition: Protection of Human Health by Immunology and Vaccines (U01, U19)  Purpose. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), invites new applications from single domestic institutions, or consortia of institutions, to participate in creating a network of human immunology profiling research groups. Applications are sought that propose to study human immune responses (1) following infection, (2) prior to and following vaccination against an infectious disease, or (3) prior to and following treatment with an immune adjuvant that targets a known innate immune receptor(s). The purpose of this FOA is to capitalize on recent advances in immune profiling to measure the diversity of human immune responses under a variety of conditions, using bioinformatic, multiplex, and/or systems biology approaches to study samples from well-characterized human cohorts and to measure aspects of the human transcriptome and/or proteome. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the U01 and U19 cooperative agreement grant mechanisms. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NIAID intends to commit approximately $20 million in total costs (direct plus indirect costs) in fiscal year 2010, which includes support for an Infrastructure and Opportunites Fund of up to $2 million total costs in year one and up to $5 million total costs in years two through five. The Infrastructure and Opportunites Fund will support consortium infrastructure, collaborative projects, pilot projects, and new research opportunities that arise post-award. Recovery Act funds will be used to support this FOA in fiscal year 2010 only; the NIAID will provide funds for four future years (FY 2011-2014). The NIAID anticipates that 6-10 awards will be made for fiscal year 2010, pending the number and quality of applications and the availability of funds.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NCMHD Community Participation in Health Disparities Intervention Research Planning Phase (R24)  The NIH has received new funds for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2009 and 2010 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA), Public Law 111-5. This is one of a number of NIH initiatives supported by that Recovery Act funding. The NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) has designated up to $7 million for Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) planning grants to support community participation in health disparities intervention research.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NCMHD Dissertation Research Award to Increase Diversity (R36)  This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), invites applications to support qualified pre-doctoral students to pursue research careers in any area relevant to the research mission of the NCMHD (i.e., minority health and health disparities research) and simultaneously increase the diversity of this workforce. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Dissertation Research (R36) grant mechanism Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. NCMHD intends to commit $ 500,000 under this FOA. We anticipate that 3-5 awards will be made for fiscal year 20 09, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds. 

Recovery Act Limited Competition: NCMHD Exploratory Centers of Excellence (P20)  The NIH has received new funds for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2009 and 2010 as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA). This is one of a number of NIH initiatives supported by that Recovery Act funding. This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), issued by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), NIH, invites grant applications from eligible institutions/organizations that propose to establish an Exploratory NCMHD Center of Excellence (COE). NCMHD COE awards provide funding for hiring staff, researchers, community members, and trainees with the goal of augmenting and expanding the capacity and infrastructure of the institution and community to engage in research improving the health of nation and for preparing the next generation of researchers. Activities should be proposed that will benefit from significant 2-year funds without the expectation of continued NIH funding beyond two years. The activities supported by these NCMHD COE grants should have high short-term impact, and a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and development, public health, and health care delivery. Applications are invited from institutions seeking support to 1) establish novel partnerships for community engagement/outreach efforts to eliminate health disparities, 2) establish new or enhance current research training infrastructure and capacity, including pipeline training programs, to prepare future biomedical, biobehavioral, and clinical researchers from minority, rural or low social and low economic status populations, and 3) to hire newly-recruited faculty to develop a research project within the context of the NCMHD Centers of Excellence program. To be eligible for the COE in this FOA, applicant institutions are expected to have existing federal research support and/or research infrastructure as reflected in a level of NIH institutional funding of less than $80 million for the year 2008.Mandatory Cores: Each NCMHD Exploratory COE (P20) must contain two cores: a mandatory Administrative Core, and one additional core selected from the following: Community Engagement/Outreach Core or Research Training/Education Core or a Research Core. If a Research Core is proposed, a single research project must be proposed. NCMHD will only support a single research project. 

Recovery Act 2009 Limited Competition: Enabling National Networking of Scientists and Resource Discovery (U24)  This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), invites applications designed to develop, enhance, or extend infrastructure for connecting people and resources to facilitate national discovery of individuals and of scientific resources by scientists and students to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and scientific exchange. Implementation and evaluation at all participating institutions of a national prototype in research networking and implementation and evaluation at all participating institutions of a national prototype for resource discovery are the key deliverables at the end of the two-year project period. A diversity of institutions must be included to ensure broad applicability and national impact. These could include institutions of varying sizes and levels of existing infrastructure; urban, suburban, and rural settings; and racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Resource-Related Research Projects Cooperative Agreement (U24) grant mechanism.

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15)   The purpose of the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program is to stimulate research in educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation's research scientists, but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. These AREA grants create opportunities for scientists and institutions otherwise unlikely to participate extensively in NIH programs, to contribute to the Nation's biomedical and behavioral research effort. AREA grants are intended to support small-scale health-related research projects proposed by faculty members of eligible, domestic institutions. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) R15 award mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. It is estimated that up to 50 awards will be made in FY 2010.The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the quality, duration, and costs of the applications received. Budget and Project Period. Applicants may request up to a total of $300,000 direct costs plus applicable Facilities and Administrative (F&A)/ indirect costs. Use the modular budget for direct cost amounts up to $250,000 and the detailed budget for direct costs amounts above $250,000. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may be up to three (3) years

Supporting New Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Research Resources through Biomedical Research Core Centers (P30)   This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), invites applications from U.S academic institutions/organizations to support the hiring of newly-recruited faculty to develop research projects within the context of Biomedical Core Centers.  For this announcement, a Biomedical Core Center is defined as a community of multidisciplinary researchers focusing on areas of biomedical research relevant to NIH, such as centers, departments, programs, and/or trans-departmental collaborations or consortia. . These awards are designed to enhance innovative programs of excellence by providing scientific and programmatic support for promising research faculty and their areas of research. Specifically for the purposes of this announcement, Core Center Grants are institutional awards that provide funding to hire, provide appropriate start-up packages, and develop research projects for newly independent investigators, with the goal of augmenting and expanding the institutions community of multidisciplinary researchers focusing on areas of biomedical research relevant to NIH.

Below are four grant announcements,  which support generally the same "Autism Spectrum Disorder" research, but funding will be distributed via four separate NIH award mechanisms

Research to Address the Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorders (R21)  This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), solicits applications for the following topic areas relevant to research on the heterogeneity of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Measurement development, Biomarkers/biological signatures, Immune and central nervous systems interactions, Genetics/genomics, Environmental Risk Factors, Model development, Treatment and intervention, and Services research. This FOA provides support for the R21 grant mechanism which supports initial technical development and proof-of-principle and research in exploratory or preliminary phases. The R21 mechanism is intended to encourage new exploratory and developmental research projects where preliminary data are not required. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant (R21) award mechanism and runs essentially in parallel with: 1) an FOA of identical scientific scope, RFA-MH-09-173, that solicits applications under the NIH Clinical Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R34/Collaborative R34) award mechanism, and would be used for early phases of treatment development, and 2) RFA-MH-09-170 and RFA-MH-09-171 that solicit applications under the NIH Research Project Grant Program (R01) and the Collaborative (R01) which would be used for larger scale studies for which preliminary data exists. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NIH intends to commit approximately $57,000,000 to fund between 40-50 grants in response to this FOA and the companion announcements, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds.

Research to Address the Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorders (Collaborative R01)  This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), solicits applications for the following topic areas relevant to research on the heterogeneity of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Measurement development, Biomarkers/biological signatures, Immune and central nervous systems interactions, Genetics/genomics, Environmental Risk Factors, Model development, Treatment and intervention, and Services research. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Collaborative Research Project Grant (Collaborative R01) award mechanism and runs in parallel with the following FOAs of essentially identical scientific scope: 1) RFA-MH-09-170, which solicits applications under the NIH Research Project Grant (R01) award mechanism; 2) RFA-MH-09-172, which solicits applications under the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant (R21) award mechanism; and 3) RFA-MH-09-173, which solicits applications under the NIH Clinical Exploratory/Developmental Research (R34/Collaborative R34) award mechanism. The R21 mechanism would be used for projects that propose research in the exploratory or preliminary phases. The R34 mechanism would be used for early phases of treatment development. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NIH intends to commit approximately $57,000,000 to fund between 40-50 grants in response to this FOA and the companion announcements.

Research to Address the Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorders (R34 and Collaborative R34)  This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), solicits applications for the following topic areas relevant to research on the heterogeneity of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Treatment and intervention, and Services research. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH Clinical Exploratory/Development Research Grant (R34/Collaborative R34) award mechanisms and runs in parallel with FOAs essentially of identical scientific scope: 1) RFA-MH-09-170 and RFA-MH-09-171 that solicit applications under the NIH Research Grant (R01) and Collaborative (R01) award mechanisms which would be used for larger scale studies for which preliminary data exists, and 2) RFA-MH-09-172, that solicits applications under the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21) which would be used for projects that propose research in the exploratory or preliminary phases. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NIH intends to commit approximately $57,000,000 to fund between 40-50 grants in response to this FOA and the companion announcements, but the final number will depend upon scientific review.

Funds for Competitive Revision Applications  This announcement is for revision applications to active NIH Research Grants, including, but not limited to, R01, R03, R15, R21, R25, R33, R34, R37, R21/R33, R41, R42, R43, R44, SC1, SC2, SC3 grants, and Program Project grants, Center grants, Cooperative Agreements, Training Grants, and Institutional Career Development Awards. Recognize that these are 2-year awards and probably are most appropriate at the post-doctoral level.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the opportunity for investigators and United States institutions/organizations with active NIH-supported research project grants (including SBIR and STTR) to submit revision applications (formerly termed competitive supplements) to support a significant expansion of the scope or research protocol of approved and funded projects. Support for these revision applications will come from funds provided to NIH through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act" or "ARRA"), Public Law 111-5. In addition, Recovery Act funds allocated to NIH specifically for comparative effectiveness research (CER) may be available to support supplements. Projects receiving these funds will need to meet this definition of CER: "a rigorous evaluation of the impact of different options that are available for treating a given medical condition for a particular set of patients. Such a study may compare similar treatments, such as competing drugs, or it may analyze very different approaches, such as surgery and drug therapy." Such research may include the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data as they apply to CER.

Funds for Administrative Supplements  This announcement is for administrative supplements to active NIH Research Grants and Research Program and Center Grants (Ps), as well as Career Development Awards (Ks), Institutional Training Grants (Ts), Cooperative Agreements (Us) and Educational Development Awards. Individual NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) have more detailed eligibility information on their own Web sites. See http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/ic_supp.html. Potential applicants should review the instructions for Revision Applications issued by their funding IC (See http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/ic_supp.html) before responding to this Notice. Some ICs will consider administrative supplements only in target areas identified on their Web sites. Note that NIH administrative supplements use paper PHS398 application forms.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the opportunity for investigators and United States institutions/organizations with active NIH Research Grants to request administrative supplements for the purpose accelerating the tempo of scientific research on active grants. Support for these supplements will come from funds provided to NIH through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act" or "ARRA"), Public Law 111-5. Consistent with the intent of the Recovery Act, the purpose of this program is to promote job creation and economic development along with accelerating the pace and achievement of scientific research. In addition, Recovery Act funds allocated to NIH specifically for comparative effectiveness research (CER) may be available to support supplements. Projects receiving these funds will need to meet this definition of CER: "a rigorous evaluation of the impact of different options that are available for treating a given medical condition for a particular set of patients. Such a study may compare similar treatments, such as competing drugs, or it may analyze very different approaches, such as surgery and drug therapy." Such research may include the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data as they apply to CER.

Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators   This announcement is for administrative supplements to active NIH Research Grants, Research Program and Center Grants (Ps), and Cooperative Agreements (Us). Individual NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) have more detailed eligibility information on their own Web sites. See http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/ic_supp.html. Note that NIH administrative supplements use paper PHS398 application forms.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the opportunity for investigators and United States institutions/organizations with active NIH Research Grants to request administrative supplements for the purpose of promoting job creation, economic development, and accelerating the pace and achievement of scientific research. These supplements will also encourage students to seriously pursue research careers in the health related sciences, as well as provide elementary, middle school, and high school teachers, community college faculty, and faculty from non-research intensive institutions with short term research experiences in NIH-funded laboratories. Support for these supplements will come from funds provided to NIH through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act" or "ARRA"), Public Law 111-5. In addition, Recovery Act funds allocated to NIH specifically for comparative effectiveness research (CER) may be available to support supplements. Projects receiving these funds will need to meet this definition of CER: "a rigorous evaluation of the impact of different options that are available for treating a given medical condition for a particular set of patients. Such a study may compare similar treatments, such as competing drugs, or it may analyze very different approaches, such as surgery and drug therapy." Such research may include the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data as they apply to CER.

NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research (RC1)
As part of the Recovery Act, NIH has designated at least $200 million in FYs 2009 - 2010 for a new initiative called the NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research, to fund 200 or more grants, contingent upon the submission of a sufficient number of scientifically meritorious applications. In addition, Recovery Act funds allocated to NIH specifically for comparative effectiveness research (CER) may be available to support additional grants. This new program will support research on Challenge Topics which address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research that will benefit from significant 2-year jumpstart funds. Challenge Areas, defined by the NIH, focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways. The research in these areas should have a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and/or public health.

Energy 

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Grid-Scale Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable Storage (GRIDS)  ARPA-E seeks to develop new technologies to enable the widespread deployment of cost-effective grid-scale energy storage. While many valuable applications for grid-scale storage exist, this program focuses on developing energy storage technologies to balance the short-duration variability in renewable generation. By investing in the development of grid-scale energy storage technology, this funding opportunity will allow the U.S. to assume global technology and manufacturing leadership in the emerging and potentially massive global market for stationary electricity storage infrastructure. This program seeks to develop revolutionary new storage systems that provide energy, cost, and cycle life comparable to pumped hydropower, but which are modular and can be widely implemented at any location across the power grid. Specifically, two areas will be considered: 1) proof of concept storage component projects focused on validating new, over-the-horizon electrical energy storage concepts, and 2) advanced system prototypes that address critical shortcomings of existing grid-scale energy storage technologies. Ultimately, technologies developed through this program will be scalable to the megawatt and megawatt-hour levels of power and energy capacity. This program will complement other Department of Energy grid-scale energy storage efforts by focusing on technology prototyping and proof-of-concept R&D efforts rather than pilot demonstration projects.

Concept Paper Registration Deadline: 4/2/2010
Concept Paper Upload Deadline: 4/2/2010
Full Application Submission Deadline: TBD

Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEETIT)  ARPA-E seeks to develop energy efficient cooling technologies and air conditioners (AC) for buildings to save energy and reduce GHG emissions from: (a) primary energy consumption due to space cooling and (b) refrigerants used in vapor compression systems. ARPA-E seeks innovative research and development approaches to increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions due to cooling of buildings in the following areas: 1) cooling systems that use refrigerants with low global warming potential; 2) energy efficient air conditioning (AC) systems for warm and humid climates with an increased coefficient of performance (COP); and 3) vapor compression AC systems for hot climates for re-circulating air loads with an increased COP. The unique challenge for the U.S. market is to develop technologies that can be retrofitted into current cooling systems. For developing economies, there is a large market for new cooling technologies. The development of these technologies will reduce GHG emissions and significantly increase U.S. technological lead in rapidly emerging clean energy industries.

Concept Paper Registration Deadline: 4/2/2010
Concept Paper Upload Deadline: 4/2/2010
Full Application Submission Deadline: TBD
 

Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology (ADEPT)  ARPA-E seeks to invest in materials for fundamental advances in soft magnetics, high voltage switches, and reliable, high-density charge storage. These investments will be coupled to advanced circuit architectures, and scalable manufacturing processes with the potential to leapfrog existing power converter performance while offering reductions in cost. Specifically, three categories of performance and integration level will be considered: 1) fully-integrated, chip-scale power converters for applications including, but not limited to, compact, efficient drivers for solid-state lighting, distributed micro-inverters for photovoltaics, and single-chip power supplies for computers, 2) kilowatt scale package integrated power converters by enabling applications such as low-cost, efficient inverters for grid-tied photovoltaics and variable speed motors, and 3) lightweight, solid-state, medium voltage energy conversion for high power applications such as solid-state electrical substations and wind turbine generators. Deploying advanced power electronics could provide as much as a 25-30 percent reduction in electricity consumption – or 12 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. Innovations in power electronics could lead to significant reduction in costs, which would promote U.S. businesses through technological leadership.

Concept Paper Registration Deadline: 4/2/2010
Concept Paper Upload Deadline: 4/2/2010
Full Application Submission Deadline: TBD

Recovery Act - Innovative Materials and Processes for Advanced Carbon Capture Technology - closing date January 15, 2010  The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is a new agency of the Department of Energy. ARPA-E was authorized by the America COMPETES Act (PL 110-69) and charged with the mission to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce America's dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy related emissions, including greenhouse gases; improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy; and ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. Initially funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5), ARPA-E aims to support the development of high risk/high payoff applied science and technology innovations that will have a positive disruptive impact on the energy landscape. Coal-fired power plants currently generate approximately 50% of the electricity in the United States. While coal is a cheap and abundant resource, the continued reliance upon coal as an energy source could potentially have serious consequences in terms of global warming. The objective of this topic is to fund high risk, high reward research efforts that will revolutionize technologies that capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants, thereby preventing release into the atmosphere. ARPA-E seeks to complement existing DOE efforts in the field of carbon capture, led by the Office of Fossil Energy and National Energy Technology Laboratory, by accelerating promising ideas from the basic research stage towards large-scale demonstrations and ultimately, commercialization. Areas of interest include: low-cost catalysts to enable systems with superior thermodynamics that are not currently practical due to slow kinetics; robust materials that resist degradation from caustic contaminants in flue gas; and advanced capture processes that dramatically reduce the parasitic energy penalties and corresponding increase in the cost of electricity required for carbon capture. 

Recovery Act - Electrofuels - closing date January 15, 2010   The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is a new agency of the Department of Energy. ARPA-E was authorized by the America COMPETES Act (PL 110-69) and charged with the mission to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce America's dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy related emissions, including greenhouse gases; improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy; and ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. Initially funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5), ARPA-E aims to support the development of high risk/high payoff applied science and technology innovations that will have a positive disruptive impact on the energy landscape. ARPA-E is seeking new ways to make liquid transportation fuels - without using petroleum or biomass - by using microorganisms to harness chemical or electrical energy to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels. Many methods of producing advanced and cellulosic biofuels are under development to lessen our dependence on petroleum and lower carbon emissions. Most of the methods currently under development involve converting biomass or waste, while there are also approaches to directly produce liquid transportation fuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide. Although photosynthetic routes show promise, overall efficiencies remain low. The objective of this topic is to develop an entirely new paradigm for the production of liquid fuels that could overcome the challenges associated with current technologies. ARPA-E requests innovative proposals which can overcome these challenges through the utilization of metabolic engineering and synthetic biological approaches for the efficient conversion of carbon dioxide to liquid transportation fuels. ARPA-E specifically seeks the development of organisms capable of extracting energy from hydrogen, from reduced earth-abundant metal ions, from robust, inexpensive, readily available organic redox active species, or directly from electric current. Theoretically such an approach could be 10 times more efficient than current photosynthetic-biomass approaches to liquid fuel production.

Recovery Act - Batteries For Electrical Energy Storage In Transportation - closing date January 15, 2010  The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is a new agency of the Department of Energy. ARPA-E was authorized by the America COMPETES Act (PL 110-69) and charged with the mission to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce America's dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy related emissions, including greenhouse gases; improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy; and ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. Initially funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5), ARPA-E aims to support the development of high risk/high payoff applied science and technology innovations that will have a positive disruptive impact on the energy landscape. In this topic, ARPA-E seeks to develop a new generation of ultra-high energy density, low-cost battery technologies for long electric range plug in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs). The development of high energy, low cost batteries represents the critical barrier to wide-spread deployment of EVs, which if achieved would have a profound impact on U.S. oil security, greenhouse gas emissions, and economic growth. The ambitious goals for this program are largely based upon the aggressive long term EV battery goals set forth by the United States Automotive Battery Consortium, a public-private collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy and leading U.S. automotive companies. If successful, new battery technologies developed under this program will give electrified light-duty vehicles range, performance, lifetime, and cost required to shift transportation energy from oil to the domestically powered U.S. electric grid. ARPA-E's objective is to fund high-risk, high reward research efforts that will promote leadership in this emerging EV battery market.

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Recovery Act - Request for Information - Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy   - The Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) seeks public and stakeholder input on 1) programmatic areas well suited for support by ARPA-E and 2) specific scientific and technological opportunities to overcome key technological roadblocks to the development of widely market deployable transformational technologies relevant to the ARPA-E mission. The information collected through this process will assist ARPA-E in developing potential programs and funding opportunities. The Request for Information is provided in full text in the attachment entitled - Request for Information - ARPA-E - 08 31 09. Note: This RFI is also posted in FEDBIZOPS and FedConnect under DE-SOL-0001140.

Recovery Act Funding for Expansion of Infrastructure for Higher Ethanol Blends This funding opportunity announcement aims to increase the availability and use of potential gasoline/ethanol blends up to E85 (85 % ethanol) through two Topic Areas: (1) Refueling Infrastructure for Ethanol Blends - cost-shared projects to modify, upgrade, or expand the infrastructure at retail fueling locations to accommodate gasoline-ethanol blends up to E85; (2) Outreach for Ethanol Blends - projects which will increase public awareness of the benefits, safety, and use of ethanol blends as a transportation fuel. Background: The President's Management Agenda
This funding opportunity announcement is for grants for renewable fueling infrastructure development and education and outreach. The Department's Strategic Plan identifies five "Strategic Themes". The Biomass and Biorefinery Systems R D Program supports the following goals from Theme 1, Energy Security:
-- Strategic Goal 1.1, Energy Diversity: Increase our energy options and reduce dependence on oil, thereby reducing vulnerability to disruptions and increasing the flexibility of the market to meet U.S. needs.
-- Strategic Goal 1.2, Environmental Impacts of Energy: Improve the quality of the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts to land, water, and air from energy production and use. The infrastructure and outreach supported by this funding opportunity announcement will contribute to these goals by increasing the infrastructure necessary for expanded renewable fuel use and expedited deployment of biofuels. This helps the nation expand its renewable energy infrastructure while reducing its greenhouse gases emissions, fossil energy consumption and dependence on foreign oil.

Recovery Act: Development of Algal/Advanced Biofuels Consortia   The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable (EERE) Energy through the Office of Biomass Program announces a notice of availability of funding for establishing Consortia for two primary topic areas: development of Algae Based Biofuels, and development of Advanced Cellulosic Biofuels. The intended purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to serve three primary goals of EERE: 1) increase the viability and deployment of renewable energy technologies, 2) spur the creation of a domestic bio-industry, and 3) dramatically reduce dependence on imported oil. Projects under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Recovery Act: Advanced Energy Efficient Building Technologies  The Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) Building Technologies Program (BTP), is seeking applications under six broad Areas of Interest. Each Area of Interest includes several specific Technical Subtopics (which are described in further detail throughout this section) as follows:
Area of Interest 1: Advanced Building Control Strategies, Communications and Information Technologies for Net-Zero Energy Buildings
Technical Subtopic 1.1: Advanced Building Control Strategies and InterfacesTechnical Subtopic 1.2: Advanced Whole-Building Control Systems and Information Technology
Technical Subtopic 1.3: Advanced Component Level Software and Hardware Development
Technical Subtopic 1.4: Energy Control and Optimization Algorithms and Tools 

Area of Interest 2: Analysis, Design and Technical Tools
Technical Subtopic 2.1: Systems Engineering Tools for Very-Low Energy Buildings
Technical Subtopic 2.2: Scientific and Engineering Foundations for Designing and Operating Very-Low Energy Buildings
Technical Subtopic 2.3: Miscellaneous Electric Load (MEL) Prediction and Modeling 

Area of Interest 3: Building Envelope and Windows
Technical Subtopic 3.1: Window and Daylighting Technology Development
Technical Subtopic 3.2: Envelope Technology Development
Technical Subtopic 3.3: Building Envelope and Window Case Studies and Demonstrations
Technical Subtopic 3.4: Production Engineering for R5 and Higher Windows 

Area of Interest 4: Residential and Commercial HVAC and Crosscutting Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Research
Technical Subtopic 4.1: Residential HVAC
Technical Subtopic 4.2: Commercial HVAC
Technical Subtopic 4.3: Crosscutting Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Research 

Area of Interest 5: Water Heating, Residential and Commercial Appliances and MELs
Technical Subtopic 5.1: Water Heating
Technical Subtopic 5.2: Residential Appliances
Technical Subtopic 5.3: Commercial Appliances
Technical Subtopic 5.4: Miscellaneous Electric Load Reduction 

Area of Interest 6: Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC)
Technical Subtopic 6.1: Residential SHC R&D
Technical Subtopic 6.2: Commercial SHC R&D

Recovery Act (ARRA) - Early Career Research Program    The Office of Science of the Department of Energy hereby invites grant applications for support under the Early Career Research Program in the following program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); High Energy Physics (HEP), and Nuclear Physics(NP). The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and to stimulate research careers in the areas supported by the DOE Office of Science.

Recovery Act: Geologic Sequestration Training and Research - MODIFICATION 1  Grant applications from universities, colleges, and college-affiliated research institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCU/OMI) are sought to provide training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students that will provide the human capital and skills required for implementing and deploying CCS technologies. Training can be accomplished through fundamental research in the CCS technology area. Fundamental research is needed to advance science in: simulation and risk assessment; monitoring, verification, and accounting; geological related analytical tools; methods to interpret geophysical models; well completion and integrity for long-term CO2 storage; and CO2 capture.

Recovery Act - Solid State Lighting U.S. Manufacturing -Round 1  The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to achieve cost reduction of solid-state lighting for general illumination through improvements in manufacturing equipment, processes, or techniques. It is anticipated that success will lead to a more rapid adoption/installation of high-quality SSL products resulting in a significant reduction of energy use and a corresponding reduction of environmental pollutants. A secondary objective is to maintain, in the case of light emitting diodes (LEDs), or establish, in the case of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), the manufacturing and technology base within the US.

Recovery Act - Solid-State Lighting Core - Round VI  This Announcement is the sixth in a series of announcements projected to span the next decade. As the relevant SSL technology base matures, it is anticipated that the present level, applied research, will advance to market conditioning once the targets for efficiency, cost, longevity, stability, and control are demonstrated in a product environment.

Recovery Act: Training Program Development for Commercial Building Equipment Technicians, Building Operators, and Energy Commissioning Agents/Auditors  The Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE's) Building Technologies Program (BTP), is seeking applications for projects that focus on developing training programs for various building specialists. The programs shall use existing curricula or develop new training curricula for their course content. To achieve the full potential of energy efficient (and eventual net zero-energy) buildings, our Nation needs commercial building equipment technicians, operators, and energy commissioning agents/auditors who know how to properly run and tune building systems. The combination of efficient operations and advanced design will improve the internal built environment: its energy use, comfort, safety, and environmental impact. Given the subject matter expertise of the Building Technologies staff as well as an extensive stakeholder network, the Department of Energy is uniquely positioned to execute this initiative and add value. The Building Technologies Program intends to award a number of cooperative agreements through this FOA to develop training programs for implementation upon completion of awarded project(s). Curricula, certification requirements, and accreditation standards for training on energy efficient practices and technologies advancing industry expertise towards DOE¿s net-zero energy commercial building goals are sought. Training programs are needed for three types of commercial building specialists: equipment technicians, operators, and energy commissioning agents/auditors. The objective is to enable the development of a workforce that can bring existing commercial buildings up to their energy performance potential and to help ensure that new commercial buildings do not fall below their expected optimal level of performance.

Recovery Act - Building America Energy Efficient Housing Partnerships   The Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE's) Building Technologies (BT) Program, is seeking applications for Industry Teams to implement the Building America Program's research program for new and existing homes. This Funding Opportunity Announcement also offers a limited opportunity for Industry Teams to focus on stimulating the existing home retrofit market. This FOA includes two (2) Program Areas of Interest. Program Areas of Interest Area of Interest 1 - Building America Teams Area of Interest 2 - Building America Retrofit Teams.

Smart Grid Investment Grant Program - Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Research, Development and Analysis -- The overall purpose of the SGIG is to accelerate the modernization of the nation's electric transmission and distribution systems and promote investments in smart grid technologies, tools, and techniques which increase flexibility, functionality, interoperability, cyber-security, situational awareness, and operational efficiency. This purpose will be accomplished through a merit-based, competitive solicitation for projects to receive Federal financial assistance for up to 50% percent of eligible project costs. This financial assistance is intended to enable measurable improvements that can result from accelerated achievement of a modernized electric transmission and distribution system, including: 

• Reliability of the electric power system.
• Electric power system costs and peak demand.
• Consumer electricity costs, bills, and environmental impacts.
• Clean energy development and greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic opportunities for businesses and new jobs for workersRecovery Act: Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility   This Funding Opportunity Announcement is for the design and construction of a large dynamometer facility for testing 5 to 15 MW rated drivetrains, with supporting systems, and the operation and maintenance of these facilities for the benefit of wind stakeholders nationwide. The proposed facility can be new construction or involve the design and modification of an existing building suitable for electrical, mechanical, and other physical needs associated with a dynamometer test stand. Overhead cranes, access doors, and other facility infrastructure suitable for accommodating associated components and equipment will be required. It is envisioned that the facility will include sufficient office space for permanent staff and visiting users as well as conference rooms, lunch room, restrooms, computer stations, etc. Applicants will be required to submit detailed multi-phase plans including concept designs, preliminary designs, engineering procurement and construction contract management, and operation and maintenance. DOE envisions awarding a single $45 Million financial assistance grant award on a competitive basis. This $45 million program is to assist in the design and construction of an accredited dynamometer testing facility capable of performing Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) of 5 to 15MW rated wind turbine drive trains and generators, including all required supporting systems. As HALT is assumed to require at least a 30% overload in the rated torque of the test article, the dynamometer facility will require a minimum capacity of 20MW to support testing of a 15MW rated drivetrain. The facility should incorporate features to accommodate large direct drive generators in addition to generator/gearbox drivetrain configurations. In addition, the capability to simultaneously impart dynamic and/or steady off-axis loads (bending, radial and axial loads) to the low speed shaft of the test article will be required. It is anticipated that the facility will incorporate multiple test bays, permitting simultaneous, independent testing of two 7.5MW rated drivetrains. It is expected that the test bay dynamometers would be coupled to obtain a single test capability of up to 15MW rated drivetrains. The facility should incorporate the necessary electrical infrastructure to permit interconnection of the test article at all common system operating voltages. The facility should also be capable of testing generator system response to grid anomalies and for grid code compliance. Independent accreditation of the facility to conduct certification testing in accordance with applicable wind turbine design standards will be required.

Recovery Act: Clean Coal Power Initiative - Round3  LETTERS OF INTENT ARE REQUESTED NO LATER THAN July 24, 2009. PLEASE SEE PAGE 18 OF THE FOA FOR DETAILS.*** The purpose of this amendment is to 1) re-open the FOA originally issued on August 11, 2008, 2) provide a second Application Due Date (closing date) of August 24, 2009 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time, and 3) make associated programmatic and administrative changes. Additionally, this amendment makes certain changes to the Model Cooperative Agreement.*** The Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) is a cost-shared collaboration between the Government and industry to increase investment in low-emission coal technology by demonstrating advanced coal-based, power generation technologies, consistent with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58 (EPACT 2005). The CCPI goal is to accelerate the readiness of advanced coal technologies for commercial deployment, thus ensuring that the United States has clean, reliable, and affordable electricity and power. By overcoming technical risks associated with bringing advanced technology to the point of commercial readiness, the CCPI accelerates the development of new coal technologies for power and hydrogen production, contributes to proving the feasibility of integrating carbon dioxide (CO2) management and power production and facilitates the movement of technologies into the marketplace that are emerging from the core research and development activities. CCPI directly supports the Climate Change Technology Program to reduce emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas. For this Announcement, DOE¿s specific objective is to demonstrate advanced coal-based technologies that capture and sequester, or put to beneficial use, CO2 emissions. DOE¿s goals are to demonstrate at commercial scale in a commercial setting, technologies that (1) can achieve a minimum of 50% CO2 capture efficiency and make progress toward a target CO2 capture efficiency of 90% in a gas stream containing at least 10% CO2 by volume, (2) make progress toward capture and sequestration goal of less than 10% increase in the cost of electricity (COE) for gasification systems and less than 35% for combustion and oxycombustion systems all as compared to current (2008) practice, and (3) capture and sequester or put to beneficial use a minimum of 300,000 tons per year of CO2 emissions using a thirty day running average to determine if the project successfully meets the CO2 capture efficiency and the capture and sequestration or beneficial use rate requirements of this Announcement. DOE is currently developing large scale field tests of geologic CO2 sequestration in the U.S., on the order of 1 million tons of CO2 per year under a separate program. DOE is interested in allowing demonstration projects under CCPI to integrate with the sequestration field tests, which may already be fully operational by the time the CCPI projects come on-line. A project performer could, for example, attempt to integrate a CCPI project with a sequestration field test to supply lower-cost CO2, and reduce the cost of either or both projects. This would require careful cooperation or integration of the management of both projects.

Recovery Act - Systems Level Technology Development, Integration,and Demonstration for Efficient Class 8 Trucks (SuperTruck) and Advanced Technology Powertrains For Light-Duty Vehicles (ATP-LD)  The goal of Area of Interest 1 is to develop and demonstrate a 50% improvement in overall freight efficiency on a heavy-duty Class 8 tractor-trailer measured in ton-miles per gallon. This improvement will be achieved through the application of advanced vehicle system technologies and advanced engine technologies. At least 20% of the improvement will be through the development of an engine capable of achieving 50% Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE). Over the 3 to 5 year period of this activity, the selected participants will develop, test, and ultimately demonstrate these advanced technologies on a full-scale vehicle. A pathway to compliance with prevailing federal safety and environmental regulations must be shown. Candidate vehicle system technologies may include reductions in aerodynamic drag, vehicle mass, and rolling resistance, and other technologies as appropriate. Electrical or mechanical drivetrain hybridization, including energy storage/regeneration and main engine idle and other ancillary load reductions, may also be considered. In an effort to bring the best possible resources to bear on this transformational vehicle development, teams are expected to include but are not limited to a vehicle OEM, engine manufacturers and critical suppliers. The project will be organized in phases with well-defined stage gates at the end of each phase. An in-depth review will be held at the end of each phase and a determination made concerning continuing the project into the next stage. Changes to DOE program priorities as well as the current state of technology and the marketplace will be factors considered when making decisions to proceed.The goal of Area of Interest 2 is to accelerate the development of cost-competitive engine and powertrain systems for light-duty vehicles capable of attaining breakthrough thermal efficiencies while meeting future emissions standards. Development of the engine and powertrain system can include improvements to in-cylinder combustion, engine mechanics, waste heat recovery, friction reduction, emission control, fuels, materials, electrification, and reduced ancillary load requirements. The engine system can be designed to accommodate a hybrid system, CVT or other advanced transmission. The project will be organized in phases with well-defined phase gates at the end of each phase. Over the three-to-five year period of this activity, the selected participants will develop, test and eventually demonstrate these advanced technologies and the associated efficiency gains on an engine dynamometer and full-scale vehicle. Emissions will be measured to show compliance. Technologies that are compatible with or can support future fuels and are adaptable to bio-fuels with relatively minor modifications will be taken into consideration during the comprehensive merit evaluation process. Achievement of the stated fuel economy goals may require improvements to the entire powertrain system although engine system efficiency improvements will play a significant role in this effort. In order to bring the best possible resources to bear on this problem, appropriate teaming arrangements among suppliers, national labs, universities, and vehicle OEMs are encouraged. Proposed activity coincides with the multi-year program plan and Fiscal Year 2010 to 2014 budgets. 

Recovery Act: Geothermal TechnologiesProgram  The U.S. Department of Energy¿s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) intends to continue its partnership with the geothermal community on geothermal systems research, exploration, demonstration, and development throughout the United States. This three-topic FOA will focus on areas associated with geothermal energy as outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Sections 613 and 616. This FOA will also address section 931(a)(2)(C) of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005. Funding will be made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

Topic Area 1: Validation of Innovative Exploration Technologies EISA Section 613 addresses the demonstration of innovative site characterization and/or drilling exploration technologies. GTP¿s goal is to reduce the high level of risk during early stages of geothermal project development by funding the validation of innovative exploration activities to locate undiscovered geothermal systems and increase the reliability of site characterization to prioritize target sites for energy production. 

Topic Area 2: Geothermal Energy Production from Low Temperature Resources, Coproduced Fluids from Oil and Gas Wells, and Geopressured Resources EISA Section 616 addresses geothermal energy production from oil and gas fields as well as the recovery and production of geopressured resources, while EPAct 2005 Section 931(a)(2)(C) includes authorization for geothermal energy production from low temperature geothermal resources. GTP¿s goal is to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of geothermal energy production from these non-conventional geothermal resources.

Topic Area 3: Geothermal Data Development, Collection, and Maintenance EPAct 2005 Section 931(a)(2)(C) includes authorization for continued data submission to the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) created from Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-PS36-08GO98020. GTP¿s goal is to develop, collect, and maintain data for all 50 states for the NGDS in order to make geothermal data available to the public and reduce the risk associated with initial stages of geothermal development. The Program seeks to maintain an aggressive schedule for project completion as well as the creation and maintenance of jobs. Applications with more aggressive schedules for completion, greater number of jobs created, cost share above the minimum level required, and cooperation between industry and accredited educational institutions may be given greater consideration. A single Principal Investigator or organization may submit separate applications to multiple topic areas. However, a single Principal Investigator or organization may not submit a single application that addresses multiple topics. Each application will be evaluated according to its respective merit review criteria. 

DOE issued two Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), an advanced geothermal technology that drills deep wells into hot rocks, fractures them, and circulates a fluid through the fractures to extract heat. EGS technologies can be used to create new "engineered" geothermal reservoirs or to stimulate existing geothermal reservoirs that are underperforming. Together, the two FOAs offer up to $84 million over six years, including $20 million in fiscal year 2009 funding, although future funding is subject to congressional appropriations.

The first FOA offers $35 million for component research, development, and analysis. The funding will support 20 to 30 projects to develop advanced technologies that will address important aspects of creating, managing, and using engineered geothermal reservoirs.  Geothermal Technologies Program. The second FOA offers $49 million to support 5-10 domestic EGS demonstration projects. DOE seeks projects in a variety of geologic formations that will quantitatively demonstrate and validate reservoir creation techniques that sustain sufficient fluid flow and heat extraction rates for 5-7 years and produce at least 5 megawatts of electricity.  EGS demonstration projects

NIST

Recovery Act Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grants Program: Providing the Technology Infrastructure to Address National Priorities. The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, announces the availability of up to $35 million to award approximately 20-60 grants and cooperative agreements in support of measurement science and engineering research as part of NIST's activities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Proposals will be considered that address measurement science and engineering research needs in areas of national importance. These areas of national importance are energy, environment and climate change, information technology/cybersecurity, biosciences/healthcare, manufacturing, and physical infrastructure. These grants will support NIST's mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities (RC2)  The NIH has received new funds for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2009 and 2010 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA). This is one of a number of NIH initiatives related to the Recovery Act. These are listed at the following site: http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/. Under the Recovery Act, the NIH has established a new program entitled Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities hereafter called the GO grants program. This new program will support projects that address large, specific biomedical and biobehavioral research endeavors that will benefit from significant 2-year funds without the expectation of continued NIH funding beyond two years. The research supported by the GO grants program should have high short-term impact, and a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and development, public health, and health care delivery.

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