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Environmental and Health Effect Tracking; Notice of Availability of Funds
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: June 19, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 118)]
[Notices]
[Page 36812-36818]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19jn03-64]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Program Announcement 03074]
Environmental and Health Effect Tracking; Notice of Availability
of Funds
Application Deadline: July 29, 2003.
A. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number
This program is authorized under section 301 of the Public Health
Service Act, (42 U.S.C. 241), as amended. The Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance number is 93.283.
B. Purpose
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announce the
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2003 funds for a cooperative agreement
program to support development of the National Environmental Public
Health Tracking (Surveillance) Network. This program addresses the
``Healthy People 2010'' focus areas of Environmental Health, Cancer,
Maternal, Infant, and Child Health, and Public Health Infrastructure.
The purpose of this program is to demonstrate and evaluate methods
for linking data from ongoing, existing health effects surveillance
systems with data from existing surveillance/monitoring systems for
human exposure and environmental hazards. Data systems used can be for
a defined geographic region within the state, state-
[[Page 36813]]
wide, regional or national. The activities in this program announcement
are intended to improve existing surveillance and monitoring systems by
enhancing epidemiologic, analytic and technological capacity at the
local, state, and regional level. Methods, tools, and best practices
developed through this program will be used in advancing the
development of a standards-based, coordinated, and integrated
environmental public health tracking (surveillance) network at the
state, regional, and national level. See Appendix I for background
information about environmental public health tracking (surveillance).
Appendix II contains definitions of the terminology used in this
program announcement to ensure applicants fully understand the purpose
and intent of this announcement. All appendices referenced in this
announcement are posted with the announcement on the CDC Web site,
Internet address: http://www.cdc.gov. 
Click on ``Funding,''
then ``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
Environmental Public Health Tracking deals specifically with
chronic diseases, birth defects, developmental disabilities, and other
non-infectious health effects that may be related to exposure to
chemicals, physical agents, biomechanical stressors, or biologic toxins
in the environment. Appendix I further describes the health effects and
environmental factors eligible for inclusion in the overall tracking
program. This program announcement focuses on specific health effects
which include birth defects, developmental disabilities, cancer, asthma
and other respiratory disease, autoimmune diseases, neurological/
immunologic diseases, heavy metal poisoning, and pesticide poisoning.
The need for an environmental public health tracking (surveillance)
network in which health effect, exposure, and hazard data can be linked
on an ongoing basis was well documented by the Pew Environmental Health
Commission in its report ``America's Environmental Health Gap: Why the
Country Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network.'' The Internet
address of this report is available in Appendix III.
Both the CDC and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have
large ongoing efforts to develop, standardize, and promote electronic
reporting of data and to improve collaboration across categorical
programs. Work being done to create the Environmental Public Health
Tracking Network falls under a larger effort at CDC and ATSDR to
integrate data that is referred to as the Public Health Information
Network (PHIN). PHIN covers all ongoing CDC and ATSDR surveillance
activities including the National Electronic Disease Surveillance
System (NEDSS) and bioterrorism surveillance and provides architectural
and technical standards and specifications as a starting point for all
system design activities. For reference, Appendix III contains the
Internet addresses for NEDSS and PHIN, which include information about
the Public Health Information Technology Functions and Specifications.
The EPA's National Environmental Information Exchange Network is also
contained in this appendix.
This program announcement focuses on the use and enhancement (for
example, by adding geo-coded data items) of existing surveillance/
monitoring systems at the local, state or regional level rather than
development of new systems. Existing Birth Defects surveillance systems
should include at least 35,000 live births per year. Cancer registry
surveillance systems should be limited to those registries that have
obtained certification from the North American Association of Central
Cancer Registries (NAACCR). Additionally, these existing systems should
contain data of sufficient completeness, timeliness, and quality to
allow reporting of valid estimates of health effect prevalence,
incidence, or mortality for a population; and they should be readily
available to health department staff for analysis and dissemination of
information to guide public health action.
Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the
following performance goals: National Center for Environmental Health
(NCEH)--Increase the capacity of state and local health departments to
deliver environmental health services in their communities; National
Center for Chronic Disease Promotion and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP--
Improve the quality of state-based cancer registries; National Center
for Birth Defects and Developmental Disability (NCBDDD)--Prevent birth
defects and developmental disabilities; National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS)--Monitor trends in the nation's health through high-
quality data systems addressing issues relevant to decision makers.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)--Ascertain
the relationship between exposure to toxic substances and disease.
Linkage projects initiated under this program announcement should
support ongoing, integrated and systematic surveillance/monitoring
efforts. Projects should focus on existing surveillance/monitoring
systems that are either statewide or regional and should develop
sustainable models for linking environmental exposure and/or hazard
data with one or more of the following health effects:
(1) Major structural birth defects
(2) Developmental disabilities such as Autism, mental retardation,
and other developmental disabilities.
(3) Cancers, especially those for which there are shorter latency
periods, such as hematopoietic, central nervous system and childhood
cancers
(4) Asthma and other chronic obstructive respiratory diseases
(5) Neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and
Parkinson's
(6) Autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid
arthritis, scleroderma, and systemic lupus erythematosus
(7) Pesticide Poisoning
(8) Heavy Metal Poisoning (e.g. lead, mercury)
C. Eligible Applicants
Applications may be submitted by:
? State health departments or their bona fide agents (this
includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
the Republic of Palau)
? The local health departments of Chicago IL, Philadelphia
PA, Los Angeles County, Houston TX, and New York City NY (in
consultation with states).
Due to limited resources, competition is limited to only the listed
applicants. This accommodates legislative appropriations language which
began the Tracking initiative in FY 2002 and which specified capacity
development of environmental health at state and local health
departments. The cities listed are the five largest incorporated
metropolitan areas in the United States.
An important component of this announcement is to build
partnerships between and within environmental and health agencies/
departments/staff; therefore, applicants must demonstrate that their
program will be a collaborative effort by including the following with
their application:
1. A letter of collaboration signed by both the state (or local)
Secretary/Director of Health or equivalent and the state (or local)
Secretary/Director of Environmental Quality/Protection/Natural
Resources or the equivalent agency/department confirming that
partnerships exist or will be developed:
a. Across Health and Environmental Agencies/Departments. (Evidence
of a
[[Page 36814]]
partnership may be a confirmation of an existing memorandum of
understanding (MOU) between Health and Environment that covers
activities related to this program announcement).
b. Between appropriate organizational units within each Agency/
Department (Within the Health Department this may include birth defect
programs, cancer registries, environmental epidemiology, the state
laboratory, chronic disease directors, and others).
c. If Health and Environment are organized under one state/local
agency/department, a letter of intent from the Secretary/Director or
equivalent of that agency/department confirming that partnerships exist
or will be developed across appropriate organizational units within the
Agency/Department is required.
2. Designation of public health liaison within the environmental
agency/department and an environmental liaison within the health
agency/department.
3. Eligible local health departments must provide assurances that
activities related to this program will be coordinated with the State
Health Department.
4. If the applicant is a bona fide agent of the state/local health
department, a letter from the state/local health department designating
the applicant as such must be provided.
These documents should be placed directly behind the face page
(first page) of your application. Applications that fail to submit
documentation requested above will be considered non-responsive and
returned to the applicant without review.
Note: Title 2 of the United States Code section 1611 states that
an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal
Revenue Code that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to
receive Federal funds constituting an award, grant or loan.
D. Funding
Availability of Funds
Approximately $6,000,000 is available in FY 2003 to fund
approximately 12 awards. It is expected that the average award will be
$350,000 ranging from $200,000 to $500,000. It is expected that the
awards will begin on or about September 15, 2003, and will be made for
a 12-month budget period within a project period of up to three years.
Funding estimates may change.
Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports
and the availability of funds.
Use of Funds
Applicants may use funds for those activities that increase
technical, analytic, and epidemiologic capacity and must ensure that
resources will be shared between collaborating agencies and between
collaborating programs within each agency. Applicants should hire an
environmental epidemiologist if that expertise is currently
unavailable.
Funding Preference
Special consideration will be given applications that encourage and
embody partnerships across various agencies and programs regardless of
funding sources.
Recipient Financial Participation
Matching funds are not required for this program.
E. Program Requirements
In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program,
the recipient will be responsible for the activities listed in 1.
Recipient Activities and CDC (working collaboratively with ATSDR) will
be responsible for the activities listed in 2. CDC and ATSDR
Activities.
1. Recipient Activities
a. Develop and implement a work plan including a detailed timeline
to address each recipient activity.
b. Develop mechanisms for establishing ongoing collaboration,
communication, and coordination of activities between and within
members of relevant health and environmental agencies. One example of
such a mechanism could be a coordinating committee that includes
representatives of existing state health effects surveillance programs
such as Birth Defects, Developmental Disabilities, and Cancer
Registries and Asthma and Lead Poisoning surveillance programs;
representatives of the state environmental epidemiology program or
environmental public health tracking programs (currently funded through
CDC or ATSDR); representatives of existing capacity-building programs
in chronic disease surveillance (e.g. SLE, MS, ALS); representatives of
air, water, pesticide or other environmental monitoring programs,
representatives of state health and environmental laboratories; and
state health and environmental informatics officers/staff. (See Web
sites in Appendix III to identify those states currently receiving CDC
funding for Environmental Public Health Tracking, Birth Defects,
Developmental Disabilities, Asthma, the National Program of Cancer
Registries, laboratory biomonitoring capacity, and capacity-building
programs in SLE, MS, and ALS surveillance.
c. Establish an advisory group consisting of technical experts,
local health and environmental agency staff, community members,
academic researchers, and other key stakeholders who can provide
substantive recommendations on planning, implementing, and
communicating information from this project. This group should meet at
least quarterly.
d. Implement a project(s) that links existing health effect
surveillance data with exposure and/or hazard data as part of an
ongoing surveillance activities and a sustainable effort to build
capacity. This project should include at a minimum: one or more of the
health effects with a possible relationship to the environment that
were listed in Section B, one or more measures of human exposure, and/
or one or more types of environmental hazard (as defined in Section A
and Appendices I and II). Selection of health effects/exposures/hazards
from those specified in this program announcement should be in line
with state/local priorities.
e. Demonstrate the utility of this linked data in guiding public
health policy and practice (including triaging, assessing and
responding to public concerns about clusters). The project should
include the analysis and dissemination of data in a timely manner for
use in public health practice or environmental protection programs and
should include a feedback mechanism that identifies linkage challenges
and plans to resolve those challenges. When applicable, the project
should address linkage or comparability to national level data.
f. Develop strategies for communicating information generated by
this project to diverse audiences including health care providers and
the public. This should include strategies for responding to public
inquiries and informing audiences (including community members) about
the incidence, prevalence, or mortality of selected health effects and
risk factors.
g. Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of this project. Refer to the
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report titled ``Framework for Program
Evaluation in Public Health'' (See Appendix II for Web site.)
h. Based on the evaluation, develop a written report outlining
lessons learned from this project that includes but is not limited to
the following:
i. Specific methodology and tools used to link data.
ii. Potential uses of the linked data and its limitations,
including its utility
[[Page 36815]]
in responding to public concerns about disease clusters.
iii. Barriers to implementing the linkage project such as
limitations in data available including issues related to data quality
(that includes a special focus on geo-coded data), timeliness and data
collection practices; availability and use of data standards;
compatibility of data and information technology standards and
specifications across health and environmental systems; limitations of
analytic methods, limits in legislative/regulatory authorities for
state health/environmental agencies.
iv. Feasibility, utility and sustainability of incorporating
linkage methods and tools into ongoing surveillance activities and into
an integrated environmental public health tracking network.
v. Assessment of compatibility of data systems utilized with those
being developed or enhanced under the CDC Public Health Information
Network (includes Environmental Public Health Tracking, NEDSS,
Bioterrorism-related surveillance activities at CDC, and the national
vital statistics system) and EPA's National Environmental Information
Exchange Network. (See Appendix III for the Internet addresses.)
vi. Effectiveness of communications strategies and messages,
including an assessment of the program's ability to respond to public
inquiries and to provide information to health department officials,
health care providers, and the public regarding reported clusters.
vii. Recommendations for improvements in data collection,
reporting, geo-coded linkages, and quality; development of new
methodology; improvement in interoperability of databases; legislative/
regulatory changes; improvements in data dissemination/communication
strategies; and training needs of state and local staff on carry out
data linkage and to effectively utilize data.
i. Participate in quarterly conference calls with other programs
funded under this program announcement and with other Environmental
Public Health Tracking Program partners including CDC state and local
Tracking programs; CDC Centers of Excellence in Environmental Public
Health Tracking (see Appendix IV); participating Centers, Institutes,
and Offices at CDC such as the National Center for Birth Defects and
Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD); the National Center for Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; the National Center for
Environmental Health; and the National Center for Health Statistics;
and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
j. Attend workgroups and meetings with other Environmental Public
Health Tracking (surveillance) Program partners to share lessons
learned and participate in activities related to improving data system
interoperability such as CDC's annual PHIN meeting.
2. CDC and ATSDR Activities
a. Provide technical assistance in work plan development, and the
design and implementation of program activities, including analysis and
dissemination of data. This will include individual consultation to
funded programs via site visits, e-mail, and telephone and the
provision of written guidance materials and references. Experts from
the appropriate CDC Center will provide health effects technical
assistance.
b. Provide coordination between and among recipient organizations
by assisting in the sharing of information through the CDC Web sites (
e.g. the National Birth Defects Prevention Network), the National
Environmental Public Health Tracking Program web board, related
stakeholders meetings, and direct interactions.
c. Coordinate activities at the national level among Centers,
Institutes and Offices at CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry and with other Federal Agencies such as the
Environmental Protection Agency.
d. Ensure involvement of other key governmental and non-
governmental partners as needed. These may include the Council of State
and Territorial Epidemiologists, the Environmental Council of States,
the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the Association of State
and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of City and
County Health Officers, the National Association of Health Data
Organizations, the American Lung Association, the American Medical
Association, the American Water Works Association, Chronic Disease
Directors, the March of Dimes, American Academy of Pediatrics, the
North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the American
Cancer Society, the National Birth Defects Prevention Network, and
others.
e. Convene workgroups to discuss data system interoperability and
develop enhancements to the PHIN architecture, standards, and
conceptual and logical data models.
F. Content
Pre-application Conference Call
Two pre-application conference calls are scheduled for interested
applicants. These will occur July 1, 2003, from 1 to 3 p.m. (eastern
standard time (EST)) and July 2, 2003, from 3 to 5 p.m. (EST). The
purpose of these calls is to discuss program requirements and to
respond to any questions regarding the program announcement. Two calls
are scheduled in order to provide all applicants the opportunity to
gather information and ask questions. It is not necessary to
participate in both calls, though applicants are welcome to do so if
they desire. To confirm your intent to participate and receive a
meeting agenda and call-in instructions, applicants should send an e-
mail or write Toni Fleming at thf2@cdc.gov or 1600 Clifton Rd., NE., MS
E19, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Letter of Intent (LOI)
A LOI is requested for this program. The Program Announcement title
and number must appear in the LOI. The narrative should be no more than
two pages, double-spaced, printed on one side, with one-inch margins,
and unreduced 12-point fonts. Your letter of intent will be used to
enable CDC to determine level of interest in the announcement and
estimate potential review workload, and should include the following
information:
a. Number and title of the announcement.
b. Name, organization, address, telephone number, fax number, and
e-mail address of the Principal Investigator(s).
c. A brief description of the data linkage project(s) being
proposed, including which surveillance/monitoring systems are to be
linked.
Failure to submit a LOI will not preclude an applicant from
submitting an application.
Applications
The program announcement title and number must appear in the
application. Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program
plan. The narrative should be no more than 35 pages, double-spaced,
printed on one side, with one-inch margins, and unreduced 12-point
fonts.
Applicants should also submit appendices including abbreviated
curriculum vitas, letters of support,
[[Page 36816]]
organizational charts, and other similar supporting information. The
total appendices should not exceed 25 pages, printed on one side.
All pages in the application should be clearly numbered and a
complete index to the application and any appendices included. All
materials should be provided unbound, one-sided, with one-inch margins,
suitable for photocopying.
The applicant should provide a detailed description of first-year
objectives and activities and should also describe future-year
objectives and activities. A project timeline should be included. The
application should contain the following:
1. Executive Summary (2 pages, double-spaced)
Provide a clear concise summary of the application.
2. The Narrative
The narrative should consist of:
a. Understanding of the purpose of data linkage as a tool for
capacity building
b. Existing resources
c. Collaborative relationships
d. Operational plan and methods
e. Organizational and program personnel capability
The narrative should specifically address the ``Program
Requirements''.
3. Budget and Justification
a. Provide a detailed budget and line item justification of all
proposed operating expenses consistent with the program activities
described in this announcement, including how resources will be shared
between collaborating agencies/programs.
b. The annual budget should include funding for two staff members
to make two three-day trips to Atlanta for stakeholders/workgroup
meetings, one two-day trip to Atlanta for a reverse site visit, and
funding for one person to travel to Atlanta to attend the 6th National
Environmental Health Conference December 3-5, 2003 and the annual PHIN
meeting in May, 2004. (Review the CDC/NCEH web site for additional
information about the 6th National Environmental Health Conference:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/default.htm)
c. If applicable, applicant's proposed contracts should include the
name of the person or firm to be contracted, a description of services
to be performed, an itemized and detailed budget including
justification, the period of performance and the method of selection.
d. Funding levels for years two and three should be estimated.
G. Submission and Deadline
Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission
On or before July 3, 2003, submit the LOI to the Project Officer
identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of
this announcement.
Application Forms
Submit the signed original and two copies of PHS 5161-1 (OMB number
0920-0428). Forms are available at the following Internet address:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm.
If you do not have access to the Internet, or if you have
difficulty accessing the forms on-line, you may contact the CDC
Procurement and Grants Office Technical Information Management Section
(PGO-TIM) at 770-488-2700. Application forms can be mailed to you.
Application forms must be submitted in the following order:
Cover Letter
Table of Contents
Application
Budget Information Form
Budget Justification
Checklist
Assurances
Certifications
Disclosure Form
HIV Assurance Form (if applicable)
Human Subjects Certification (if applicable)
Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)
Executive Summary
Narrative
Appendices
Submission Date, Time, and Address
Applications must be received by 4 p.m. EST, July 29, 2003. Submit
the application to: Technical Information Management Section,
PA#03074, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146.
Applications may not be submitted electronically.
CDC Acknowledgement of Application Receipt
A postcard will be mailed by PGO-TIM, notifying you that CDC has
received your application.
Deadline
Letters of intent and applications shall be considered as meeting
the deadline if they are received before 4 p.m. EST on the deadline
date. Any applicant who sends their application by the United States
Postal Service or commercial delivery services must ensure that the
carrier will be able to guarantee delivery of the application by the
closing date and time. If an application is received after closing due
to (1) carrier error, when the carrier accepted the package with a
guarantee for delivery by the closing date and time, or (2) significant
weather delays or natural disasters, CDC will upon receipt of proper
documentation, consider the application as having been received by the
deadline.
Any application that does not meet the above criteria will not be
eligible for competition, and will be discarded. The applicant will be
notified of their failure to meet the submission requirements.
H. Evaluation Criteria
Applicants are required to provide measures of effectiveness that
will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified
objectives of the cooperative agreement. Measures of effectiveness must
relate to the performance goals stated in the purpose section of this
announcement. Measures must be objective and quantitative and must
measure the intended outcome. These measures of effectiveness must be
submitted with the application and will be an element of evaluation.
An independent review group appointed by CDC will evaluate each
application individually against the following criteria:
1. Operational plan and methods (30 points)
The extent to which the applicant has clearly described a proposed
approach to carrying out the activities listed under Section E.
``Program Requirements.'' This includes: (1) Descriptions of project
objectives that are specific, measurable and realistic; (2) inclusion
of an implementation schedule/timeline that is reasonable and
appropriately reflects major steps in recipient activities; (3) a
protocol for conducting the data linkage project that is
methodologically sound, includes key stakeholders, and provides
adequate justification for selection of the specific hazard/exposure/
health effect data to be linked; (4) a plan for providing and enhancing
geo-coded data items in existing surveillance/monitoring systems; (5)
steps for developing a communications/use of data strategy; (6) a plan
for evaluating the linkage project and data dissemination/communication
efforts; and (7) a demonstration of the project's potential for
improving the capacity of both health effects and environmental
exposure/hazard monitoring data systems and promoting sustained ability
to link health, exposure, and environmental hazard data on an ongoing
basis.
Research projects involving human subjects also need to address the
[[Page 36817]]
following: Does the application adequately address the CDC Policy
requirements regarding the inclusion of women, ethnic, and racial
groups in the proposed research? This includes:
a. The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial and
ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
b. The proposed justification when representation is limited or
absent.
c. A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate to
measure differences when warranted.
d. A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and outreach
for study participants include the process of establishing partnerships
with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits.
2. Existing Resources (25 Points)
The extent to which the applicant has described (1) existing
surveillance and monitoring systems that will be used to conduct the
linkage project including an estimate of the population/live births
covered by the health effects surveillance system, timeliness of the
data and other data system evaluation information, previous data
analyses and publications, and examples of how the data from these
existing systems previously has been used to take public health or
environmental regulatory action; (2) the level of coordination with
programs responsible for these surveillance/monitoring systems and the
commitment of technical expertise from these programs for carrying out
this project; (3) the adequacy of computer hardware and software
available to carry out the project; (4) the actions that will be taken
to ensure data security and privacy of individuals in both conducting
linkages and disseminating results.
3. Collaborative Relationships (20 Points)
The extent to which the applicant describes past, current and
proposed collaborations and experiences (for example in conducting
surveillance, data linkage, and/or health investigations or other
research studies) with relevant organizations and agencies within the
state/local government (if applicable) and provides evidence that these
organizations/agencies are willing and capable to support and be
actively involved in carrying out the project. The extent to which the
applicant describes past, current and proposed collaborations with
other relevant external organizations such as state medical
associations, national organizations, and the Federal Government that
may be required to conduct program activities. Significant
collaboration with those programs directly involved with the
surveillance/monitoring systems being utilized (such as the state
cancer or birth defects registry, the air monitoring program, the state
health and environmental laboratories, and others) and with any
existing CDC-funded Environmental Public Health Tracking Program within
the state/locale. Evidence of collaboration includes letters from
program directors outlining their support and involvement in the data
linkage project and a budget plan that describes resource sharing among
collaborating agencies/programs.
4. Understanding of the Purpose of the Data Linkage as a Tool for
Capacity Building (15 Points)
The extent to which the applicant has a clear, concise
understanding of the requirements, objectives, and purpose of the
cooperative agreement. The extent to which the application reflects an
understanding of purpose and use of surveillance data and realistic
expectations of data linkage activities. The extent to which the
application reflects the potential integration of data linkage
activities into ongoing environmental public health tracking/
surveillance/monitoring rather than it's use for special studies.
5. Organizational and Program Personnel Capability (10 Points)
The extent to which the proposed staffing, organizational
structure, staff experience and background, and job descriptions
indicate that the applicant is capable of carrying out this program,
including past experiences relevant to the proposed project. The
resumes/curricula vita of key personnel should be included in the
application. The applicant should document commitment of staff and
resources from both environment and health to the project. The resource
documentation may be in the form of percent time dedicated to the
project, in kind resources, travel, etc.
6. Budget and Justification (Not Scored)
The extent to which the proposal demonstrates appropriateness and
justification of the requested budget relative to the activities
proposed, including resource sharing among collaborating agencies/
programs.
7. Performance Goals (Reviewed, But Not Scored)
8. Human Subjects Review (Not Scored)
Does the application adequately address the requirements of Title
45 CFR Part 46 for the protection of human subjects? Not scored;
however, an application can be disapproved if the research risks are
sufficiently serious and protection against risks is so inadequate as
to make the entire application unacceptable.
Other Requirements
Technical Reporting Requirements
Provide CDC with the original plus two copies of:
1. Interim progress report, no less than 90 days before the end of
the budget period. The progress report will serve as your non-competing
continuation application, and must contain the following elements:
a. Current Budget Period Activities Objectives.
b. Current Budget Period Financial Progress.
c. New Budget Period Program Proposed Activity Objectives.
d. Detailed Line-Item Budget and Justification.
e. Additional Requested Information.
2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of
the budget period.
3. Final financial and performance reports, no more than 90 days
after the end of the project period.
Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this
announcement.
Additional Requirements
The following additional requirements are applicable to this
program. For a complete description of each, see Appendix V of the
program announcement, as posted on the CDC Web site.
AR-1 Human Subjects Requirements
AR-2 Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic
Minorities in Research
AR-7 Executive Order 12372 Review
AR-9 Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
AR-10 Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11 Healthy People 2010
AR-12 Lobbying Restrictions
AR-22 Research Integrity
J. Where To Obtain Additional Information
This and other CDC announcements, applications, and associated
forms can be found on the CDC web site, Internet address:
http://www.cdc.gov.
Click on ``Funding'' then ``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
For general questions about this announcement, contact: Technical
Information Management, CDC
[[Page 36818]]
Procurement and Grants Office, 2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-
4146, Telephone: 770-488-2700.
For business management and budget assistance, contact: Sharon
Orum, Grants Management Specialist, Procurement and Grants Office,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road,
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: 770-488-2716, Email address:
spo2@cdc.gov.
For program technical assistance, contact: Phillip Finley, Project
Officer, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, MS-E19, Atlanta, GA 30338,
Telephone: 404-498-1449, Email address: pjf2@cdc.gov.
Dated: June 13, 2003.
Edward Schultz,
Acting Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-15453 Filed 6-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P