NIH GUIDE FOR GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

August 11, 1989

P.T. 34; K.W. 1014004, 1014006

National Institutes of Health
Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administrations

This policy clarifies the conditions under which employees of the Department of Veterans affairs (VA) may apply for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA). The policy reaffirms the longstanding practice which permits VA investigators to conduct research through affiliated universities while avoiding conflicts of commitment among their total professional responsibilities. However, theses guidelines do not modify the traditional NIH and ADAMHA practice of accepting applications from only those applicants which will be the primary performers of research.

As responsible stewards of funds, NIH and ADAMHA are concerned that investigators have the time available to carry out the proposed research. Therefore, this guidance clarifies how applicants/offerors may assure peer reviewers and staff that the time proposed for a particular project is available from among their total professional commitments, including that to the VA.

1. INTRODUCTION:

VA employees may identify research effort on projects at a level up to 100 percent of their VA appointment. However, if an individual engages in other (nonresearch) activities, as part of his/her responsibilities to the VA, those responsibilities (for example, clinical practice) reduce the level of effort devoted to research. In such cases, the maximum level of effort that can be shown on research projects must be less than 100 percent.

When the VA Medical Center is the applicant institution, salary support for the principal investigator may not be requested. Under these circumstances, the principal investigator is a Federal employee of the VA. The Medical Center is responsible for assuring that the level of effort required for the research project will be allowed as part of the principal investigator's official duties. Indirect costs are not reimbursed, since the grantee is a Federal organization.

2. APPLICATION GUIDELINES (GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS):

The regular guidelines as described in the application kit for Form PHS 398 (Application for a Public Health Service Grant, rev. 10/88) prevail when the applicant institution is a VA Medical Center.

1. INTRODUCTION:

VA employees are permitted to apply for research support on projects submitted by a university when they have a joint appointment between the VA and the university (see the criteria in B.2. below). Staff responsibilities other than research (for example, teaching, administration, or clinical practice on behalf of either organization) must reduce the total effort available for research.

The university share of an investigator's salary may be requested in proportion to the effort devoted to the research project. The individual's salary for his/her position with the university determines the base for computing that salary request. The university is the applicant organization, consistent with the appointment of the individual and the Memorandum of Understanding between the VA and the university (see B.2. below). Indirect costs are reimbursed based on the university's rates and the site of the research.

Signature by the institutional official on the application/proposal certifies that (1) the individual is applying as a part of a joint appointment that is specified by a formal Memorandum of Understanding, and (2) there is no possibility of dual compensation (university plus VA salary) for the same work, nor an actual or apparent conflict of interest regarding such work.

2. JOINT APPOINTMENTS:

A joint appointment is a total set of professional responsibilities mutually arranged by the university and an affiliated VA hospital. The combination of teaching, research, consulting, administration, and clinical activities at both the university and the VA comprises 100 percent of an individual's total professional responsibilities. These appointments are characterized by a formal Memorandum of Understanding, which at a minimum, specifies: (1) the title of each appointment, (2) each functional responsibility (at both the university and the VA) of the proposed principal investigator, and (3) the percentage of effort available for research.

The VA commitment should be expressed as hours per week, such as 25 hours (based on a 40-hour work-week). This commitment does not necessarily limit the corresponding university appointment to 15 hours per week, but the individual's overall set of responsibilities must meet the test of reasonableness.

3. APPLICATION GUIDELINES (GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS):

For university applications under joint-appointment conditions, the following paragraphs relate to the completion of certain portions of Form PHS 398 (Application for a Public Health Service Grant) and Form PHS 2590 (Application for Continuation of a Public Health Service Grant).

The Biographical Sketch page of Form PHS 398 must specifically identify the total responsibilities of the joint appointment. Specify the title of each appointment, the types of responsibilities (teaching, research, clinical, consulting, and administration) and the proportion of each type of responsibility to the total set of responsibilities.

With respect to the Personnel section of the Budget page, these “special” instructions must be followed in completing Columns 1, 2, and 3 (page 4 of Form PHS 398 and page 2 of Form PHS 2590).

• Column 1 should indicate the proportion of the principal investigator's university responsibilities to his/her total professional responsibilities based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the VA and the university. For example, if the individual's university activities equal 60 percent of total professional responsibilities, enter 0.6 in column 1.
• Column 2 should reflect the percentage of the university responsibilities that is to be devoted to this project. For example, if 40 percent of the individual's university duties is to be devoted to this project, enter 0.4 in column 2.
• Column 3 is the effort on the project. This is calculated by multiplying column 1 by column 2. Continuing the example, column 3 would indicate that 0.24 of the individual's total professional responsibilities is to be devoted to the project.
• If effort to the project is also to be devoted from the VA set of responsibilities, a separate line item for columns 1, 2, and 3 should be completed. This may be necessary to identify the total effort (both VA and university) to be devoted to the project.

In requesting salary support, under Dollar Amount Requested, the request must relate only to the portion of the effort on behalf of the university as stated in B.1. above, the individual's salary for his/ her position with the university determines the base for computing the salary request.

4. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES (CONTRACTS):

Table 15-2 of Federal Acquisition Regulation 15.804-6(b)(2) permits prospective contractors to estimate costs in a manner that is consistent with their overall accounting for individual cost elements. In the circumstances described herein, it would be appropriate for contractors to adopt the same procedures for estimating joint appointee effort as are outlined above for grants and cooperative agreements. Accordingly, estimated effort of a joint appointee expected to work on a contract must likewise be based on the percentage of the employee's TOTAL professional responsibilities.

Similarly, the curriculum vitae of a joint appointee name in the direct labor section of the offeror's proposal should include an enumeration of the employee's total responsibilities under the joint appointment.

Questions concerning this policy should be directed to the Grants Management Officer or Contracting Officer of the awarding component to which the application/proposal is (may be) assigned.

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