The Human BioMolecular Atlas Program

Requirements for a grant or cooperative agreement funded by NIH are described by the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Contracts are governed by Federal Acquisition Regulation . An Other Transaction is a funding mechanism which targets non-traditional sources and allows a high degree of flexibility in how the agreement is awarded.  Typical government procurement and grant laws, regulations and policies do not apply to OT awards. The NIH Other Transaction Award Policy Guide for HuBMAP details the policies that are applicable to OT awards made as part of HuBMAP. To distinguish the processes and administration of other transaction awards from grants, cooperative agreements and contracts, different terminology is used: (1) OT initiatives are called Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), and (2) applications are reviewed using Objective Review.

For HuBMAP, OT2 is a single component award that describes in detail an applicant’s planned approach, capabilities and projected budget. The OT2 mechanism will be used to make awards for discrete, specified, circumscribed research projects that will be actively managed by NIH staff. The specific features of an OT2 application will are described in each specific Research Opportunity Announcement.

Specific details of eligibility are listed in the “Eligible Applicants” section of each FOA. Other Transaction Authority permits awards to be made to institutions and individuals, including Higher Education Institutions, Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education and For-Profit Organizations. Foreign Institutions are eligible, though foreign individuals are not eligible.

HuBMAP OT FOAs will appear in Grants.gov, the NIH Guide and other sources to make sure the information is widely available to the entire pool of potential applicants. Announcements will also be advertised on the HuBMAP Funding Opportunities website and via the HuBMAP listserv.

All OT awardee organizations and unaffiliated individuals must have a DUNS number as the Universal Identifier when applying for HuBMAP OT awards. The DUNS number is a nine-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet Information Services. An Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) should be consulted to determine the appropriate number. If the organization does not have a DUNS number, an AOR should complete the US D&B D-U-N-S Number Request Form or contact Dun and Bradstreet by telephone directly at 1-866-705-5711 (toll-free) to obtain one. A DUNS number will be provided immediately by telephone at no charge. Individual PD/PI(s) do not need to register for a DUNS number unless they are unaffiliated with an institution. If a HuBMAP OT award is issued, the recipient must notify potential subrecipient organizations or unaffiliated individuals that they may not receive a subaward under the OT award unless they have provided their DUNS number to the recipient.

All OT awardee organizations and unaffiliated individuals must register in the SAM (formerly the Central Contractor Registry (CCR)) and maintain the registration with current information for the entire duration that the application is under consideration for funding by NIH. SAM is the primary registrant database for the Federal government and is the repository into which an entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient.

HIn order to participate in the HuBMAP program, an OT awardee organization, PD/PI(s) and unaffiliated individuals must complete a one-time registration in the Commons. Organizations registering in the eRA Commons for the first time should allow 2-4 weeks to complete the registration process. Organizations may verify their current registration status by accessing the “List of Recipient Organizations Registered in eRA Commons”.

PD/PI(s) should only have one eRA Commons user account. If the PD/PI has been registered in eRA Commons by an organization other than the organization submitting an application, the submitting organization must take steps to affiliate the PD/PI(s) with its organization so that the PD/PI(s) can view and access data records for those applications.

Individual applicants not affiliated with an organization or who want to submit an application independently must complete all the required registrations as though they are an organization (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/ElectronicReceipt/UnaffiliatedUserRegistra...). In eRA Commons, they will be registered as “independent scholars” and will also act as the Signing Official, with the same authority in eRA Commons that the Authorized Organizational Representative(s) has in Grants.gov

Yes, prospective applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent. Applications will not be accepted for review unless a Letter of Intent has been submitted, accepted, and a formal invitation to apply from NIH has been issued. Information about what is recommended for inclusion in the Letter of Intent can be found in each FOA.

NIH staff will invite meritorious Letters of Intent (LOIs) to develop and submit OT2 applications via an “Invitation to Submit” letter. This document will include information regarding associated OT2 application receipt dates and may specify recommended project changes that can be discussed with the applicant following the review of Letters of Intent (LOI). An LOI will not result in awards; they are meant to limit the number of full applications (invite only) to concepts we are strongly considering for funding. If you submit an LOI that is not of interest to the program, you will not be invited to submit a full application. You should be able to get a sense of our interest in your LOI by discussing it with HuBMAP program staff. We can provide feedback to applicants at all stages of the application process, including right now. Contact us at: HuBMAP@mail.nih.gov

As required by 402(b)(7) and 402(b)(12) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, objective review is an assessment of scientific or technical merit of applications by individuals with knowledge and expertise equivalent (peer) to that of the individuals whose applications of support they are reviewing, i.e., reviewers who are the professional equals of the principal investigator (PI) or program/project director (PD) for the proposed project and who often are engaged or were previously engaged in comparable activities.

Objective review is essential to ensuring selection of applications that best meet the needs of the program, consistent with established criteria, and providing assurance to the public that the evaluation and selection process was impartial and fair. To achieve this result, NIH conducts reviews under the highest ethical standards. Any circumstance that might introduce any conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, prejudices, biases, or predispositions into the process must be avoided. The review process and criteria will be specified in each HuBMAP OT Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Only the review criteria described in the FOA will be considered in the review process. All applications submitted in response to the FOA will be evaluated by an appropriate review group.

No, there is no appeal process.

The review criteria that will be considered for HuBMAP OT2 FOAs include the following: Scientific and Technical Merit; Personnel Qualifications; Institutional Commitment. Only these review criteria as described in the OT2 FOA will be considered in the review process. All applications submitted in response to the FOA will be evaluated by an appropriate review group.

Terms and conditions for HuBMAP OT awards including frequency of formal reporting, benchmarks and applicable policies will be specified in each HuBMAP OT FOA and included in each applicant’s Notice of Award (NoA). An outline of the general HuBMAP OT award terms and conditions may be viewed in the NIH Other Transaction Award Policy Guide for HuBMAP and in the relevant research opportunity announcement.

The HuBMAP PM will be a scientist familiar with the program area, the corresponding scientific communities, and the steps necessary to achieve the identified scientific goals. The HuBMAP PM will be responsible for the programmatic, scientific, and technical aspects of assigned applications and OT awards. This includes, but is not limited to, development of research programs to meet HuBMAP’s mission; oversight of the objective review process; and post-award administration, including review of progress reports, participation in site visits, and other activities complementary to those of the HuBMAP Agreement Officer. More information about the HuBMAP PM’s role post-award is available under Post-Award Management Information.

The HuBMAP PM oversees the review applications for completeness and conformity to requirements, ensures that adequate numbers of reviewers with appropriate expertise are available for application review, assigns applications to individual reviewers as discussion leaders and for preparation of written critiques, moderates the review meetings, prepares and sends review outcomes for all applications reviewed, and serves as the scientific point of contact with applicants during the initial phase of the peer review process.

The HuBMAP AO comprehensively understands how to develop agreements with external organizations. The HuBMAP AO advises the HuBMAP PM about the capability of individuals or organizations selected for award and works with the HuBMAP PM to establish, modify and terminate OT awards. These activities include, but are not limited to, evaluating OT applications for administrative content and compliance with statutes and guidelines; negotiating OT awards; providing consultation and technical assistance to applicants and recipients, including interpretation of OT administration policies and provisions; and administering and closing out OT awards.

The HuBMAP AO is the focal point for receiving and acting on administrative requests (e.g., for changes in the terms and conditions of award, see Sections 1.2.3-1.3 of the NIH Other Transaction Award Policy Guide for HuBMAP. The HuBMAP AO is also the only NIH official authorized to obligate NIH to the expenditure of Federal funds or to change the funding, duration, or other terms and conditions of award.

The HuBMAP PM and HuBMAP Agreement Officer (AO), with appropriate supplemental personnel, will monitor and administer each HuBMAP OT award on an ongoing basis. Awardees should make every effort to achieve the benchmarks. If a recipient fails to materially comply with the terms and conditions of award, s/he should communicate this in a timely manner to the HuBMAP PM and HuBMAP AO who will provide course correction strategies (e.g. adjust benchmarks). This also applies to necessary changes that arise based on programmatic need and the availability of funds for a project. Opportunities for supplemental funding may become available in response to evolving programmatic needs and emerging scientific advances. Additional activities that may qualify for funding adjustments include, but are not limited to, HuBMAP awardees entering into a collaboration, developments that overcome an unforeseen scientific roadblock, and sharing resources. Additional information on post-award changes is available in the NIH Other Transaction Award Policy Guide for the HuBMAP.