RFP Announcement

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
Special Research Grants Program
Food Safety Research, Fiscal Year 1999:
Request for Proposals and Request for Input

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

ACTION: Notice of Request for Proposals and Request for Input.

SUMMARY: The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) announces the availability of grant funds and requests proposals for the Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research for fiscal year (FY) 1999. The amount available for support of this program in FY 1999 is approximately $4,677,998.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) sets out the objectives for these projects, the eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, the application procedures, and the set of instructions needed to apply for a Food Safety Research Project grant.

By this notice, CSREES additionally solicits stakeholder input from any interested party regarding the FY 1999 Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research for use in the development of the next request for proposals for this program.

DATES: Proposals must be received on or before June 4, 1999. Proposals received after June 4, 1999, will not be considered for funding. Comments regarding this request for proposals are requested within six months from the issuance of this notice. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of this RFP and application materials, please contact the Proposal Services Unit; Office of Extramural Programs;

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; U.S.
Department of Agriculture
STOP 2245
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20250-2245
Telephone: (202) 401-5048.

When contacting the Proposal Services Unit, please indicate that you are requesting application materials for the Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research. Application materials may also be requested via Internet by sending a message with your name, mailing address (not e-mail) and telephone number to psb@reeusda.gov that states that you wish to receive a copy of the application materials for the Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research. The materials will then be mailed to you (not e-mailed) as quickly as possible.

Written stakeholder comments should be submitted by first- class mail to:

Office of Extramural Programs
Competitive Research Grants and Awards Management
USDA-CSREES
STOP 2299
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20250-2299
or via e-mail to: RFP-OEP@reeusda.gov.

In your comments, please indicate that you are responding to the FY 1999 Food Safety Research Program.

For Further Information Contact:

Dr. Anne Bertinuson
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
STOP 2220
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250-2220
Telephone: (202) 401- 6825
Internet: abertinuson@reeusda.gov.

Part I—General Information

A. Legislative Authority
B. Definitions
C. Eligibility
D. Complementary Programs

Part II—Program Description

A. Purpose and Scope of the Program
B. Available Funds and Award Limitations

Part III—Preparation of a Proposal

A. Program Application Materials
B. Content of a Proposal

Part IV—Submission of a Proposal

A. What to Submit
B. Where and When to Submit
C. Acknowledgment of Proposals

Part V—Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria

A. Selection Process
B. Evaluation Criteria

Part VI—Additional Information

A. Access to Peer Review Information
B. Grant Awards
C. Use of Funds; Changes
D. Other Federal Statutes and Regulations that Apply
E. Confidential Aspects of Proposals and Awards
F. Regulatory Information

CSREES is soliciting comments regarding this solicitation of applications from any interested party. These comments will be considered in the development of the next request for proposals for the Program. Such comments will be forwarded to the Secretary or his designee for use in meeting the requirements of section 103©(2) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, 7 U.S.C. 7613©(2). This section requires the Secretary to solicit and consider input on a current request for proposals from persons who conduct or use agricultural research, education, or extension for use in formulating the next request for proposals for an agricultural research program funded on a competitive basis.

In your comments, please include the name of the program and the fiscal year solicitation of applications to which you are responding. Comments are requested within six months from the issuance of the solicitation of applications. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

Part I—General Information

A. Legislative Authority

The authority for this program is contained in section ©(1)(A) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act, Section 2 of Pub. L. No. 89-106, as amended (7 U.S.C. 450i©(1)(A)). This Program is subject to the administrative provisions found in 7 CFR Part 3400 for the Special Research Grants Program which set forth procedures to be followed when submitting grant proposals, rules governing the evaluation of proposals, the awarding of grants, and post-award administration of such grants. However, where there are differences between this RFP and the administrative provisions, the RFP shall take precedence to the extent that the administrative provisions authorize such deviations. In accordance with the statutory authority, grants awarded under the Special Research Grants Program are for the purpose of conducting research to facilitate or expand promising breakthroughs in areas of the food and agricultural sciences of importance to the United States.

For the purpose of awarding grants under this program, the following definitions are applicable in addition to the definitions identified in 7 CFR Part 3400.

• (1) Authorized departmental officer means the Secretary or any employee of the Department who has the authority to issue or modify grant instruments on behalf of the Secretary.
• (2) Authorized organizational representative means the president, director, or the chief executive officer of the applicant organization or the official, designated by the president, director, or chief executive officer of the applicant organization, who has the authority to commit the resources of the organization.
• (3) Grant means the award by the Secretary of funds to a grantee to assist in meeting the costs of conducting, for the benefit of the public, an identified project which is intended and designed to establish, discover, elucidate, or confirm information or the underlying mechanisms relating to a research program area identified in this program solicitation.
• (4) Principal Investigator/Project Director means the single individual designated by the grantee in the grant application and approved by the Secretary who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the project.
• (5) Prior approval means written approval evidencing prior consent by an authorized departmental officer as defined in (1) above.
• (6) Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture and any other officer or employee of the Department to whom the authority involved may be delegated.

C. Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by State agricultural experiment stations, all colleges and universities, other research institutions and organizations, Federal agencies, private organizations or corporations, and individuals. Proposals must be directly related to conducting quantitative and/or qualitative science-based risk assessments of microbial hazards in ready-to- eat foods; the scientific basis for critical control points, critical limits, and process capability; or ensuring the safety of imported and domestic fruits and vegetables. Although an applicant may be eligible based on its status as one of these entities, there are factors which may exclude an applicant from receiving Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits under this program (e.g., debarment or suspension of an individual involved or a determination that an applicant is not responsible based on submitted organizational management information).

D. Complementary Programs

Research focusing exclusively on epidemiological approaches for food safety will not be funded under this program. Research on epidemiological approaches for food safety should be directed to the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRICGP). To obtain a copy of the RFP for the NRICGP and application materials, please contact the Proposal Services Unit, Office of Extramural Programs, USDA/CSREES at (202) 401-5048. These materials may also be requested via Internet by sending a message with your name, mailing address (not e-mail) and telephone number to psb@reeusda.gov that states that you wish to receive a copy of the RFP and application materials for the Epidemiological Approaches to Food Safety FY 1999 Program. The materials will then be mailed to you (not e-mailed) as quickly as possible. The NRICGP deadline for these types of research proposals is April 5, 1999.

Part II—Program Description

A. Purpose and Scope of the Program

Proposals are invited for competitive grant awards under the Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research for FY 1999. The purpose of this grant program is to support problem- solving food safety research that addresses current and emerging National issues in food safety. The program for FY 1999 will focus on conducting qualitative and quantitative risk assessments of ready-to-eat foods; the scientific basis for critical control points, critical limits, and process capability in assuring food safety; and ensuring the safety of imported and domestic fruits and vegetables. Proposals that address the following issues are requested:

• (1) proposals that conduct comprehensive, qualitative and/or quantitative science-based risk assessments related to microbial foodborne pathogens (e.g., Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, Cyclospora, Salmonella, etc.) and/or their toxins associated with ready-to-eat foods, including those foods that are fresh, minimally processed or processed;
• (2) proposals that address the scientific basis and models for establishing and validating critical control points, critical limits, and process capability related to control measures for significant foodborne microbial pathogens and/or their toxins in production, processing and distribution of foods; or
• (3) proposals that address the safety of fresh and minimally processed imported and domestic fruits and vegetables that include: the development of safe and efficacious techniques to enhance or ensure microbiological safety; approaches that relate production, harvesting, handling, transportation, and distribution control measures to the prevention of microbial pathogen infection or cross-contamination; or development of procedures for sampling to accurately detect the presence of microbial pathogens and/or their toxins.

Research issue No. (1) relates to ready-to-eat foods, No. (2) relates to any food, and No. (3) is limited to fresh fruits and vegetables. Projects submitted for research issue No. (1) should be primarily focused on conducting risk assessments; however, researchers may propose to generate supporting data for use in the proposed risk assessments, as appropriate. Risk assessment proposals should be multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary. Proposals that focus primarily on generating data in support of risk assessment should be submitted to the NRICGP on epidemiological approaches for food safety that is referenced above or submitted under one of the other two areas of this RFP.

All proposals are to describe how the research will be transferred for implementation. Thus, preference will be given to proposals that have partnerships with potential users of the information derived from the research.

B. Available Funds and Award Limitations

Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to support research projects that address food safety research that focuses on conducting risk assessments on ready-to-eat foods; the scientific basis for critical control points, critical limits, and process capability; or ensuring the safety of imported and domestic fruits and vegetables. Matching funds are encouraged but not required. Under this program the Secretary may make grant awards for the support of research projects for up to three years. The total amount of funds available in FY 1999 for support of this program is approximately $4,677,998. It is estimated that up to $2 million will be available for grants relating to risk assessments of ready-to-eat foods and it is anticipated that up to $600,000 will be granted for each award. Each proposal submitted in FY 1999 shall request funding for a period not to exceed two years. Funding for additional years will depend upon the availability of funds, progress toward objectives, and program priorities. FY 1999 awardees would need to recompete in future years for additional funding.

Part III—Preparation of a Proposal

Program application materials will be made available to interested entities upon request. These materials include information about the purpose of the program, how the program will be conducted, and the required contents of a proposal, as well as the forms needed to prepare and submit grant applications under the program. To obtain program application materials, please contact the Proposal Services Unit; Office of Extramural Programs;

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
STOP 2245
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20250-2245
Telephone: (202) 401-5048.

When contacting the Proposal Services Unit, please indicate that you are requesting application materials for the Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research. Application materials may also be requested via Internet by sending a message with your name, mailing address (not e-mail) and telephone number to psb@reeusda.gov that states that you wish to receive a copy of the application materials for the Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research. The materials will then be mailed to you (not e-mailed) as quickly as possible.

B. Content of a Proposal

(1) General

The proposal should follow these guidelines, enabling reviewers to more easily evaluate the merits of each proposal in a systematic, consistent fashion:

(a) The proposal should be prepared on only one side of the page using standard size (8 ½" x 11") white paper, one inch margins, typed or word processed using no type smaller than 12 point font, and single spaced. Use an easily readable font face (e.g., Geneva, Helvetica, CG Times).

(b) Each page of the proposal, including the Project Summary, budget pages, required forms, and any appendices, should be numbered sequentially in the upper right-hand corner.

(c) The proposal should be stapled in the upper left- hand corner. Do not bind. An original and 9 copies (10 total) must be submitted in one package, along with 20 copies of the "Project Summary" as a separate attachment.

(2) Cover Page

Each copy of each grant proposal must contain an "Application for Funding", Form CSREES-661. One copy of the application, preferably the original, must contain the pen-and- ink signature(s) of the proposing principal investigator(s)/project director(s)(PI/PD) and the authorized organizational representative who possesses the necessary authority to commit the organization’s time and other relevant resources to the project. Any proposed PI/PD or co-PI/PD whose signature does not appear on Form CSREES-661 will not be listed on any resulting grant award. Complete both signature blocks located at the bottom of the "Application for Funding" form.

Form CSREES-661 serves as a source document for the CSREES grant database; it is therefore important that it be completed accurately. The following items are highlighted as having a high potential for errors or misinterpretations:

(a) Title of Project (Block 6). The title of the project must be brief (80-character maximum), yet represent the major thrust of the effort being proposed. Project titles are read by a variety of nonscientific people; therefore, highly technical words or phraseology should be avoided where possible. In addition, introductory phrases such as "investigation of" or "research on" should not be used.

(b) Program to Which You Are Applying (Block 7). "Special Research Grants Program, Food Safety Research" should be inserted in this block. You may ignore the reference to a Federal Register announcement.

(c) Program Area and Number (Block 8). The name of the program area, "Food Safety Research," should be inserted in this block. You should ignore references to the program number and the Federal Register announcement.

(d) Types of Award Request (Block 13). There are three types of proposals that may be submitted to this program: new proposals, renewal proposals, and resubmitted proposals. If the submitted proposal describes a project that has not been previously submitted to the Special Food Safety Research Grant Program, please check "New." If the proposal being submitted requests additional funding for a project beyond the period that was approved in an original or amended award, check "Renewal." Please indicate the prior USDA award number in the appropriate location in this block. Proposals for renewed funding will compete on the same basis with all other proposals submitted to the Program at the same time. These proposals must contain the same information as required for new applications, and additionally must contain a Progress Report. As discussed below the Progress Report must be included within the 15 pages of the Project Description. If the proposal was previously submitted to the Special Food Safety Research Grant Program but not funded, check "Resubmission." The resubmitted proposal should clearly indicate the changes that have been made in the proposed project. Proposals which appear to be resubmissions (regardless of the designation) are regarded as such by the Program and the panel, and compete on the same basis with all other proposals submitted to the Program at the same time. However, a clear statement acknowledging comment of the previous review, indicating revisions, rebuttals, etc., can positively influence the review of the proposal. Therefore, for resubmitted proposals, as discussed below the investigator(s) must respond to the previous submission’s panel summary on no more than one page, titled "RESPONSE TO PREVIOUS REVIEW" which is to be placed directly after the Project Summary. Failure to include a "RESPONSE TO PREVIOUS REVIEW" may negatively influence the review of a proposal.

(e) Principal Investigator(s)/Project Director(s) (Block 15). The designation of excessive numbers of co-PI/PD’s creates problems during final review and award processes. Listing multiple co-PI/PD’s, beyond those required for genuine collaboration, is therefore discouraged. Note that providing a Social Security Number is voluntary, but is an integral part of the CSREES information system and will assist in the processing of the proposal.

(f) Type of Performing Organization (Block 18). A check should be placed in the box beside the type of organization which actually will carry out the effort. For example, if the proposal is being submitted by an 1862 Land-Grant institution but the work will be performed in a department, laboratory, or other organizational unit of an agricultural experiment station, box "03" should be checked. If portions of the effort are to be performed in several departments, check the box that applies to the individual listed as PI/PD #1 in Block 15.a.

(g) Other Possible Sponsors (Block 22). List the names or acronyms of all other public or private sponsors including other agencies within USDA and other programs funded by CSREES to whom your application has been or might be sent. In the event you decide to send your application to another organization or agency at a later date, you must inform the identified CSREES program manager as soon as practicable. Submitting your proposal to other potential sponsors will not prejudice its review by CSREES; however, duplicate support for the same project will not be provided.

(3) Table of Contents

For consistency and ease in locating information, each proposal must contain a detailed Table of Contents just after the Cover Page. The Table of Contents should include page numbers for each component of the proposal. Page numbers, shown in the upper right-hand corner, should begin with the first page of the Project Summary.

(4) Project Summary

The proposal must contain a Project Summary of 250 words or less on a separate page. The summary must be self-contained and describe the overall goals and relevance of the project. The summary should also contain a listing of the major organizations participating in the project. The Project Summary should immediately follow the Table of Contents. In addition to the summary, this page must include the title of the project, the name of the applicant organization, the authorized organizational representative, and the principal investigator(s)/project director(s), followed by the summary.

(5) Response to Previous Review (if resubmission)

For the content of this section, see the information on resubmitted proposals in Part III, B.(2)(d), Types of Proposals, of this RFP.

(6) Project Description

PLEASE NOTE: The Project Description shall not exceed 15 pages of written text and may not exceed a total of 20 pages including figures and tables. This maximum has been established to ensure fair and equitable competition.

(a) Objectives-Clear, concise, complete, and logically arranged statement(s) of specific aims of the proposed effort must be included in all proposals.

(b) Justification-This section should include in-depth information on the following, when applicable:

(i) estimates of the magnitude of the food safety problem and its relevance to ongoing National food and agricultural research programs;

(ii) importance of starting the work during the current fiscal year, and

(iii) reasons for having the work performed by the proposing institution.

(c) Literature Review-A summary of pertinent publications with emphasis of their relationship to the effort being proposed should be provided and should include all important and recent publications from other institutions, as well as those from the applicant institution. The citations themselves should be accurate, complete, and written in an acceptable journal format.

(d) Progress Report - If the proposal is for a renewal grant for an existing project supported under this program, include a clearly marked progress report describing results to date from the previous award. In addition, the progress report must be limited to three pages (within the project description 15 page limit) and should include: a comparison of actual accomplishments with the goals established for the previous award; the reasons established goals were not met, if applicable; and a listing of publications resulting from the award. Copies of no more than two preprints or reprints may be appended to the proposal.

(e) Current Work - Current unpublished institutional activities "to date" in the program area under which the proposal is being submitted should be described.

(f) Research Methods - The procedures or methodology to be applied to the proposed effort should be explicitly stated. This section should include but not necessarily be limited to:

(i) a description of the proposed investigations and/or experiments in the sequence in which it is planned to carry them out;
(ii) techniques to be employed, including their feasibility;
(iii) kinds of results expected;
(iv) means by which data will be analyzed or interpreted;
(v) pitfalls which might be encountered; and
(vi) limitations to proposed procedures.

(g) Cooperation and Institutional Units Involved - Cooperative, multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary applications are encouraged. Identify each institutional unit contributing to the project and designate the lead institution or institutional unit. When appropriate, the project should be coordinated with the efforts of other State and/or national programs. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each institutional unit of the project team, if applicable.

(h) Equipment and Facilities - All facilities which are available for use or assignment to the project during the requested period of support should be reported and described briefly. Any potentially hazardous materials, procedures, situations, or activities, whether or not directly related to a particular phase of the effort, must be explained fully, along with an outline of the precautions to be exercised. Examples include work with toxic chemicals and experiments that may put human subjects or animals at risk.

All items of major instrumentation available for use or assignment to the proposed project should be itemized. In addition, items of nonexpendable equipment needed to conduct and bring the project to a successful conclusion should be listed, including dollar amounts and, if funds are requested for their acquisition, justified.

(i) Project Timetable - The proposal should outline all important phases as a function of time, year by year, for the entire project, including periods beyond the grant funding period.

(7) Key Personnel

All senior personnel who are expected to be involved in the effort must be clearly identified. For each person, the following should be included:

(a) an estimate of the time commitment involved; and

(b) vitae of the principal investigator(s)/project director(s), senior associate(s), and other professional personnel. This section should include vitae of all key persons who are expected to work on the project, whether or not CSREES funds are sought for their support. The vitae should be limited to two (2) pages each in length, excluding publications listings. A chronological list of all publications in refereed journals during the past five (5) years, including those in press, must be provided for each professional project member for whom a curriculum vitae is provided. Also list only those non-refereed technical publications that have relevance to the proposed project. All authors should be listed in the same order as they appear on each paper cited, along with the title and complete reference as these usually appear in journals.

(8) Conflict-of-Interest List (Form CSREES-1233)

A separate Conflict-of-Interest List form (Form CSREES-1233) must be submitted for each investigator for whom a curriculum vitae is required (see above). This form is necessary to assist program staff in excluding from proposal review those individuals who have conflicts-of-interest with the project personnel in the grant proposal. The Program Manager must be informed of additional conflicts-of-interest that arise after the proposal has been submitted.