NIH recently introduced several new activity codes as part of its new way of handling research projects and cooperative agreements with foreign subawards. NIH introduced the new process in an effort to manage federal reporting and oversight of foreign components more effectively. In this blog post, we’ll break down this new process of handling research projects with foreign subawards.
New Activity Codes and Overall Process
The PF5 activity code is for the Collaborative International Research Project. The UF5 is for Collaborative International Cooperative Agreements. In conjunction with the PF5 and UF5, NIH introduced the RF2 for the Linked International Research Project and the UL2 for the Linked International Cooperative Agreement.
The application is submitted as a single application, following the Multi-project instructions. If the application is selected for award, the components are separated. The domestic organization receives an award via the PF5 activity code. The foreign organization(s) receive their award via the RF2. The RF2 is awarded directly to the foreign subaward.
Currently, PA-26-002 is the parent NOFO for the PF5. The NOFO has a broad scope and many Institutes and Centers participate in it, therefore it will be applicable to research ideas across many scientific areas. NIH anticipates that some Institutes and Centers will eventually issue program-specific PF5 NOFOs. At the time of this post, a NOFO for the UF5 had not been posted.
Application Process Details
Applicants follow the Multi-project application structure and instructions. The image below summarizes the required and optional components for a PF5.
The Overall component is required, and should provide a broad overview of the project, the program goals, justification of the need for international collaboration, and explanation of how the project will be coordinated between the domestic and international site(s). At least one Research Project is required. The Research Project must include significance, innovation, and approach with sufficient details for reviewers to assess the scientific and technical merits of the project. At least one International Project component must be included. If there are multiple International Projects, there must be one per international subaward. Each International Project component must include a scope of work, resources of the international collaborator, key personnel, and populations, and contributions that they will make to the project.
The international subaward, the recipient of the RF2, must register in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons.
Applications must include a dispute resolution plan and a letter from the Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR) of the domestic and foreign entities.
Scoring
The Overall and Research Project components are scored using the Simplified Review Framework. International Project and Core components are not scored. Instead, reviewers designate them as recommended or not recommended for funding.
Submission Deadlines
The applications with foreign subawards follow the multi-project (P&U) application deadlines: January 25, May 25, and September 25.
Other Details
Some system-to-system submission platforms do not support the PF5 mechanism. Applicants will need to use NIH ASSIST instead. NIH released a helpful video providing an overview of the PF5, including how to structure budgets, how applications are disaggregated once they are selected for award, and requirements of both domestic and international components.
