NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (R25)

Please distribute this information to faculty in your college to determine if they have an interest in submitting a proposal to this program.

*NIGMS recently announced a “Technical Assistance Workshop for the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program” (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-GM-08-120.html) to be held April 18 at NIH in Bethesda, MD. The workshop’s purpose is to inform applicants of programmatic changes and offer guidance for proposal preparation and submission. Since only one Bridges to the Baccalaureate application is allowed per institution, we are conducting the internal review earlier than usual so that the selected applicant will have sufficient time to schedule attendance at the technical assistance workshop. At least two individuals from each institution are expected to attend the workshop (including the prospective Program Director and an institutional official at the level of Dean or higher).*

WHAT: Limited Submission Proposal for the NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (R25)

WHO:  Texas A&M University faculty, including TAES, TEES and TTI personnel.

WHY:  Awards are for five years and NIH anticipates making six to nine awards per year.

WHEN: Internal proposal deadline of February 18, 2008.

HOW:  Faculty should submit an internal proposal to osppc@tamu.edu  for review by the internal selection committee. 

THE FINE PRINT:

The funding agency, NIH, has limited the number of proposals to one per institution.                                                        

BRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:  The mission of the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (R25) is to increase the number of students from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral research fields who successfully complete the baccalaureate degree in biomedical and behavioral sciences. 

Each proposed Bridges program must consist of a partnership between at least two institutions.  One must be an institution that offers the associate degree as the only undergraduate degree in the sciences within the participating departments and has a significant enrollment of underrepresented minorities.  Another partner must be a college or university offering the baccalaureate degree in areas relevant to the biomedical sciences.  Unless strongly justified otherwise, the proposed partnership/consortium should be composed of no more than four institutions.

Each partnership/consortium must:  provide the baseline data on transfer and subsequent graduation of its students in biomedical and behavioral sciences; establish its own goals and specific measurable objectives; present an integrated plan of activities that would achieve the program’s goals; and provide an evaluation plan that is useful for all institutions.  In addition, three specific goals of the program in five years:  the transfer rate of targeted groups from associate to baccalaureate degree granting institutions will increase by 50% in biomedical/behavioral sciences; at least 70% of Bridges students, upon or before graduation from the associate degree program, will transfer to baccalaureate degree programs in the biomedical/behavioral sciences; and at least 75% of the transferring Bridges students will complete their bachelor’s degrees in biomedical/behavioral sciences.

Development activities in proposals may include:  developing college courses and curricula; faculty from the baccalaureate institution(s) serving as visiting lecturers at the participating two-year institution(s); introducing research concepts and/or research skills courses into the community college curriculum; faculty from the baccalaureate institution(s) providing mentored research experiences to Bridges students; allowing community college students to take courses and/or have access to computer and library facilities at the baccalaureate institution(s); providing supplementary instruction in gate-keeping courses, peer monitoring and tutoring, research careers seminars, workshops or science fairs; preparing community college students for transfer to the baccalaureate institution(s) through college orientation classes; and offering advanced or special courses for Bridges faculty from community colleges at the partner baccalaureate institution(s). 

Each of the partnership institutions must assure support of adequate staff, facilities and educational resources.  Targeted groups underrepresented in the biomedical/behavioral sciences include, but are not limited to, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (including Alaska Natives), natives of the U.S. Pacific Islands and rural Appalachians.  Bridges students are those students who will receive support in the form of salaries/wages under this program. It is the responsibility of the applicant institution to establish the qualifications of students prior to their participation in the Bridges Program.

Allowable costs include:  administrative costs, salary support, extramural consultants, equipment (including computers), supplies, travel to Bridges meetings, student travel to scientific meeting, limited remission of tuition and limited remuneration of students. 

Unallowable costs include:  salaries and expenses for students who are not underrepresented minorities; housing or food expenses for students, except when they are attending scientific professional meetings; recruitment expenses; salary support solely for faculty mentoring; support for faculty research; foreign travel; alterations and renovations; and support for student textbooks, incentives, memberships and internet subscriptions.  The indirect rate is 8%. The full announcement can be found at the web page of the sponsor at:  http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-411.html    
 

INTERNAL SELECTION PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES   

February 15, 2008:  Deadline for an email of intent, including the names of the PI and co-PIs, title of internal proposal and a 1-3 sentence description of the project.  Send email of intent to osppc@tamu.edu

February 18, 2008:  Deadline to obtain signatures of approval from your department head and college dean to submit an internal proposal to the Office of Sponsored Projects for review by the internal selection committee.  The internal proposal should include:

An executive summary, up to three pages, based on the proposal description as outlined in the NIH program announcement;
Project and Management Plans (including team members and partner institutions);
Summary budget. 

The form for completing the internal proposal is here.

This completed form should be submitted electronically to osppc@tamu.edu for review by the internal selection committee.

Please read the RFP carefully for specific requirements of the program at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-411.html   

Selection of pre-proposals will be based on NIH evaluation guidelines. Meeting the needs of the university’s reinvestment plan will also be taken into account.

During the selection process, the internal selection committee may contact departments and colleges for their opinions and commitments. They may also request additional information from PI’s.

February 29, 2008: The Internal Selection Committee will notify PIs of the result of the internal competition.

April 18, 2008:  Technical Assistance Workshop on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

September 18, 2008:  Deadline for full proposal.