Briefing on NCI Grant Budget and Policy Issues

1
Briefing on NCI Grant Budget and Policy Issues

• NCI Program Staff Orientation
• Sponsored by the
• Office of Grants Administration
• February 16, 2006

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Briefing on NCI Grant Budget and Policy Issues
by Stephen M. HazenChief, Extramural
Financial Data Branch, OBFM, OD, NCIExecutive
Plaza South, Room 6087Telephone [phone]
Fax (301)
480-6961
3
Briefing Topics

• RPG Budget Allocation 7 min.
• Grant Decision Calendar 3 min.
• Exception Process Overview 5 min.
• Future Budget Realities 5 min.
• Questions 20 min.

4
NCIs Decision Making Process for Research
Project Grant Allocation

• The following example uses FY 2005 final award
  levels to show how the Research Project Grant
  budget is allocated at the start of the fiscal
  year.
• The general process is the same for any component
  of the grant budget.
• We start with the money appropriated by Congress.

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NCIs Decision Making Process for Research
Project Grant Allocation

• of total
• APPROPRIATION 2,189,000,000 100
• SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE -98,000,000 4
• NON-COMPETING COMMITMENTS -1,651,000,000 75
• 
  Number
• COMPETING AVAILABILITY 440,000,000 1,292
  20
• SET-ASIDE FOR RFAs -44,000,000 87
  2
• REMAINING FOR R01, P01, R33, etc. 396,000,000
  1,205 18

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NCIs Decision Making Process for Research
Project Grant Allocation

• 
  Number of
  total
• REMAINING FOR R01, P01, R21, etc.
  396,000,000 1,205 18
• ALLOCATION FOR R01, R37 238,000,000 719
  11
• ALLOCATION FOR P01 65,000,000 38
  3
• ALLOCATION FOR R21/R33 36,000,000 197
  2
• ALLOCATION FOR R03, R15 etc. 10,000,000
  103 lt1
• RESERVE FOR ALL EXCEPTIONS 47,000,000
  148 2

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NCIs Decision Making Process for Research
Project Grant Allocation

• 
  
  Number of total
• RESERVE FOR ALL EXCEPTIONS 47,000,000 148
  2
• AER EXCEPTIONS 2,000,000 6 lt1
• P01 etc. EXCEPTIONS 2,000,000 2 lt1
• R01, R21, etc. EXCEPTIONS 27,000,000 85
  1
• R01 EXCEPTIONS 16,000,000 55 lt1

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Estimating Uncertainties- what we know and when

• late August we know number of 1st round
  applications and review scores (from the February
  receipt date) and most of 2nd round application
  numbers (from the June receipts)
• mid-November additionally we have some 2nd
  round scores
• mid-December we have most 2nd round scores and
  most 3rd round applications (from October
  receipts)
• late April we know all application numbers and
  most scores from the 3rd round

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NCIs Decision Making Process for Research
Project Grant AllocationDetermine the Payline
for R01s With 238 million available for
competing R01s
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Orientation for Program Staff

• The calendar (theory and practice)
• The exception process through the year

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Grant Calendar in a Perfect Year

• Funding Policy and Paylines set early November
• 1st Round Exceptions later in November
• 2nd Round Exceptions Jan/Feb
• 3rd Round Exceptions May/June
• Late List Exceptions end of July
• Last List September (early)
• Large exceptions are approved by the EDD or EC
  regular-sized by Division

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Grant Calendar in a Recent Year (2005)

• T-5 Funding Policy early November
• RPG Reduction policy and temporary paylines
  early November
• RPG Paylines early January
• 1st Round Exceptions mid-January
• 2nd Round Exceptions mid-February
• 3rd Round Exceptions mid-June
• Late List Exceptions end of July
• Last List September (early)

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Grant Calendar in FY 2006

• T-5 Funding Policy and temporary paylines
  November 9
• First round P01 selections November 28
• First Round RFA Funding Plans December 20
• Second Round P01 selections January 17
• 2nd Round Exceptions and RFAs February 21
• 3rd Round P01 selections May 16
• 3rd Round Exceptions and RFAs June 20
• Late List Exceptions July 18
• Last List Exceptions September (early)

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Exception Process (during the year)

• When the initial RPG policies are set (paylines
  and average cost), the EC decides how much to
  allocate to supplements and exceptions.
• Based on historical usage (which basically
  follows the size of each Divisions RPG
  portfolio), EFDB proposes an allocation to the
  Divisions.

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Exception Process (continued)

• The Division Director has authority to approve
  exception funding for competing applications
  within 10 points of the payline costing no more
  than 350 thousand per year DC
• and supplements up to 50 thousand per year DC
  (no more than 150 thousand for the duration of
  the grant) smaller supplements may be approved
  at the Branch Chief level at the discretion of
  the Division Director.

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Exception Process (continued)

• The money allocated to the Divisions is intended
  to permit selection of supplements and exceptions
  - including AER exceptions as well as R01
  exceptions for pancreatic research, AIDS and
  other high priority research areas.
• Each Division has its own internal procedures for
  approving exception requests which Program Staff
  submit usually prior to each EDD exception
  meeting for the three rounds and late list.

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Exception Process (continued)

• Each review round, NCI uses the EDD meeting as a
  forum to approve large sized exception grants.
• Near the end of July, we have a final exception
  meeting, which we call the Late List Exception
  meeting.
• After the Late List meeting we move to the Last
  List process

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End of Year Grant Funding Process (Last List
Process)

• We have established a process that permits us to
  approve a group of grants for payment in the
  event additional money becomes available. We
  refer to this process as the Last List.
• The Last List may include Centers, SPORES,
  Manpower, Clinical Groups as well as RPG requests

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Last List Process

• The vetting process
• Each Division collects their requests and the
  Division Director ranks them according to the
  Institute and Division priorities
• EFDB collects the Division requests and puts them
  on a consolidated NCI list with other NCI-wide
  needs of which EFDB is aware
• EFDB presents this consolidated list to a senior
  management official (or group), who reviews the
  justifications and decides on an NCI rank order.

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Last List Process - Adjustments

• If/when a Division wants to add another grant (or
  more) to their Division list, the Division
  Director must determine where the new grant(s)
  should appear on the ranked Division list.
• The new grant(s) are taken to the senior official
  for interpolation into the consolidated last
  list.
• We pay grants and the process continues until we
  run out of time and money around September 20.

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Orientation for Program Staff

• About the budget situation (present and past as
  presented to the NCAB/BSA Joint retreat on
  January 9, 2006)

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FY 2006 Appropriation
Cancer
AIDS
Roadmap
Total
4,825,258
30,505
265,907
4,528,846
2005 Obligations
2006
Appropriation
4,841,774
43,113
256,228
4,542,433
Reduction
-1.0
-0.6
-1.0
-1.0
Amount of Reduction
-48,418
-279
-2,562
-45,577
Operating Level
4,793,356
42,834
253,666
4,496,856
Change from 2005
Amount
-31,902
12,329
-12,241
-31,990
Percent
-0.7
40.4
-4.6
-0.7
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Budget Mechanisms
(dollars in thousands)
FY2006
Change
FY2005 Actual
Research Projects
1,651,239
1,664,664
0.8
Non-Competing
439,870
444,305
1.0
Competing
Subtotal
2,091,109
2,108,969
0.9
SBIR/STTR
97,775
95,735
-2.1
2,188,884
2,204,704
0.7
Total
Centers, SPOREs Spec. Centers
454,252
449,168
-1.1
Other Research Grants
300,351
293,892
-2.2
Total Research Grants
2,943,487
2,947,764
0.1
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Budget Mechanisms
(dollars in thousands)
Change
FY2006
FY2005 Actual
67,299
66,619
-1.0
NRSA
351,065
326,568
-7.0
RD Contracts
711,009
699,763
-1.6
Intramural Research
0.0
182,323
182,246
RMS
-2.3
Cancer Prevention Control
531,634
519,650
0
0
0.0
Construction
7,936
7,912
-0.3
Buildings Facilities
4,794,753
4,750,522
-0.9
Total, NCI
30,505
NIH Roadmap
42,834
40.4
4,793,356
-0.7
Total NCI with Roadmap
4,825,258
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FY 2006 Operating Budget
Percent Change
Amount in thousands
FY 2005 Obligations
4,794,753
Plus NIH Roadmap
30,505
FY 2005 Appropriation
4,825,258
FY 2006 Appropriation
4,841,774
0.3
Increase over 2005 Appropriation
16,516
Less Across the Board 1 Reduction
- 48,418
- 0.7
Subtotal Available
- 31,902
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FY 2006 Operating Budget
Percent Change
Amount In thousands
- 0.7
Subtotal Available
-31,902
Less
Potential NIH Directors 1 Transfer
?
Potential DHHS Secretarys Transfer
?
Increase in NIH Roadmap Contribution
-12,329
-0.9
Subtotal Available
-44,231
Taps/Assessments Increase
-33,000
- 1.6
Subtotal Available
-77,231
27
FY 2006 Operating Budget
Percent Change
Amount In thousands
Subtotal Available
- 77,231
NCI-wide Requirements
Mandated Salary Increases
- 7,000
Rent/Lease/Utilities Increase
- 3,205
Research Project Grants
- 17,860
- 2.2
Subtotal Available
- 105,296
Directors Reserve
- 25,000
- 2.7
Subtotal Available
-130,296
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Briefing on NCI Grant Budget and Policy Issues
Handy Reference Sites

• NCI Funding Policies (EFDB Site)
• http//camp.nci.nih.gov/admin/oem/efdb/
• Levels of Authority (RPG)
• http//camp.nci.nih.gov/admin/grants/loarpg.htm
• NCI Best Practices Document
• http//best-practices.cancer.gov/funding/