Information for Applicants
How to Apply
The TRDRP Call for Applications is released once a year in September. Please read the Call for Applications carefully before applying for a grant.
Questions regarding scientific issues or TRDRP policies should be directed to the appropriate TRDRP Program Officer.
Inquiries regarding application forms and instructions may be directed to the Research Program Application and Review Center RGPOGrants@ucop.edu or (510) 987‐9386.
The Proposals must be submitted using the online system, proposalCENTRAL at https://proposalCENTRAL.altum.com/.
In accordance with NIH policy, beginning with new original applications that were submitted January 2012 TRDRP will accept only a single re-submission of the same or very similar project, regardless of change in application title. Under extraordinary circumstances a second re-submission may be allowed at the discretion of the program.
Investigators from California not-for-profit organizations are eligible for TRDRP funding, including but not limited to colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, research institutions, local health departments, community-based organizations, voluntary health agencies, health maintenance organizations, and other tobacco control groups. The Principal Investigator should be designated by the sponsoring institution in accordance with its own policies and procedures.
The Principal Investigator must supervise the research project directly and in person. Although the research undertaken with TRDRP funds must be conducted primarily in California, part of the work may be done outside California if the need to do so is well-justified (e.g., it is integral to the achievements of a specific aim), and the results of such work may be applied to understanding the causes and/or improving the prevention and treatment of tobacco-related diseases in California.
In accordance with University of California policy, Principal Investigators who are University employees and who receive any part of their salary through the University must submit grant proposals through their UC campus contracts and grants office (see “Policy on the Requirement to Submit Proposals and to Receive Award for Grants and Contracts through the University,” University of California Office of the President, December 15, 1994). Exceptions must be approved by the UC campus where the Principal Investigator is employed. US citizenship is not a requirement for eligibility.
CONFIDENTIALITY OF SUBMITTED MATERIALS
TRDRP maintains confidentiality for all submitted applications with respect to the identity of applicants and applicant organizations, all contents of every application, and the outcome of reviews.
For those applications that are funded, TRDRP makes public: the title, the Principal Investigator, the name of the organization, the lay abstract of funded work, and the total costs (both direct and indirect). If TRDRP receives a request for additional information on a funded grant, the Principal Investigator and institution will be notified prior to TRDRP’s response to the request. Intellectual property in the proposal will be recused prior to release of the requested information.
No information will be released to the public for any application that is not funded.
HUMAN AND ANIMAL SUBJECTS ASSURANCES
Before awards are made, TRDRP must receive institutional approvals and assurances regarding the treatment of human or animal subjects. Additionally, TRDRP requires that investigators document in their applications, where appropriate, that women and historically underrepresented ethnic and racial groups are represented in the proposed study populations.
WOMEN AND RACIALLY/ETHNICALLY DIVERSE GROUPS AS RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
It is the policy of the University of California and TRDRP that research involving human subjects include members of ethnically and racially diverse groups and persons of both genders in study populations. Applicants must provide a summary of how women and/or diverse populations will be included as research participants. If adequate inclusion of one gender and/or diverse populations as subjects is impossible or inappropriate, the rationale for the study population must be clearly explained and justified.
Allowable direct cost expenses may include administrative costs, but only under two conditions:
a) the services, functions, or activities are directly necessary for the conduct of the grant research; and
b) these administrative costs have not been included in the calculation of the recipient institution’s indirect cost rate agreement approved by the federal government.
In other words, TRDRP policy does not prohibit administrative costs, but is careful to ensure that such costs adequately meet both of the above conditions.
Non-UC institutions are entitled to full Facilities & Administrative (F&A) cost recovery of the Modified Total Direct Cost base (MTDC); UC institutional F&A is capped at 25% MTDC. Modified Total Direct Costs include salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the subgrant or subcontract). Equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care and tuition remission, rental costs, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000 shall be excluded from the modified total direct cost base calculation.
Indirect Costs are not allowed for Dissertation Research Awards, Postdoctoral Fellowships, or Conference Awards (ST).
For non-UC institutions indirect costs are computed on a MTDC basis at the institution's appropriate federally approved Facilities & Administrative (F&A) cost recovery rate. If the institution has an approved rate from the Department of Health and Human Services, it must be used. In the absence of a federally approved rate, an alternative documented F&A rate for the institution may be used. In the absence of any documented F&A rate, one will be negotiated by the University and the recipient organization. Only those provisional or pending increases in F&A rates which are documented prior to execution of the award agreement can be provided for in approved budgets. The maximum indirect costs which TRDRP pays is the lesser of a) the federally approved rate that is current for the budget year, or b) the rate provided for in the approved budget. Under no circumstances will funded projects be supplemented to reflect an unanticipated increase in the F&A rate; nor can funds originally awarded as direct costs be shifted to cover increases in the F&A. If the F&A rate decreases below that provided for in the approved budget, TRDRP will pay overhead at the new, lower rate, starting on the date of change, and will decrease the award to the institution by the difference between the originally requested amount and the amount to be accrued at the new rate.
All equipment costing $5,000 or more per item must be listed in the equipment category and TRDRP's administrative regulations apply to all items in that category. Institutions whose definition of equipment is higher than TRDRP's $5,000, and who have used this definition to negotiate their federal F&A rate, may calculate indirect costs for TRDRP awards based on their equipment definition.For funded non-UC institutions, TRDRP requires a copy of the current indirect cost agreement annually.
INDIRECT COSTS ON SUBCONTRACTS
The recipient institution will pay indirect costs to the subcontractor except for CDE subcontracts on Pilot or Full SARAs. For non-UC subcontracted partners TRDRP will allow full F&A of the Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC), and for UC subcontracted partners 25% MTDC, as defined above. If a UC campus is the recipient institution, then F&A costs can be a portion of any subcontracts to non-UC institutions. The amount of the subcontracted partner’s F&A costs can be added to the direct costs cap of any award type. Thus, the direct costs portion of the grant to the recipient institution may exceed the award type cap by the amount of the F&A costs to the subcontracted partner’s institution.
An appeal regarding the funding decision of a grant application may be made only on the basis of an alleged error in, or deviation from, stated procedure (i.e., undeclared reviewer conflict of interest or mishandling of an application). Applicants who disagree with the content of the scientific review summary are invited to resubmit applications in a subsequent grant cycle with a detailed response to the review. An applicant wishing to appeal a decision concerning a grant application must submit a formal request for review of the decision to the Executive Director, Research Grants Program in the University of California Office of the President within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Summary Statement. The Vice President may, if an applicant shows good cause, grant a reasonable extension of time for the submission of the request for review. The request for review must contain a full and complete statement of the basis for the appeal, including pertinent facts and supporting arguments and documentation. The appeal must be submitted officially through the applicant institution and must be signed by the principal investigator and the official authorized to sign for the institution. No request for review shall affect any authority of the University of California Office of the President under the California Health and Safety Code, Section 104500-104545.
Upon receipt of a request for review, the Vice President shall make a decision as to whether the dispute is reviewable under this policy and properly notify the applicant of the determination. If a request is reviewable, it shall be transmitted to an appeal review committee, appointed by the Vice President, comprising of two persons who are knowledgeable about both the type of research in question and the peer review process. The appeal review committee shall provide the applicant an opportunity to submit additional statements and documentation relevant to the appeal review committee's deliberation of the issues. The appeal review committee may, at its discretion, invite the applicant and any other person(s) to discuss the pertinent issues with the committee and submit such additional information as the committee deems appropriate. Participants in an appeal review (i.e., committee members and outside experts) and any materials considered will be subject to the same rules of confidentiality that govern the initial handling and scientific review of the application.
Based upon its review, the committee will prepare a written decision to be signed by the members. The appeal review committee shall send the written decision as advice to the Vice President who will render a final written decision and transmit it to the applicant, the members of the appeal review committee, and the Director of TRDRP. No further appeals within the University of California are available.