NSF 12-515: Advancing Health Services through System Modeling Research
Program Solicitation
Document Information
Document History
- Posted: November 18, 2011
Program Announcement
NSF 12-515
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National Science Foundation |
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Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):
January 15, 2012 - February 15, 2012
Important Information And Revision Notes
A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 11-1, was issued on October 1, 2010 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 18, 2011. Please be advised that the guidelines contained in NSF 11-1 apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.
Cost Sharing: The PAPPG has been revised to implement the National Science Board's recommendations regarding cost sharing. Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. In order to assess the scope of the project, all organizational resources necessary for the project must be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal. The description should be narrative in nature and must not include any quantifiable financial information. Mandatory cost sharing will only be required when explicitly authorized by the NSF Director. See the PAPP Guide Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Chapter II.C.2.g(xi) for further information about the implementation of these recommendations.
Data Management Plan: The PAPPG contains a clarification of NSF's long standing data policy. All proposals must describe plans for data management and sharing of the products of research, or assert the absence of the need for such plans. FastLane will not permit submission of a proposal that is missing a Data Management Plan. The Data Management Plan will be reviewed as part of the intellectual merit or broader impacts of the proposal, or both, as appropriate. Links to data management requirements and plans relevant to specific Directorates, Offices, Divisions, Programs, or other NSF units are available on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp. See
Chapter II.C.2.j of the GPG for further information about the implementation of this requirement.
Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan: As a reminder, each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include, as a supplementary document, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. Please be advised that if required, FastLane will not permit submission of a proposal that is missing a Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan. See Chapter II.C.2.j of the GPG for further information about the implementation of this requirement.
Summary Of Program Requirements
General Information
Program Title:
Advancing Health Services through System Modeling Research
Synopsis of Program:
NSF, in collaboration with the Health Information Technology (IT) Portfolio at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), will accept and review investigator-initiated proposals that address systems modeling in health services research. The Service Enterprise Systems program in the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) division of the Engineering Directorate will be the lead program on this interdisciplinary topic. Through this partnership, NSF and AHRQ look to foster new collaborations among health services researchers and industrial and systems engineers with a specific emphasis on the supportive role of health IT.
Cognizant Program Officer(s):
Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.
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Russell R. Barton, 550, telephone: (703) 292-2211, email: rbarton@nsf.gov
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Teresa Zayas-Cabán, Information Technology, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, telephone: (301) 427-1586, email: Teresa.ZayasCaban@ahrq.hhs.gov
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
- 47.041 --- Engineering
- 93.226 --- Healthcare Quality and Research
Award Information
Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: 3 to 6
PIs are advised that while there are set aside funds for this announcement, a portion of funds will come from the general funds for the Service Enterprise Systems program. Consequently, the exact number of awards and total funding will depend on the quality of proposals and availability of funds. Additionally, AHRQ can only fund Health IT-focused projects that align with its specific agency goals. Therefore, the number of awards will also depend on the number of meritorious proposals received in this area.
Anticipated Funding Amount: $1,000,000 to $2,000,000
Eligibility Information
The categories of proposers eligible to submit proposals to the National Science Foundation are identified in the Grant Proposal Guide, Chapter I, Section E.
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI:
None Specified
Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
- Letters of Intent: Not Applicable
- Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not Applicable
- Full Proposals:
- Full Proposals submitted via FastLane: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Guidelines apply. The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg.
- Full Proposals submitted via Grants.gov: NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide)
B. Budgetary Information
- Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.
- Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Not Applicable
- Other Budgetary Limitations: Not Applicable
C. Due Dates
- Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):
January 15, 2012 - February 15, 2012
Proposal Review Information Criteria
Merit Review Criteria: National Science Board approved criteria apply.
Award Administration Information
Award Conditions: Standard NSF award conditions apply.
Reporting Requirements: Standard NSF reporting requirements apply.
I. Introduction
The idea that the United States' health care delivery system must be changed has reached a tipping point. Over the last several decades, there has been particular interest in applying the tools and techniques of industrial and systems engineering to improve the health care delivery system. Organizations such as the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering have recently made explicit calls for increased application of industrial and systems engineering tools to improve the health care delivery system. However, there has been limited impact of industrial and systems engineering on health services research and practice.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) convened a workshop in September 2009, in which experts in both health services research and industrial and systems engineering were asked to explore the critical areas of research at the intersection of their fields, recognizing the supportive role of health information technology (IT)[1]. The objectives of the workshop were to (1) articulate a vision for an ideal health care delivery system, (2) determine why current efforts to apply industrial and systems engineering knowledge to health care have not resulted in meaningful change, and (3) propose a research and action agenda that will enable industrial and systems engineering to substantially contribute to the realization of an ideal health care delivery system.
This AHRQ/NSF workshop produced important consensus on how to move forward on these objectives. The AHRQ/NSF workshop final report produced a vision of an ideal health care system that is both engineered and patient-centered emerged as described below:
- The ideal health care system is an integrated system, unlike the current fragmented health care "system".
- The health care of the future is delivered to a global, multi-cultural, growing, and aging population, and the ideal delivery system has to be redesigned accordingly, not improved incrementally from the current one.
- It is ubiquitous, distributed, responsive, expansive, flexible, resilient, and it incorporates systems engineering concepts.
A research agenda that includes directions for both knowledge transfer and new knowledge creation was proposed and its elements were categorized as:
- Breakthrough--items that are essential to realizing the vision of the new health care system,
- Sustainability-- items that are likely to have benefit and improve the health care system, but will not lead to breakthrough changes, and
- Capacity building--includes items that are necessary to expand the breadth and depth of ISyE knowledge relevant to health care.
In order to achieve this research agenda, an interdisciplinary approach is needed. One way of achieving this is through the assembly of interdisciplinary teams, combining representatives engineering, and/or systems engineering, and/or management science fields in partnership with health services researchers. Collaboration with researchers from the social or hazard sciences working in areas of risk communication, risk perception and individual decision making as it pertains to medical issues also may be of value to achieve these goals as well.
Based on the workshop outcome, and to foster fundamental research in this field, NSF, in collaboration with the Health Information Technology (IT) Portfolio at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), will accept and review investigator-initiated proposals. The Service Enterprise Systems program in the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) division of the Engineering Directorate will be the lead program on this interdisciplinary topic. Through this collaboration NSF and AHRQ looks to foster new collaborations among health services researcher and industrial and systems engineers, with a specific emphasis on the supportive role of health IT.
[1] Health IT is broadly defined as the use of information and communication technology in health care to support the delivery of patient or population care or to support patient self-management. Health IT can support patient care related activities such as order communications, results reporting, care planning and clinical or health documentation (Shortliffe EH and JJ Cimino, "Biomedical Informatics: Computer Applications in Health Care and Biomedicine." Third Edition. 2006).
II. Program Description
Over the past 20 years, the Service Enterprise Systems program in the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) division of the Engineering Directorate has funded research into the design of systems modeling and analysis methods as a means for improved planning, allocation, and policy development for healthcare. Considering this programmatic emphasis and the outcomes of this workshop, the program is partnering with the Health Information Technology (IT) Portfolio at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to foster new collaborations among health services researchers and industrial and systems engineers, with a specific emphasis on the supportive role of health IT by accepting and reviewing investigator-initiated proposals in this area.
Proposals should specifically identify the relationship of the proposed research to elements of the research agenda presented in the AHRQ/NSF workshop final report. Funded proposals will further the understanding of health care delivery as composed of interacting systems and of health care outcomes from a systems perspective, and add to the understanding of health IT infrastructure requirements. Additionally, proposers are encouraged to assemble interdisciplinary research teams in response to this announcement. It is envisioned that successful proposals will be submitted by investigators from industrial engineering, and/or systems engineering, and/or management science fields in collaboration with health services researchers. Proposers are also encouraged to consider collaboration with researchers from the social or hazard sciences working in areas of risk communication, risk perception and individual decision making as it pertains to medical issues. In accordance with standard NSF review criteria, the interdisciplinary nature of the team will be an explicit part of the intellectual merit consideration for the qualification of the team to conduct the proposed project.
Please be aware that NSF as part of its partnership with AHRQ will share proposals with officials from this partner agency. Representatives from AHRQ will participate in the review process as well as in the award decision process.
III. Award Information
Anticipated Type of Award: Continuing Grant or Standard Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: 3 to 6
PIs are advised that while there are set aside funds for this announcement, a portion of funds will come from the general funds for the Service Enterprise Systems program. Consequently, the exact number of awards and total funding will depend on the quality of proposals and availability of funds. Additionally, AHRQ can only fund Health IT-focused projects that align with its specific agency goals. Therefore, the number of awards will also depend on the number of meritorious proposals received in this area.
Anticipated Funding Amount: $1,000,000 to $2,000,000
Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
IV. Eligibility Information
The categories of proposers eligible to submit proposals to the National Science Foundation are identified in the Grant Proposal Guide, Chapter I, Section E.
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI:
None Specified
V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Announcement via Grants.gov or via the NSF FastLane system.
- Full proposals submitted via FastLane: Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf.gov. Proposers are reminded to identify this program announcement number in the program announcement block on the NSF Cover Sheet For Proposal to the National Science Foundation. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.
- Full proposals submitted via Grants.gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement via Grants.gov should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov. The complete text of the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: (https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide). To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants.gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program announcement number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button. Paper copies of the Grants.gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf.gov.
In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:
Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system. Chapter II, Section D.4 of the Grant Proposal Guide provides additional information on collaborative proposals.
B. Budgetary Information
Cost Sharing: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited
C. Due Dates
- Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):
January 15, 2012 - February 15, 2012
D. FastLane/Grants.gov Requirements
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For Proposals Submitted Via FastLane:
Detailed technical instructions regarding the technical aspects of proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm. For FastLane user support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail fastlane@nsf.gov. The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions related to this program announcement should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity.
Submission of Electronically Signed Cover Sheets. The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must electronically sign the proposal Cover Sheet to submit the required proposal certifications (see Chapter II, Section C of the Grant Proposal Guide for a listing of the certifications). The AOR must provide the required electronic certifications within five working days following the electronic submission of the proposal. Further instructions regarding this process are available on the FastLane Website at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp.
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For Proposals Submitted Via Grants.gov:
Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile. Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants.gov website. Comprehensive information about using Grants.gov is available on the Grants.gov Applicant Resources webpage: http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp. In addition, the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide provides additional technical guidance regarding preparation of proposals via Grants.gov. For Grants.gov user support, contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email: support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants.gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation.
Submitting the Proposal: Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants.gov. The completed application will be transferred to the NSF FastLane system for further processing.
VI. NSF Proposal Processing And Review Procedures
Proposals received by NSF are assigned to the appropriate NSF program where they will be reviewed if they meet NSF proposal preparation requirements. All proposals are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular fields represented by the proposal. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the oversight of the review process. Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal and/or persons they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer selection process at the Program Officer's discretion. Submission of such names, however, is optional. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts of interest with the proposal.
A. NSF Merit Review Criteria
All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board (NSB)-approved merit review criteria: intellectual merit and the broader impacts of the proposed effort. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.
The two NSB-approved merit review criteria are listed below. The criteria include considerations that help define them. These considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. While proposers must address both merit review criteria, reviewers will be asked to address only those considerations that are relevant to the proposal being considered and for which the reviewer is qualified to make judgements.
What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?
How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of the prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources?What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?
Examples illustrating activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts are available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/broaderimpacts.pdf.
Mentoring activities provided to postdoctoral researchers supported on the project, as described in a one-page supplementary document, will be evaluated under the Broader Impacts criterion.
NSF staff also will give careful consideration to the following in making funding decisions:
Integration of Research and Education
One of the principal strategies in support of NSF's goals is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators, and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learning perspectives.
