National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases

Latest update 06/11/01

FAQs for RFA-DK-01-030: Digestive Diseases Research Development Centers (DDRDCs)

QUESTION: May we request funds for an Administrative Core?

ANSWER: No.  You may, however, indicate how you will support a 50-100% administrator to help with center activities such as documentation of core usage, preparation of budgets, ordering, etc.  The funds for such an individual, if requested, should be distributed among the core budgets.

QUESTION: What about salary support for the Center Director?

ANSWER: Although there will be no administrative core for these DDRDCs, the PI should commit a minimum of 10%, and up to a maximum of 20% of his/her time to overseeing the Center. Salary support for this amount of time should be requested through the cores.  Should the PI of the R24 application also be a core director, then an additional 10% effort for those duties may bring his/her total % effort to 30%.

QUESTION: Who are appropriate core directors?

ANSWER: Most often core directors are those early or mid-career investigators who have the needed expertise, interest, and available time to run the core facility with 10-25% of their time supported by the DDRDC.  In some instances these individuals will be more junior scientists with highly specialized skills needed by the core. In this case, a more senior faculty member may be named as a core co-director. 

QUESTION: What constitutes ‘institutional commitment’ for a DDRDC?

ANSWER: In some cases this will be merely a letter of support from the Dean and Dept. Chairs indicating space and availability of equipment. It is the hope of the NIDDK that support will actually be in the form of commitment, for example, of support for a part-time administrator for the center; for ‘start-up’ funds for shared equipment or for upgrading existing facilities; or for center-sponsored ‘activities’ like publicity, development of a website, or seminar speakers. Other creative demonstrations of institutional commitment are encouraged.

QUESTION: May we request funds for enrichment activities?

ANSWER: No. An enrichment program is not part of the R24 program.

QUESTION: May we request funds to support a small pilot and feasibility (P/F) program in the DDRDC?

ANSWER: No, P/F program funds are reserved for our Digestive Diseases Research Core Centers (DDRCCs).  If outside funds are available, however, the core facilities supported by the Center could be appropriately used by P/F recipients with the idea that these individuals will develop the preliminary data needed for submission of an NIH, or other, grant application.

QUESTION: Who should have access to the core facilities of the DDRDC?

ANSWER: First and foremost, the DK and other NIH funded investigators who are Center members should have access to the core facilities.  It is expected that others, in a manner to be determined by each DDRDC, will also have limited, or even full, access.  For example, in the spirit of expanding the research base and encouraging young investigators to pursue research in the area of digestive diseases, pre- and post-doctoral fellows may be given free use of core facilities, if appropriate.  Even other non-NIH supported investigators may be allowed access to the expertise and facilities to enable them to generate preliminary data for a grant submission or to encourage/enhance collaborations with investigators from other fields whose expertise is applicable to DD-related questions.

QUESTION: What if our institution already has established core facilities, but they are fully committed to other investigators?

ANSWER: Rather than duplicating existing facilities, it is often most cost-effective for a Center to either provide a plan to expand the  core or to support the services of a part-, or even full-, time technician within the existing core facility to take care of the needs of the DDRDC investigators. 

QUESTION: May we charge user fees for core services?

ANSWER: Yes.  These user fees, or charge-backs as some Centers refer to them, are less than the fees that the investigators would be charged by a commercial facility with the added benefit that the DDRDC core is on site and under the control of the institution.

QUESTION: Do K-award holders count as part of the research base grants?

ANSWER: No. Only R01s, R21s, R37s, and R03s count as the research base grants. You should list all the Ks, Fs, and Ts held by individuals using the R24 Core facilities in your application, however.  This serves as an indication of the potential for the cores to contribute to the development of these individuals into independent, funded investigators.

QUESTION: Will applications be accepted from institutions that already have a Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (DDRCC) grant (P30) from the NIDDK?

ANSWER: No.  Exceptions may be made, however, if the applicant organization is one member of a consortium that would be better served by establishing itself as an R24, rather than as part of a P30 Center OR if the investigators proposing the R24 Center are not involved in the DDRCC (i.e. the area of their research interests, while DD related, are outside the scope of the P30 center focus).  In the event that an award may be issued to such an institution, NIDDK staff will work with the applicant organizations to ensure that no overlap exists.  The R24 application must make it clear how the existence of the new R24 would impact upon the P30 Center, directly or indirectly. In no case will an application be accepted that merely expands or extends an existing P30 Center.  Investigators listed on the R24 application may not be included in the research base of the P30 Center, and vice versa.

QUESTION: Are there any specific budget items that should be included?

ANSWER:  Yes.  Funds for travel to a yearly Center Directors’ meeting should be included.  These meetings are usually held at one of the NIDDK’s Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (P30) sites and include a breakout session for the center administrators with a representative from the NIDDK grants management staff.  A request for travel funds for two individuals to attend these meetings, therefore, is allowable.