The Research Institute Invites Proposals to the NCCPA/APAP
Research Grants Program

The APAP Research Institute is pleased to announce the continuation of its grants program, jointly sponsored by the NCCPA and APAP. This program presents an opportunity, in addition to the Research Institute’s existing small grants program, for PA faculty to conduct research of interest to a national audience. Grant requests up to $20,000 may be made under this program. Awards will be made at the APAP Semiannual Meeting in May; the Research Institute small grants will continue to be awarded at the October Education Forum.

The deadline for submission of proposals for this year’s NCCPA/APAP Research Grants Program is March 29, 2003. Submission guidelines follow.

Guidelines for NCCPA/APAP Research Grants

Mission
The NCCPA/APAP Research Grants Program was established to encourage research on the PA profession, PA education, characteristics of practicing PAs, and on innovative evaluation methods to gain data that would be of interest to PA educational programs and relevant to the certification process.

Objectives
1. To promote quality research on the physician assistant profession, particularly education and evaluation.

2. To increase the quality and quantity of evidence to support rational improvements in our educational and testing practices.

Funding
Grant requests can be made for any amount up to $20,000; however, proposals requesting less than $10,000 will be given priority. A project’s total budget may exceed these caps, but the proposal must specify the sources of additional funding beyond the cap. Several smaller awards may be made, depending on the quality and quantity of proposals received. Grants will be awarded within three months of the submission deadline.

Priorities
Proposals that address the following priorities will have a higher likelihood of receiving funding: practice characteristics, skill demands in aggregate and practice subsets, workforce issues, documentation of changes within the profession, and testing/evaluation issues.

The quality of the research design will also be considered. A good research design includes an introduction well-grounded in the literature; specific, answerable research questions and/or hypotheses; a study design that minimizes alternative explanations of the results; research subjects of sufficient number to ensure that a predicted outcome will be found, if it exists; and accurate choice of analytic methods for processing information from the study.

Eligibility Criteria
1. The project must be based on either a traditional research question or research pertaining to an evaluative process. Funds will not be disbursed for development of new programs, new curricular materials, or other development-oriented projects. A research question or research project should be the focus of the study.

2. Grant funds may be used for material and operations, as well as labor, personnel, and/or consulting costs. Institutional support is encouraged. Indirect/administrative costs are allowed, but must be listed in the itemized budget, and their costs must be included as part of the total grant request. Grant funds may not be used for the following:

• Capital improvements, construction, or purchasing costs;
• The purchase of new equipment (i.e., computers, printers, scanners);
• Salaries for researchers;
• Endowments;
• General operating expenses;
• Fundraising campaigns;
  
• Personal expenses for educational advancement, such as tuition or books;
• Ongoing projects to improve the classroom or research facilities;
• Expenses associated with disseminating the research results, such as poster preparation, the cost of attending meetings or conferences, and manuscript preparation.

3. Proposals must include a timeline adequate to conduct the study, but no longer than two years in length. An extension may be requested in writing at least three months prior to the end of the proposed timeline.

4. A final study report must be submitted to the NCCPA/APAP Research Subcommittee within 90 days of the end of the study. Studies proposed for 24 months’ duration require that a report on the status of the project be submitted to the subcommittee by the end of the 12th month.

5. Awards will be made to institutions only, not to individuals. The principal investigator must hold a staff or faculty position in an accredited PA program or other health professions program that has a formal affiliation agreement with an accredited institution of higher education. Principal investigators may also be staff of a recognized testing body or agency. Multiple proposals may be submitted from the same institution.

6. The principal investigator is responsible for the completion of the project and for submitting the one-year status report to the subcommittee. The principal investigator must be employed at least 20 hours per week by the host institution for the duration of the study.

7. The research team must include at least one PA program faculty member who is a physician assistant.

8. The NCCPA/APAP Research Subcommittee encourages dissemination of study results in professional forums, such as, but not limited to, the APAP Semiannual Meeting and Annual Education Forum and peer-reviewed publications of the PA profession. However, the subcommittee and its sponsoring groups forego editorial rights to review, direct, or limit publication or other dissemination of results of a study receiving financial support from NCCPA/APAP research grants program.

Research Proposal Format and Specific Requirements
Requirements for submission of a proposal to the NCCPA/APAP Research Grants Program include the following:

1. No more than 6 pages will be accepted (not including CVs) and must be in the format prescribed below.

2. Proposals must be in Microsoft Word 4.0 or higher format (Mac or PC).

3. Proposals must be in 12-point font, with 1.5 line spacing, 1-inch margin left and right, and left margin justified. Font choices are Times New Roman, Arial, Courier New, or Tahoma.

4. The proposal must be submitted electronically (paper submissions will not be accepted) no later than midnight of the due date.

5. Two files should be submitted, one file containing the complete proposal with attachments and one file containing a blinded copy of the proposal (all references to individuals and institutions removed), without CVs.

Format

Proposals should be e-mailed as MS Word attachments by midnight,
March 29, 2003, to Eileen Evans, APAP, at eileen@aapa.org; phone, 703/836-2272, ext. 3415. If you do not receive a confirmation within a couple days of submission, please call to ascertain that your submission has been received.

If you have substantive questions concerning this grants program, please contact NCCPA/APAP Research Subcommittee Co-chair Rick Dehn at richard-dehn@uiowa.edu; phone, 319/335-8925.

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