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Health Services Research & Development Service

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD

ANNUAL and FINAL PROGRESS REPORT GUIDELINES

1. POLICY

a. HSR&D requires that the performance of each Career Development Award (CDA) recipient

be reviewed locally by the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development (ACOS/R&D)

or other designee appointed by the research office, and an annual and final report submitted

by the specified due date. The report should emphasize the awardee’s adherence to the

approved training program, interactions with mentors and other investigators, progress in

research and goals/plans for the coming year. The mentors’ and awardee’s statements should

clearly describe specific accomplishments, milestones, products and/or obstacles encountered

during the twelve months of the reporting period, as well as the awardee’s ability to stay on

target to meet the objectives set in the Career Development timeline. If any necessary changes

or adjustments to the original proposal were made or are planned, they should also be

articulated.

b. HSR&D will determine whether the progress, activities and goals are satisfactory.  If issues

of concern are identified, continued funding may be contingent upon corrective measures.

c. A CDA‐1 recipient who experienced unforeseen events that impacted his or her

productivity or ability to successfully compete for a CDA‐2 may request a one‐year extension in

the second‐year report; however, if the extension is approved, the maximum CDA‐2 duration

that may be proposed will be limited to four years.

2. SUBMISSION METHOD, FORMAT AND DUE DATE

a. Annual and final reports are submitted online through the ART Intranet Website

(http://art.puget‐sound.med.va.gov). Click on “Career Development” in the sidebar, then

choose the appropriate award number from the drop‐down list and click the “Edit CDA” button

below it. Clicking on each box above the “Award Summary” allows access to the corresponding

component of the report.  Some sections are required to be modified annually.

b. When typing or pasting, use only plain text, Arial 11‐point font. Any special formatting (e.g.,

italics, bold, bullets, tables, tabs) will be lost once submitted.  The project title, section headers

and reported citations do not need to be entered; they are automatically included in print

views and reports.
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c. Due dates are assigned by review group. The ART system will automatically generate and

send by email three reminders to the awardee according to the schedule in the following table.  

The reminders include instructions and a link to the ART Website, and Center AOs and ART

Coordinators are copied on the email notifications.  The last scheduled progress report is

considered the awardee’s final report, and all sections must be revised for the final report to be

accepted.  

Review

Group Includes Award Starts ART Reminders (3)

Submission

Deadline   Review Month

1 Oct, Nov, Dec Oct 1, Nov 1, Nov 15 Dec 1 Feb

2 Jan, Feb, Mar Jan 1, Feb 1, Feb 15 Mar 1 May

3 Apr, May, Jun Apr 1, May 1, May 15 Jun 1 Aug

4 Jul, Aug, Sep Jul 1, Aug 1, Aug 15 Sep 1 Nov

3. PROGRESS REPORT COMPONENTS   

a. Personal Statement – This section must be updated (i.e., include changes to text) annually.

The awardee should include a one‐ to two‐page summary of progress during the period since

the last report and goals for the next reporting period. The summary should discuss work

accomplished as well as any obstacles or setbacks experienced, their impact on the CDA

timeline and steps that will be taken to keep the award on track. A statement responding to the

awardee’s local performance evaluation and/or committee feedback from the previous annual

report may be included. The final report should present an overview listing major

accomplishments during the final year as well as highlights from preceding years, and should

include statements addressing the CDA experience as a whole and the awardee’s future plans

at VA.

  

b. Curriculum Vitae of Awardee – The “CV and Mentor letters” section enables the user to

both upload documents and indicate any mentoring changes including additions, deletions or

role changes. The awardee’s CV must be up to date with separate headings for peer‐reviewed

publications and research, versus non‐peer‐reviewed work. Invited presentations should also

be clearly labeled or appear under a separate heading from other presentations and

participation at professional conferences.

c. Mentor Letter(s) – An updated letter from each formal mentor must be uploaded annually

and should address the following:  

(1) status of the awardee’s proposed research and any changes from the approved research

plan;

(2) mentoring interactions, including the awardee’s role in the mentor’s research program, the

mentor’s role in the awardee’s research program, formal training completed, percentage of

mentoring time devoted to the awardee and the nature and quality of interactions;

(3) any changes in the distribution of the mentor’s time in research, patient care, teaching or

administration (if there are no changes, so state);
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(4) any changes in the mentor’s current obligations, including the number of residents, fellows

and other trainees who the mentor is currently supervising as well as projected trainees (if

there are no changes, so state); and

(5) any changes to the awardee’s career plan discussed during the performance period.

d. Abstract of current or planned research – The focus of the abstract should be on the work

outlined in the research plan component of the CDA proposal.  It should serve as a stand‐alone

summary suitable for dissemination to both scientific and lay audiences. Once approved by the

HSR&D Career Development Program Manager, it will be published to the HSR&D Website

under “Studies”. Submitted abstracts should not exceed 30 lines or 500 words, not including

section headings, project title and citations. The abstract consists of the following five sections.

  

(1) Background/Rationale – Describe the problem being addressed, how it is relevant to VA

(e.g., impact on Veterans or the VA healthcare system as a whole) and the research questions

that the work will help address. (While this section is not required to be updated annually, all

sections must be updated for the final report.)

    

(2) Objectives – Provide a statement of the research aims, goals or hypotheses. (While this

section is not required to be updated annually, all sections must be updated for the final

report.)

(3) Methods – Briefly discuss how each research objective will be achieved, which can include

a description of the study design, intervention (if any), sample size and characteristics, key

variables, sources of data and methods of analyses. If a series of projects is proposed, describe

the conceptual framework linking them. (While this section is not required to be updated

annually, all sections must be updated for the final report.)

    

(4) Status – This section must be updated annually, and should state the research progress

made since the previous reporting period in relation to the timeline initially proposed. Goals

accomplished, hurdles overcome, milestones reached and findings/results should be discussed.

Conclusions regarding how the work, or aspects of the work, could be implemented should also

be addressed by the final report.  

(5) Impact –  This section must be updated annually, and should state the perceived impact of

the project (anticipated or observed) on Veterans, the VA healthcare system (e.g., improved

management, lower costs) or the general public. Also, describe the implications for other areas

of research or practice such as clinical applications or policy.

e. Citations ‐  Center Administrative Officers or ART Coordinators are responsible for entering

citation information into ART and should be notified of any publication or dissemination

activities (e.g., presentations, posters) related to a funded HSR&D CDA or project. Citations are

automatically included on the abstract published to the HSR&D Website and in reports.  
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4. CONTACTS   

a. Robert Small, HSR&D Career Development Program Manager

810 Vermont Avenue, NW (124D)

Washington, DC 20420

Robert.Small@va.gov

202‐443‐5743

b. Guillaume Cheron, Program Assistant

Guillaume.Cheron@va.gov  

202‐443‐5729  

c. HSR&D main number

202‐443‐5728