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Department of Veterans Affairs 

Office of Research and Development 

Health Services Research and Development Service 

Instructions for Submitting a Career Development Letter of Intent 

For the Career Development policy Handbook, refer to the Resources section of the following web page: 

http://www.research.va.gov/funding/CDP.cfm. For access to the electronic versions of VA Forms 

required for this LOI, please refer to: http://www.research.va.gov/funding/process/forms.cfm NOTE: 

HSR&D is only accepting nominations for CDA-2 and CDEAs, with no plans for issuing RFAs for 

CDA-1 or CDTA proposals in the foreseeable future.

1. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required prior to submitting an application to the VA Career 

Development Award (CDA) program. The purpose of the LOI is to determine whether a 

nominee meets eligibility criteria and to plan for the expertise needed to review the 

application. The LOI should provide a summary of how a nominee’s background and interests 

will be integrated into a VA research career. 

2. Minimum Eligibility Criteria for CDA-2 Awards. CDA-2 awards have become 

increasingly competitive, and candidates may only submit two proposal revisions. LOI 

Disapprovals typically mean a nomination is premature and that additional evidence of 

prior training in basic HSR&D methods and approaches and/or scholarly productivity in 

terms of published manuscripts is needed to make the nominee’s first CDA proposal 

submission as competitive as possible. A nominee should be able to demonstrate the 

following minimum criteria: 

 a) Clinician within five years of last clinical training or two years of a research 

fellowship; non-clinician within five years of doctoral degree or justification 

presented with the LOI for a waiver of this requirement. 

 b) Three publications in scientific journals demonstrating HSR&D potential in the 

topic area, including two as first-author. 

c) Evidence of prior training that has provided the nominee with a sufficient 

foundation of knowledge and skills to meet objectives proposed and give 

reviewers an indication of whether the training plan will lead to achievable 

research and career goals including the ability to submit an HSR&D merit review 

project as principal investigator in the third year of the proposed CDA timeline. 

d) Evidence of early integration into the VA research environment through work with 

VA investigators, understanding VA research in area of interest, and 

importance/relevance of aims to Veterans. 

3. Preparation. A CDA LOI consists of the VHA Research & Development Letter Of 

Intent Cover Page (VA Form 10-1313-13) plus information described below. Please use 

single-spaced text, Arial 11-point font, and 1-inch margins at each edge of the page. 

VA Form 10-1313-13 should be completed as follows: 

a) Box 1. Select the box for the HSR&D research service.

b) Box 2. Select “New,” if the LOI is being submitted for the first time; “Revised,” if the LOI 

was disapproved in a previous round and changes have been made; or “Resubmission,” if 

the previous LOI approval has expired. 
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c) Box 3. Check the box for “CDA Level” and specify CDA-2 or CDEA. (Refer to the 

Handbook for description of levels.) NOTE: HSR&D is only accepting nominations 

for CDA-2 and CDEA (established independent investigators only), with no plans 

for issuing RFAs for CDA-1 or CDTA proposals in the foreseeable future. 

d) Box 4. Enter the project title (limit to a total of 81 characters, including spaces). 

e) Box 5. Enter the nominee’s VA contact information in the fields presented. For 

nominees who are not current VA employees, enter the contact information for the 

local VA research office. Be sure to indicate whether the nominee is a clinician or 

non-clinician and whether they are a U.S. citizen in the appropriate check box. NOTE: 

HSR&D can only support the CDA salaries of U.S. Citizens. 

f) Box 6. Complete all of the fields for the Associate Chief of Staff or Coordinator for R&D. 

4. Following Form 10-1313-13, attach the items described below. (Limit one page) 

a) Budget and Study Duration. In a statement, answer the following questions 

pertaining to requested funds and duration. 

(1) Will salary support be requested? 

(2) Is research support requested? If yes, include an estimate of the number of 

years and amount per year. 

(3) Indicate the percent effort planned on this award. 

b) In a statement, include the following information pertaining to the nominee’s 

training and research experience: 

(1) Number of years since completion of clinical training. 

(2) Number of years of research training, including; include HSR&D relevant formal 

and informal training. 

(3) Number of years of research experience, including specific responsibilities and 

mentor-guided training. 

(4) Description of fellowship experiences should include scholarly productivity and 

both formal and informal structured training. 

c) Description of the nominee’s and mentor(s)’ qualifications. Include the 

name of a primary mentor and up to three additional formal mentors and a 

description of each mentor’s prior/current working relationship with the 

nominee and qualifications relevant to the proposed work. Note: CDEA 

nominees should briefly describe the facilities and resources to be provided. 

5. Brief description of the proposed study or research plan that succinctly addresses each 

of the following. (Limit to two pages.) 

a) Scientific basis (rationale) for the proposed research and its relationship to other 

major research findings. 

b) Significance of the research, emphasizing its particular importance to Veterans or 

how it represents a unique opportunity within the VA health care system. 
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c) Program Objectives. Describe the nominee’s research and training goals, 

and how this experience will lead to an independent research career by the end 

of the award. CDEA (sabbatical) proposals by established HSR&D investigators 

should describe the specific skills to be acquired or research activities to be 

pursued, and how they will enhance the nominee’s career and contribute to local VA 

research. 

d) Project Design and Methods. Briefly define and describe the research 

question/s, rationale and approach appropriate to the requested level, including the 

subject population to be used in the proposed research and estimated sample size, 

the model(s) of choice for the study (i.e., human, animal, cell culture, etc.) or 

conceptual framework, and the study design and methods. CDEA nominees should 

describe the nature of the work to be performed during the sabbatical, and the facilities 

and resources to be used. 

e) Description of Intervention(s)/Treatment(s). 

f) Statement of Disclosure. A 1-2 sentence statement from the nominee 

indicating that no financial or contractual relationship exists between any 

individual and/or organization involved in the proposed award that could 

constitute a real or apparent conflict of interest (including the nominee, all mentors, 

investigators, and collaborators who plan to devote 5 percent or more effort to the 

nominee’s research and mentoring). If such a relationship or contract does 

exist, full disclosure must be provided. 

g) Acknowledgment of the VA policy to include women and minorities in 

research (if applicable). 

h) References. Up to five reference citations relevant to the proposed study may be 

attached on a separate page. 

6. Appointment Eligibility Documentation. A separate letter from the local VA Human 

Resource Management (HRM) office indicating that the nominee is eligible for the 

respective appointment and can be hired by the VA medical center. Indicate if the nominee is 

currently employed by the VAMC. Note: CDEA nominees must include documentation of 

specific educational leave, up to one year, to be provided by the medical center. The 

CDEA provides half of total salary and benefits during this period. 

7. Biographical Sketch format for nominee and each mentor. Nominee and mentor(s) 

should highlight only their most recent publications, presentations, and activities 

relevant to the proposal. The bio-sketch template can be downloaded from the VA 

Intranet at http://vaww.research.va.gov/funding/electronic-submission.cfm. Nominees 

are strongly advised not to include in their publication section proceedings, 

abstracts, posters, or manuscripts that are under review or do not have a 

documented publication date. 

8. Waiver Request. Should a facility see justification for nominating any candidate 

who does not meet one or more of the criteria for an award or whose proposed 

research may require an exception to the conditions stipulated in the Career 

Development Handbook, a separate letter from the ACOS/R&D requesting exception 

to a specific handbook stipulation(s) must be included. Exceptions must be well 

justified and approved at the LOI stage. 
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The deadline for LOI submission to Health Services R&D is April 15 and October 15. 

Note: If the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday, submission is due the next business day. 

Early submission of LOIs is encouraged. (Deadline dates and contacts are summarized in 

the chart below.) 

SERVICE LOI 

SUBMISSION 

DEADLINES

LOI SUBMISSISON 

ADDRESS

CONTACT

Health Services R&D April 15

October 15

robert.small@va.gov Robert Small (124D)

robert.small@va.gov

(202) 461-1515

Only electronic submissions will be accepted--no paper copies. Electronic submissions 

must be e-mailed to the appropriate service as a PDF file. The file should be named using the 

following format: Principal Investigator’s Last Name_First Initial_Station Number_First Key Word 

in Title.