[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 137 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38654-38656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19074]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Announcement 98103]


Cooperative Agreement To Study Consumer Demand for Food Safety; 
Notice of Availability of Funds for Fiscal Year 1998

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 1998 funds for a cooperative agreement 
to study consumer demand for food safety. This announcement is related 
to the ``Healthy People 2000'' priority area of Food and Drug Safety.
    The purpose of the program is to contribute to the education of the 
U.S. public with respect to the risk of foodborne illness and to 
available public and private efforts to reduce that risk, and evaluate 
the methods used in economic evaluation of interventions designed to 
improve food safety. There are five objectives to the program. The 
recipient will address the first two objectives in combination with any 
or all of the other three objectives.
    The first objective of the study is to develop a program designed 
to educate a nationally representative sample of consumers about the 
risks of food borne pathogen consumption at home and retail 
establishments, and various collective and private means of reducing 
these risks. As part of the educational program, consumers will be 
questioned about their own food safety practices and their perceptions 
of the effectiveness of those practices. They will be informed of food 
industry measures that are intended to maintain the safety of the food 
supply and of safety measures they can implement at home in food 
storage, preparation, and consumption.
    The second objective is to obtain an empirical estimate of the 
value consumers place on reducing the risk associated with a specific 
food borne illness for which interventions already exist.
    The third and fourth objectives are designed to address the 
development, refinement, and evaluation of the elicitation methods used 
in this type of evaluation. For example, it is not well understood how 
sensitive consumers are to small changes in the probability of rare 
health-related events and how they process probability information when 
forming their values of reduced risk of adverse health outcomes. 
Therefore, the third objective is to model the process by which 
consumers assess such changes in probability and risk, and how they use 
that assessment in forming values. The validity of the model will also 
be evaluated.
    The fourth objective is to test whether the presentation of 
distinct pathogen-specific and symptom-specific scenarios result in 
different consumer valuations. In conducting economic evaluations of 
health programs, it is important to be certain about what is being 
valued: Do consumers value reduction of risk associated with a specific 
pathogen or do they value reduction of the risk of experiencing the 
symptoms of food borne pathogens in general. Specifically, are 
consumers concerned about the cause of the illness, or just whether 
they contract the illness?
    The fifth objective is to examine how alternative combinations of 
private and collective risk reduction strategies affect consumer 
valuation of safer food. Consumers already have a certain amount of 
control over the risk of food borne illness. There are many strategies 
that can be used in preparation either in the home or at a food service 
establishment. In addition, there are producer and processor strategies 
that can improve the safety of food before it arrives at the final 
consumer.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Applications may be submitted by public and private nonprofit 
organizations and by governments and their agencies; that is, 
universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, other public 
and private nonprofit and State and local governments or their bona 
fide agents.

    Note: Public Law 104-65 states that an organization described in 
section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engages 
in lobbying activities is not eligible to receive Federal funds 
constituting an award, grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, 
or any other form.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $150,000 is available in FY 98 to fund one award. It 
is expected that the award will begin on or about September 30, 1998, 
and will be made for a 12-month budget period within a project period 
of up to 5 years. Budgets for periods 2-5 should be submitted at a 
level of $200,000 per

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year. Funding estimates are subject to change.
    Continuation awards during the approved project period are subject 
to the availability of funding and performance as evidenced by required 
progress reports.

D. Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient will be responsible for the activities under 1. 
(Recipient Activities), and CDC will be responsible for the activities 
under 2. (CDC Activities).

1. Recipient Activities

    a. Develop research plan and implement a procedure to collect data 
for a nationally representative sample of consumers regarding food 
safety practices and valuation of reduced risk of food borne illness.
    b. Provide food safety education to the sample of interviewed 
consumers.
    c. Develop, estimate, and evaluate an economic model of consumer 
valuation of reduced risk of food borne illness using the sample data.
    d. Develop, implement, and evaluate a model of how consumers 
process risk reduction information when forming values and incorporate 
that model in the estimation of consumer valuation of reduced risk of 
food borne illness.
    e. Develop, implement, and evaluate a means of testing the effect 
of illness presentation, whether pathogen- or symptom-specific, on 
consumer valuation of reduced risk of food borne illness.
    f. Develop, implement, and evaluate a means of testing the effect 
of alternative combinations of private and collective risk reduction 
strategies on consumer valuation of reduced risk of food borne illness.
    g. Evaluate and analyze data.
    h. Disseminate findings to peer-reviewed publications and public 
information sources.

2. CDC Activities

    a. Provide technical and subject-matter assistance in study design, 
data collection, modeling, consumer education, and data evaluation and 
analysis activities.
    b. Assist in dissemination of findings.
    c. Provide up-to-date scientific information and activities of 
other projects in the area.

E. Application Content

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria 
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program 
plan. The narrative should be no more than 30 double-spaced pages, 
printed on one side, with one inch margins, and unreduced font.

1. Executive Summary

    Provide a clear, concise written summary of the following: (a) 
Statement of need; (b) major goals, objectives, and activities of the 
proposed project; (c) operational plan; (d) capability of applicant; 
and (e) estimated cost of the project including the requested amount.

2. Table of Contents

3. Statement of Need

    Describe the role of the project in providing food safety education 
to consumers and valuing food safety improvement, including information 
on the chosen intervention and the risk of and health and economic 
consequences of the associated pathogen.

4. Goals and Objectives

    Establish and submit short term (1 year) and long term (5 year) 
objectives for the project phases included in the application. 
Objectives must be specific, measurable, time-phased, and feasible.

5. Operational Plan

    a. Submit a plan to develop the project from presenting educational 
food safety information to assessing attributes to be included in 
studies and the valuation methods and design of the data collection 
process.
    b. Submit a time schedule for all activities to be carried out in 
the first year including the responsible staff for each phase of the 
project. Describe further activities if additional funding becomes 
available in future years.
    c. Describe procedures to disseminate the research findings through 
presentation and publication in appropriate form and provide necessary 
reports as required by the notice of award.

6. Capability

    a. Identify and describe the project staff, their qualifications 
and experience in the areas of economic valuation of nonmarketed goods/
services and food safety and their degree of availability under a 
resultant agreement, and association with the applicant. Include the 
curriculum vitae for the key project staff in the supporting materials 
of the appendix.
    b. Identify and describe the capacity to collect nationally 
representative consumer data and to provide educational food safety 
information as a major component of the data collection process. 
Provide written commitments from appropriate public/private 
organizations expected to support activities of the project.

7. Project Evaluation

    Submit a plan to evaluate the project that assesses the extent to 
which:
    a. The research was designed for addressing the delivery of 
consumer food safety information and the specific food safety problem.
    b. Survey and results were validated and pretested.
    c. Data were disseminated through periodic reports, presentations, 
and publication.

8. Budget

9. Supporting Materials

F. Submission and Deadline

    The original and 2 copies of the application PHS Form 5161-1 
(revised 5/96) must be submitted to David Elswick, Grants Management 
Specialist, Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry 
Road, NE., Room 300, Mailstop E-13, Atlanta, GA 30305, on or before 
August 21, 1998.
    Deadlines: Applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline 
above if they are either: (1) Received on or before the deadline date; 
or (2) sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
submission to the independent review group. (Applicants should request 
a legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated 
receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service. Private 
metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)

G. Evaluation Criteria

    The application will be reviewed and evaluated according to the 
following criteria:

1. Problem Identification (5 Percent)

    a. Evidence of the importance of the problem.
    b. Evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed food safety 
intervention to be evaluated.

2. Research Design (25 Percent)

    Evidence that the research design is appropriate for the project.

3. Capability (30 Percent)

    a. Evidence that key project staff and/or organization possesses 
recent experience in economic evaluation. More specifically, the extent 
to which the principal investigator has the appropriate educational 
background for

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implementation of this project. For example, a doctoral degree in 
economics or behavioral science with experience in the design and 
implementation of large-scale data collection processes and valuation 
of nonmarketed goods and services.
    b. Evidence of organizational capacity for large-scale data 
collection.
    c. Evidence of ability to cooperate in interorganizational and 
interdisciplinary settings.

4. Strategic Plan (25 Percent)

    a. The objectives of the project are appropriate, feasible, and 
time-appropriate for the project.
    b. The extent to which the multiple objectives of the project can 
be accomplished within the first year and how further objectives can be 
met in subsequent years.

5. Program Evaluation (10 Percent)

    a. The extent to which the applicant proposes a strategy of ongoing 
evaluation and feedback for this project.
    b. The adequacy of the applicant's plan to evaluate the overall 
effectiveness and success of the project.

6. Women and Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Research (5 Percent)

    The extent to which the applicant addresses that they have met the 
CDC Policy requirements regarding the inclusion of women, ethnic, and 
racial groups in the proposed research. This includes: (a) The proposed 
plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial and ethnic minority 
populations for appropriate representation; (b) The proposed 
justification when representation is limited or absent; (c) A statement 
as to whether the design of the study is adequate to measure 
differences when warranted; (d) A statement as to whether the plans for 
recruitment and outreach for study participants include the process of 
establishing partnerships with community(ies) and recognition of mutual 
benefits.

7. Budget (not Scored)

    The extent to which the applicant describes the total amount of 
funds requested in each of the object class categories and clearly 
links the budget items to objectives and activities proposed for the 
budget period.

8. Human Subjects (not Scored)

    The extent to which the applicant has addressed necessary human 
subjects protections.

H. Other Requirements

    Technical Reporting Requirements: Provide CDC with the original 
plus two copies of
    1. Semi-annual progress reports including the following for each 
goal or activity involved in the study: (a) Comparison of actual 
accomplishments to the objectives established for the period; (b) the 
reasons for slippage if objectives were not met; (c) other pertinent 
information including, when appropriate, analysis and explanation of 
unexpectedly high costs for performance.
    2. Financial Status Report is required within 90 days of each 
budget period.
    3. Final financial status report and performance report are 
required within 90 days after the end of the project period.
    Send all reports to: David Elswick, Grants Management Specialist 
Grants Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) Room 300, 255 East Paces Ferry 
Road, NE., Mailstop E-13 Atlanta, GA 30305-2209.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment 1, included 
in the application kit.

AR98-1  Human Subjects Requirements
AR98-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR98-9  Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
AR98-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR98-11  Healthy People 2000
AR98-12  Lobbying Restrictions

I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under the Public Health Service Act, 
section 317(k)(2) 42USC247247(b)(k)(2). The Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance number assigned to this project is 93.283.

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    To receive additional written information call 1-888-GRANTS4. You 
will be asked to leave your name, address, and phone number and will 
need to refer to Announcement 98103. You will receive a complete 
program description, information on application procedures, and 
application forms. CDC will not send application kits by facsimile or 
express mail. PLEASE REFER TO ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER 98103 WHEN REQUESTING 
INFORMATION AND SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION.
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained by 
contacting:

David Elswick, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Announcement 98103
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Room 300, 255 East 
Paces Ferry Road, NE., M/S E-13, Atlanta, GA 30305-2209, telephone 
(404) 842-6521

    See also the CDC home page on the Internet: http://www.cdc.gov.
    Programmatic technical assistance may be obtained from Mark L. 
Messonnier, Economist, Prevention Effectiveness Branch, Division of 
Prevention Research and Analytic Methods, Epidemiology Program Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., 
Mailstop D-01, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone (404) 639-4474.

    Dated: July 13, 1998.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 98-19074 Filed 7-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P