Proposed Text
Part I
Definitions and General Information
22VAC30-50-10. Definitions.
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
have the following meaning meanings unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise:
"Advisory board" means the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Advisory Board.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.
"Department" means the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.
"Fund" means the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Trust Fund.
"Neurotrauma" means an injury to the central nervous
system, i.e. (i.e., a traumatic spinal cord or brain injury,
which injury) that results in loss of physical functions, cognitive
functions, or both.
"RFP" or "request" means a request
for proposals issued by the advisory board seeking applications for grant
moneys in the fund.
22VAC30-50-20. Statement of general policy.
The Commonwealth of Virginia has recognized the need to prevent traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries and is committed to improving the treatment and care of Virginians with traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries. By creating the fund and authorizing the advisory board to administer the fund, the Commonwealth of Virginia makes grant funds available to Virginia-based organizations, institutions, and researchers to address these needs. The advisory board administers the fund to carry out the intent of the law in accordance with its authority.
22VAC30-50-30. Disbursement of funds.
A. This chapter serves to (i) establish policies and procedures for soliciting and receiving applications for grants from the fund, (ii) establish criteria for reviewing and ranking such applications, and (iii) establish procedures for distributing moneys in the fund, which shall be used solely to provide grants to Virginia-based organizations, institutions, and researchers.
B. Forty-seven and one-half percent of the moneys in the
fund distributed under this chapter shall be allocated for research on the
mechanisms and treatment of neurotrauma; 47-1/2% of the moneys shall be
allocated for rehabilitative services, i.e. (i.e., the
development of innovative, model community-based rehabilitative programs and
services for individuals with neurotrauma); and 5.0% of the moneys shall
be allocated for the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services' department's
costs for administering and staffing the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative
Trust Fund fund and advisory board.
22VAC30-50-50. Application of exemption to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Pursuant to a provision subdivision 12 of §
2.2-3705.5 of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Chapter 37
(§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia, records
submitted to the advisory board as a grant application, or accompanying a grant
application, pursuant to the law Chapter 14 (§ 51.5-178 et seq.)
of Title 51.5 of the Code of Virginia and this chapter are excluded from
the requirement of open inspection to the extent that they contain medical or
mental health records or other data identifying individual patients, or
proprietary business or research-related information produced or collected by
an applicant in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on medical,
rehabilitative, scientific, technical, or scholarly issues. This exemption
shall apply when such the information has not been publicly
released, published, copyrighted, or patented, if the disclosure of such
the information would be harmful to the competitive position of the
applicant. The advisory board intends to rely upon this exemption in order to
encourage the submission of applications.
Part II
Soliciting and Reviewing Applications
22VAC30-50-60. Requests for proposals.
The advisory board will shall solicit
applications for grants of moneys from the fund by issuing requests for
proposals RFPs from time to time. These RFPs shall be issued at
the discretion of the advisory board and shall depend upon the availability of
moneys in the fund. Each application for a grant must be received submitted
in response to an actual request for a proposal RFP and received
by a deadline specified in the request RFP.
22VAC30-50-70. Grant reviewers and technical advisors.
The advisory board may choose, at any time, to appoint grant
reviewers or other technical advisors, or both, to assist in reviewing and ranking
applications. Such reviewers and advisors may represent medical researchers,
medical practitioners, community-based service providers, consumers, advocates
for consumers, or others deemed appropriate by the advisory board for this
purpose. Reviewers and advisors shall be appointed so as to provide equal
representation from Virginia's three medical schools. Reviewers and advisors
shall be selected so as to avoid any conflict of interests or the appearance
thereof, and the advisory board may choose reviewers and advisors residing or
working outside Virginia to ensure impartiality. Whenever reviewers or advisors
sit as a committee, the chairman chair of the advisory board or
his designee shall serve as chairman chair of the committee but
shall not vote on individual applications.
22VAC30-50-80. Specification of Option A or B.
Each application shall clearly state a purpose to seek funds
for projects to conduct research on the mechanisms and treatment of
neurotrauma, which shall be referred to as "Option A," or to develop
innovative, model community-based rehabilitative programs and services for
individuals with neurotrauma, which shall be referred to as "Option
B." Option A applications shall state and demonstrate a clear intention of
researching the mechanisms of neurotrauma or the treatment of neurotrauma, or
both. Option B applications shall state and demonstrate a clear intention to
provide innovative, model community-based rehabilitative services by
developing, expanding, evaluating, or improving community-based programs
and services for people with traumatic brain injury or traumatic spinal cord
injury, or both, and expanding opportunities for such these individuals
to become as independent and physically and functionally capable as possible.
Neither Option A nor Option B grants are intended shall be used for
long-term funding of research projects or service community-based
rehabilitative programs and services.
22VAC30-50-90. Submission of applications.
In reviewing applications submitted for grant awards, whether
Option A or Option B, the advisory board will shall accept
applications that:
1. Present a clear and convincing and persuasive
discussion of how the proposed project will shall carry out its
intention as specified in accordance with 22VAC30-50-80, and describe in
as much detail as possible its anticipated effectiveness in carrying out its
intention;
2. Comply fully with informational and administrative requirements stated in the specific RFP to which applicants are responding; and
3. In the case of an Option A application:
a. Discuss the relevance of the proposed project to an identified field of medical or rehabilitative inquiry;
b. Demonstrate the anticipated benefit of the proposed project in terms of expanding knowledge and understanding of neurotrauma;
c. Discuss any innovation or breakthrough the project seeks to
promote, specifying outcome measures where possible for each of the preceding
enumerated items in this subdivision; and
d. Describe efforts to ensure that the proposed project does
not duplicate previous or ongoing research; or and
e. Provide a plan for sustaining the proposed project following termination of a grant award as relevant to the intention of the proposed project; or
4. In the case of an Option B application:
a. Discuss the relevance of the proposed project to an
identified need for innovative, model community-based rehabilitative programs
and services in terms of the absence of alternative programs, services,
and resources available to the intended individuals and community;
b. Describe efforts to ensure that the proposed project does
not duplicate existing programs, services, or resources already
available to targeted individuals and communities; and
c. State and emphasize Demonstrate a commitment
to collaborative community planning involving consumer groups, service
providers, employers, relevant state and local agencies, and other funding
sources, as available or anticipated to become available. and
appropriate; and
d. Provide a plan for sustaining the proposed project following termination of a grant award as relevant to the intention of the proposed project.
Part III
Specific Project Consideration and Application Criteria, Selection of
Successful Applications and Amount and Announcement of Awards
22VAC30-50-100. Reviewing and ranking grant applications.
A. The advisory board will shall distinguish the
class of Option A applications from the class of Option B applications when
soliciting, reviewing, and ranking grant applications. Applications will
shall be considered and ranked only among other applications submitted
under the same stated option, either Option A or Option B. Applications
initially deemed effective in meeting to meet the purpose of a
solicitation and to have substantially addressed the general considerations
stated in Part II (22VAC30-50-60 et seq.) of this chapter 22VAC30-50-60
through 22VAC30-50-90, as applicable, will shall be
subsequently reviewed and ranked according to the following criteria:
1. The purpose and significance of the project;
2. The objectives and expected benefits of the project;
3. The design of the project to include (i) methods, activities, and a timeline for achieving project goals and objectives, and (ii) a system for measuring outcomes and documenting project impact, effectiveness, and any anticipated long-term effects;
4. A detailed budget that is reasonable and appropriate for the scope of the project;
5. The identification of potential sources of funds and fundraising strategies to be used in sustaining the proposed project following termination of a grant award as relevant to the intention of the proposed project;
6. Demonstrated or anticipated capability of the existing or planned organizational structure;
7. The means for consumer involvement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the project as feasible and relevant to the intention of the proposed project; and
8. A commitment to include the participation of small, women-owned and minority businesses, as such are available and capable of participation.
B. When initially reviewing applications or subsequently
reviewing and ranking applications, the advisory board may ask applicants
an applicant to provide required information that is missing from the
application or additional clarifying information relating to their
applications the application and proposed projects project.
Failure to provide missing information or failure to provide additional
information that is material and relevant may result in the rejection or
lowered ranking of an application.
22VAC30-50-110. Amount of grant awards; duration and availability of funding.
A. After reviewing all applications, duly received accepted,
for either Option A or Option B, the advisory board will shall
determine which the proposed projects will that shall
be offered funding. The selection of successful applications will shall
be made based on (i) availability of moneys in the fund, (ii) the review and
ranking of the applications according to the criteria listed in this chapter
22VAC30-50-100 A, (iii) information from grant reviewers or technical
advisors who appointed by the board may appoint to assist
in evaluating applications, and (iv) the advisory board's assessment of those
the applications, as to which further the intentions and the
purpose of the fund. Discussions and negotiations may be conducted between the
advisory board and grant applicants in order to clarify any remaining issues
relating to the proposed project.
B. In considering and determining the amount of a grant
award and the duration of funding for a particular project, the advisory board will
shall consider the requested amount, the project design, and
justification. Actual grant Grant awards will be made in
amounts ranging shall range in amount from $5,000 to $150,000 per
year for an anticipated funding period of one to three years as described in
the proposal RFP. The award and duration of funding of a project
anticipated to exceed one year will shall be contingent upon (i)
the availability of moneys in the fund, whether so stated at the time of the
award or not, and (ii) the grantee's successful completion of timelines and of
interim objectives and milestones as proposed and approved in the grant
application, grant award, and contract documents.
C. In the event any timelines and interim objectives and
milestones pertaining to a project are not completed to the satisfaction of the
advisory board, the advisory board may act to withhold moneys not yet disbursed
for such a the project. In the event of a substantial
decline in moneys in the fund, the advisory board will shall
attempt to distribute moneys to projects of an anticipated duration
greater than one year in a manner as fair and equitable as possible.
D. The award of grants to successful applicants will shall
be made public within 60 days of the advisory board's decision regarding all
applications submitted in response to a request for proposals an RFP.
22VAC30-50-120. Unexpended funds.
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the Commissioner
of the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services commissioner
may reallocate up to $500,000 from unexpended balances in the Commonwealth Neurotrauma
Initiative Trust Fund to fund for new grant awards for research on
traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.