(a) Within the limits of funds available, the Secretary shall award grants to those applicants:

(1) Whose applications have been reviewed and recommended for approval by the appropriate national advisory council or board;

(2) Who have satisfied the requirements of §66.105; and

(3) Whose proposed programs would, in the judgment of the Secretary, best promote the purposes of section 487(a)(1)(B) of the Act, taking into consideration among other pertinent factors:

(i) The scientific, technical, or educational merit of the proposed program;

(ii) The adequacy of the resources and facilities available to the applicant;

(iii) The qualifications and experience of the program director and principal staff members;

(iv) The degree of the need for personnel in the subject area or areas of the proposed research or training;

(v) The extent to which the applicant, in making Awards, gives special consideration to physicians who agree to undertake a minimum of two years of biomedical research;

(vi) The administrative and management capability of the applicant;

(vii) The reasonableness of the proposed budget in relation to the proposed program; and

(viii) The adequacy of the methods for monitoring and evaluating the performance of individual recipients and the overall program.

(b) The notice of grant award specifies how long HHS intends to support the project without requiring the project to recompete for funds. This period, called the project period, will usually be for 3-5 years.

(c) Generally the grant will initially be for one year and subsequent continuation awards will also be for one year at a time. A grantee must submit a separate application to have the support continued for each subsequent year. Decisions regarding continuation awards and the funding level of such awards will be made after consideration of such factors as the grantee's progress and management practices, and the availability of funds. In all cases, continuation awards require a determination by HHS that continued funding is in the best interest of the government.

(d) Neither the approval of any application nor the award of any grant commits or obligates the United States in any way to make any additional, supplemental, continuation, or other award with respect to any approved application or portion of any approved application.

[48 FR 24880, June 3, 1983, as amended at 66 FR 29501, May 31, 2001]