A -- Re-Engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise: Feasibility of Integrating and Expanding the Clinical Research Network

This pre-solicitation notice is revised for purposes of replacing the website link for downloading the proposal. The correct link is: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/inits/index.htm#nhlbi On behalf of all the NIH Institutes through the Trans-NIH Roadmap initiative, The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is soliciting proposals from all interested organizations to participate in the ?Re-Engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise? component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap for Accelerating Medical Discovery to Improve Health, described at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/ . A long range goal of the clinical research component of the NIH Roadmap is to foster clinical research networks that are based on common or inter-operable infrastructure elements that conduct research both in academic and clinical care settings. The NHLBI is soliciting feasibility study proposals that will test solutions to overcoming existing barriers to this long range goal. The period of performance will be for a maximum of up to three years, beginning on or about September 30, 2004. This announcement serves to notify and invite all responsible sources interested in performing as a Clinical Research Network to submit a proposal which shall be considered by the agency. Clinical Research Network is defined as ?an organization of clinical field sites and investigators that conducts multiple research protocols, often with more than one protocol ongoing at a time. The organization of sites and investigators may be formal or informal as long as the network?s collaborative accomplishments can be shown. Observational and outcomes research are considered part of the definition of clinical research. The NIH is not seeking the development of new networks in this feasibility phase. Only existing networks will be eligible for award under this solicitation. This is not the actual Request for Proposal - Broad Agency Announcement (RFP/BAA); the RFP/BAA # BAA-NIH-NHLBI-RM-04-23 must be downloaded from the NIH Web Site, which will be available on or about December 2, 2003, at the following address: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/inits/index.htm#nhlbi The due date for proposal submission is March 5, 2004.