NIOSH Small Research Grant Program | PAR 18 797

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 797

The NIOSH Small Research Grant Program (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 18 797) is a discretionary grant opportunity administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) using the NIH-style R03 mechanism. It is focused on occupational safety and health, with the overall goal of improving understanding of workplace hazards and translating research into real-world prevention. In practical terms, the program is designed to support smaller, tightly scoped research efforts that can move the field forward even when the available budget, staff time, or preliminary data are limited.

The purpose of the program centers on three connected aims. First, it seeks to build stronger evidence about the risks, exposures, and conditions that contribute to occupational diseases and injuries. Second, it encourages the exploration and testing of ways to reduce those risks, including strategies to prevent or minimize exposure to hazardous workplace conditions. Third, it emphasizes translation, meaning the expectation is not only to publish findings but also to help convert meaningful results into prevention practices, tools, interventions, or products that can measurably reduce work-related illness and injury. The scope fits a wide range of workplace health concerns as long as the work clearly relates to occupational exposures or work-related outcomes and has a path toward prevention impact.

Because it uses the R03 small grant format, this opportunity is especially well-suited for projects like pilot studies and feasibility studies that generate early evidence, test recruitment or measurement approaches, or establish proof of concept for a larger future study. It also supports secondary analyses of existing datasets, which can be a cost-effective way to answer important occupational health questions without running a large new data collection effort. Another good fit is the development or refinement of research methods, such as improving exposure assessment approaches, validating instruments, testing analytic methods, or creating new ways to measure hazards or outcomes in workplace settings. The underlying idea is to fund focused projects that can be completed with limited resources while still producing useful, actionable knowledge.

The program lists a broad set of eligible applicant types. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city or township, and special district governments), federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and certain public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. Academic institutions are eligible, including public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. Nonprofits are eligible whether or not they have 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those categories), and for-profit organizations may apply as well (other than small businesses), with small businesses also explicitly listed as eligible. The opportunity also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized. U.S. territories or possessions are also included as eligible.

At the same time, the opportunity includes clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. These rules effectively mean the applicant organization and the work supported by the award must be U.S.-based without foreign components.

Key administrative details provided include the program’s classification under CFDA number 93.262 and its categorization under health-related funding activities. The listed award ceiling is $50,000, reflecting the small-scale nature of R03 projects and reinforcing that applicants should propose narrowly tailored work with a realistic, limited budget. The opportunity’s original closing date is listed as 2024-11-17, and the funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-24. Overall, this grant is best viewed as a small, targeted funding source for occupational safety and health research that can quickly generate evidence, methods, or pilot results that support prevention efforts and lay groundwork for larger studies or broader implementation.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIOSH Small Research Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.262.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-11-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 18 797

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