Partnerships With Common Fund Data Ecosystem Resources (U24 Clinical Trial not Allowed) | RFA RM 23 013

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 23 013

Partnerships With Common Fund Data Ecosystem Resources (U24 Clinical Trial not Allowed) is an NIH Common Fund funding opportunity that supports collaborative projects designed to get more scientific value out of the large, publicly available datasets produced by Common Fund programs. The core idea is to pair strong discovery and/or translational research aims with concrete work that improves how Common Fund data can be found, accessed, combined, and reused across studies. This sits within the Common Fund Data Ecosystem effort, which is focused on making Common Fund data FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. In practice, NIH is looking for teams that not only analyze or integrate these datasets to answer meaningful biomedical questions, but also leave behind improvements (such as better metadata, harmonization approaches, workflows, standards alignment, or other reusable resources) that make the data easier for the broader community to use in the future.

A defining feature of the opportunity is that projects must involve collaboration with multiple Common Fund Data Coordinating Centers (DCCs). That requirement signals that NIH wants cross-program, cross-dataset partnerships rather than single-dataset work done in isolation. Competitive applications are therefore likely to emphasize multi-source data integration, methods that span different Common Fund programs, and outputs that connect back into the Common Fund Data Ecosystem so that others can reproduce, extend, or repurpose what is built. The award mechanism is a U24 cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH expects substantial programmatic involvement during the project period, including coordination, shared milestones, and active engagement with NIH staff and relevant ecosystem stakeholders to ensure the outputs align with ecosystem needs and community standards.

Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed under this Notice of Funding Opportunity. Applicants cannot propose a clinical trial as the main activity. However, a clinical trial planning component is allowed if it is appropriate and rigorously developed, meaning a project can include well-justified preparatory activities that set the stage for a future trial without actually conducting one under this award. Overall, the scientific emphasis remains on leveraging and improving existing Common Fund datasets and associated infrastructure, rather than generating trial-based outcomes.

Eligibility is broad across many U.S.-based organization types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions where relevant); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also calls out additional eligible applicant categories, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign entities are not eligible to apply as applicant institutions, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. At the same time, foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed, which generally means a U.S. applicant can include certain well-justified international elements within the project while remaining compliant with NIH policy.

Administratively, this opportunity is issued by the National Institutes of Health under the NIH Common Fund (Office of Strategic Coordination). It is a discretionary funding opportunity in the health area, using the cooperative agreement instrument. The opportunity number is RFA-RM-23-013, associated with CFDA 93.310. The original closing date listed is December 4, 2023. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided summary, so applicants typically would need to consult the full NOFO text for budget guidance, project period limits, required coordination activities, and any specific deliverables expected for contributions to the Common Fund Data Ecosystem.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Partnerships With Common Fund Data Ecosystem Resources (U24 Clinical Trial not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-07-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-12-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 RFA RM 23 013

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