Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 23 014

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 23 014

The funding opportunity titled "Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Education Program (R25) grant designed to strengthen the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce by supporting targeted educational activities. The central purpose is not to fund traditional research projects, but to build practical skills and community capacity so more researchers can confidently access, understand, and apply NIH Common Fund datasets in rigorous, high-quality biomedical research. As an R25 education mechanism, it focuses on structured learning experiences that complement existing training pathways and help meet national workforce needs.

The program places its main emphasis on short courses that teach participants how to interact with and use Common Fund data effectively. In practice, this means developing course-based instruction that helps users locate, access, manage, analyze, and interpret Common Fund datasets, while reinforcing best practices for rigor and reproducibility. A strong application would typically propose well-organized educational content that moves beyond basic awareness and instead equips participants with hands-on competence, such as data standards, metadata interpretation, computational tools, analytic approaches, and responsible data use. The goal is broad and rigorous use, so the courses are expected to make Common Fund data more usable to a wide range of scientists, including those who may be new to these data resources or who come from disciplines that have not traditionally engaged deeply with them.

A second major component is mentoring and networking to help grow a diverse, multidisciplinary community of Common Fund data users. This signals that NIH is looking for programs that do more than deliver a one-time training event. Competitive proposals would likely build in ways for participants to connect with instructors, peers, and experienced data users; find ongoing support; and develop collaborations that persist after the course ends. The emphasis on diversity and multidisciplinarity indicates the program is intended to expand the Common Fund data user base across different fields, career stages, and institutional contexts, and to reduce barriers to entry for groups that have historically had less access to advanced data training and professional networks.

This opportunity is issued as RFA-RM-23-014 under CFDA 93.310, categorized as a discretionary grant in the health funding activity area. The listed award ceiling is $350,000. The original application closing date is February 14, 2024, and the funding agency is the NIH. While the notice references "ExpectedAwards:" without a number provided in the excerpt, applicants should generally expect that awards are competitive and dependent on available funds and the strength of submitted education plans.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many types of domestic entities such as state, county, and city governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The opportunity also highlights additional eligible applicant categories that NIH is explicitly encouraging or acknowledging, including 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, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. This reinforces the program's interest in expanding training capacity across a wide range of institutions and communities.

Foreign participation is restricted in a straightforward way. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. In other words, the educational program supported by this grant must be fully domestic in its applicant organization and its supported components.

Finally, the "Clinical Trial Not Allowed" designation is an important boundary condition. The supported activities are educational and community-building in nature, and they should not include clinical trial conduct as part of the funded scope. Applicants should frame their proposals around curriculum development, instruction, practical data-focused training experiences, mentoring structures, and networking/community mechanisms that enable rigorous reuse of Common Fund data, rather than proposing prospective interventional clinical research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Short Courses to Promote the Broad and Rigorous Use of Common Fund Data (R25 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 2023-11-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-14. (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 $350,000.00 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.

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