Enhancing NIDCD's Extramural Workforce Diversity through Research Experiences (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 21 186

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 186

The grant opportunity titled "Enhancing NIDCD's Extramural Workforce Diversity through Research Experiences (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research education program designed to broaden and strengthen the biomedical and behavioral research workforce by supporting structured, hands-on research education activities. It uses the NIH R25 mechanism, which is specifically meant for research education programs rather than traditional hypothesis-driven research projects. The main purpose is to create or enhance educational experiences that help people from diverse backgrounds, especially individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, gain meaningful exposure to research and feel supported in continuing toward advanced training or research careers. In practice, the heart of this funding announcement is research experiences, meaning the program expects applicants to build high-quality opportunities where participants actively engage in research environments, develop research skills, and receive mentoring and career development support tied to NIDCD-relevant mission areas.

This opportunity is issued by the NIH (AgencyName: National Institutes of Health) and falls under the health funding category, with CFDA number 93.173. The funding instrument is a grant and the opportunity category is discretionary. The program is associated with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), so the research education activities and experiences are expected to align with NIDCD mission interests, such as hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. A key restriction is built directly into the title: clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA. That typically means the supported activities should not include designing or running clinical trials as defined by NIH, and applicants should plan educational experiences accordingly (for example, research training in basic science, translational studies that do not meet the NIH clinical trial definition, secondary data analysis, methodology training, lab-based experiences, community-engaged research education that is not a clinical trial, and similar approaches).

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic organizations and governmental units. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education, when specified in the list); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other entities. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant categories that align with the diversity and workforce-development focus, 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, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the FOA makes clear limits on foreign participation: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which generally means a U.S. applicant organization may include certain well-justified foreign elements or collaborations within the rules, even though a foreign institution cannot be the applicant.

In terms of funding size and timing, the opportunity number is PAR-21-186, with a creation date of April 15, 2021, and an original closing date listed as September 30, 2024. The award ceiling is shown as $250,000, which signals an upper limit on the amount that can be requested or awarded under the program as presented in the source data. The number of expected awards is not provided in the posted details, which usually means the institute may make awards based on availability of funds and the quality of applications received rather than committing to a fixed count.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as support for well-planned, research-intensive education programs that give participants real research exposure and the mentoring and skills development needed to move forward in research training pipelines. The emphasis is not on producing a single research result, but on building an educational structure that measurably improves participation, preparedness, and persistence in research careers for individuals from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, within NIDCD mission-relevant areas, while avoiding activities that would qualify as NIH-defined clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Enhancing NIDCD's Extramural Workforce Diversity through Research Experiences (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): 93.173.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-04-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-30. (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 $250,000.00 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 21 186

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