Integration and Coordination Center for the Common Fund Data Ecosystem (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 23 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 23 002

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released this funding opportunity announcement (FOA), RFA-RM-23-002, to fund an Integration and Coordination Center (ICC) for the Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE). The ICC is meant to act as a program-wide connective hub that strengthens cohesion across the CFDE, helping the various participating efforts work together as a unified ecosystem rather than as separate projects. The FOA uses the U54 cooperative agreement mechanism (Clinical Trial Not Allowed), which signals that NIH expects substantial involvement from program staff in guiding, coordinating, and partnering with the awardee(s) as the work is carried out.

At its core, the ICC will support the CFDE by integrating relevant NIH Common Fund (CF) programs into the ecosystem and coordinating activities across other CFDE centers. This is not simply a technical integration role; it is also an organizational and strategic coordination function aimed at making the ecosystem more consistent, aligned, and usable for the broader research community. A key objective is to ensure that data and resources produced by Common Fund programs can be reused for new questions and new discoveries, which requires common approaches to organization, documentation, interoperability, and ongoing governance.

A major responsibility described in the FOA is to help Common Fund programs develop data sustainability plans. In practical terms, this means assisting programs in planning how their data, tools, and other digital resources will remain accessible, maintained, and usable beyond the initial period of funding. Sustainability planning typically involves considerations like long-term hosting, persistent identifiers, metadata quality, documentation, governance for updates, budgeting for maintenance, and aligning with community and NIH expectations for stewardship and reuse.

The ICC is also expected to drive continuous improvement through an annual evaluation program. That emphasis on routine evaluation suggests the center will need to establish measurable goals, track progress, gather feedback from stakeholders and users, identify gaps or friction points in how the ecosystem operates, and then coordinate corrective actions or refinements across CFDE components. The annual cadence implies this is intended to be a living ecosystem that iteratively improves rather than a one-time build.

NIH anticipates the awardee(s) will work collaboratively with each other and with other participating CFDE components to integrate and coordinate activities across the ecosystem. Because this is a cooperative agreement, coordination and communication are central to success: the ICC is positioned to convene stakeholders, facilitate alignment across centers, and help ensure that the ecosystem develops in a coherent way that serves end users.

The intended end product of the CFDE, supported by the ICC, is described as a thriving data ecosystem that enables broad reuse of Common Fund data and resources by the research community. That framing puts strong emphasis on downstream usability and impact: success is not just that data exist, but that they are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable in ways that accelerate research and support unanticipated secondary analyses.

Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic organization types: 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; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) as well as Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments). The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, Indian/Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized), and US territories or possessions.

Foreign eligibility is limited. Non-domestic (non-US) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of US organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, meaning a US-based applicant may include certain foreign elements in the project when justified and consistent with NIH policy.

The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding, with a health funding activity category and CFDA number 93.310. The original application closing date listed for this FOA was June 28, 2023. The award ceiling and the expected number of awards were not specified in the provided source data.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Integration and Coordination Center for the Common Fund Data Ecosystem (U54 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 2023-03-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-28. (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 23 002

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