Limited Competition: NIGMS National and Regional Resources (R24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 301

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 301

This NIH opportunity (PAR-19-301) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supports the continued operation of established national or regional research resources under the R24 grant mechanism, with clinical trials not allowed. The central goal is to fund shared resources that give a broad community of biomedical researchers access to advanced facilities, specialized equipment, cutting-edge technologies, research tools, software platforms, and/or fee-for-service scientific expertise. To fit the intent of the program, the resource must serve a substantial user base beyond a single institution, either across multiple states (regional) or across the United States (national), and it should be positioned to provide clear economies of scale. In practical terms, NIGMS is looking for resources that can deliver capabilities more efficiently and more broadly than individual labs or single-campus cores could on their own, and that can measurably expand access for the wider research community.

A key feature of this FOA is that it is a limited competition: only resources that were originally developed through previous NIGMS funding are eligible to apply for support under this announcement. The program is not meant to launch brand-new, unproven centers from scratch, although it does allow a new resource structure if it is created by consolidating multiple existing local or regional facilities into a coordinated, larger-scale resource. Importantly, the FOA is focused on service and access rather than major innovation projects. Applicants are expected to run and improve an operational resource, not to propose large, open-ended research and development efforts. Any upgrades should be directed toward maintaining or modernizing the resource to current best practices so that the broader community can reliably use high-quality methods, instrumentation, and workflows.

NIGMS defines a "resource" here as an activity that provides research capabilities and expert support to many investigators and is open to any qualified investigator as a service. The emphasis is on enabling science broadly, without restricting access based on a specific disease area or narrow biomedical theme. At the same time, NIGMS makes it clear that it will only support resources whose technical capabilities align with NIGMS program areas, and it does not want to duplicate or replace resources that are already supported by other NIH Institutes and Centers or that should reasonably be provided by the applicant's host institution. In other words, the proposal needs to show a clear niche and a clear national or regional value-add, rather than recreating an existing NIH-supported capability or shifting routine institutional responsibilities onto federal funding.

Operational expectations are a major part of the announcement. The resource is expected to actively maintain quality, keep technologies and practices current, and provide strong user support. That includes outreach so potential users across the country or region actually know the resource exists, understand what it offers, and can access it. It also includes training elements, such as helping users learn the relevant methods, software, instrumentation, or analytical approaches, and providing guidance that improves the rigor and reproducibility of the work performed through the resource. The overall picture is a mature, service-oriented operation with strong governance and a clear plan for delivering reliable, scalable capabilities to a large and diverse scientific user community.

There are also clear boundaries on what will not be funded. Stand-alone data resources and databases are not eligible under this FOA, meaning applicants cannot propose a database-only project without a broader service resource component that fits the NIGMS definition and goals. In addition, because this is an R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed opportunity, applications cannot include clinical trial activities as defined by NIH policy.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a discretionary NIH grant and the activity category is health (CFDA 93.859). The listed award ceiling is $750,000 (as provided in the source information). The original closing date shown is June 15, 2021, and the FOA was created June 24, 2019. Eligibility is broad across domestic organization types, including state and local governments, public and private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, special district governments, federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights several "other eligible applicants" categories often associated with broadening participation, such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, AANAPISIs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and faith-based or community-based organizations.

Foreign participation is explicitly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. This means the applicant organization and the supported work must be fully domestic in the way NIH defines eligibility for this FOA.

Taken together, this opportunity is designed for organizations already operating NIGMS-originated national or regional service resources that can demonstrate broad usage, efficiency at scale, and high-quality access to sophisticated capabilities. Strong applications under this announcement would typically center on robust operations, wide and equitable access, user support and training, outreach to expand the user base, and a clear justification for why the resource is uniquely valuable within NIGMS-supported science and not duplicative of other NIH or institutional offerings.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: NIGMS National and Regional Resources (R24 - 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): 93.859.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-06-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-15. (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 $750,000.00 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 19 301

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