NINDS Sustainable Transformation of Institutional Research Rigor (STIRR) Program (RC2 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 24 020

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 24 020

The NINDS Sustainable Transformation of Institutional Research Rigor (STIRR) Program (RC2 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity designed to help academic and research institutions build durable, institution-level programs that strengthen research rigor and transparency in neuroscience. The core idea is cultural and practical change: NINDS wants institutions to move beyond one-off trainings or informal guidance and instead establish repeatable, sustainable systems that improve how neuroscience studies are designed, conducted, analyzed, and reported. The program emphasizes that rigorous study design and transparent reporting are essential not only for producing trustworthy findings in neuroscience, but also for enabling other scientists and the broader biomedical community to evaluate, reproduce, and build on prior work.

This NOFO specifically supports the implementation of innovative strategies at the departmental level, across multiple departments, or within an equivalent intra-institutional unit. In practice, this means awards are meant to underwrite concrete programmatic efforts that can change day-to-day research behaviors and expectations within an institution, such as structured approaches to experimental design, standards for documentation and reporting, practices that reduce bias, and norms that make transparency the default. The emphasis on "implementation" signals a focus on putting workable approaches into operation within real institutional environments, rather than only studying rigor issues in the abstract.

The funding mechanism is an NIH RC2 grant (a Cooperative Agreement for research and development in many NIH contexts, though the specific terms are governed by the NOFO), and the opportunity is explicitly marked "Clinical Trial Not Allowed." That generally means applications should not propose prospective clinical trials involving human participants where outcomes are evaluated to test an intervention. The program is instead aimed at institutional practices and research quality infrastructure relevant to neuroscience research, which may include policy, training, workflow, incentives, quality systems, and other operational or educational components that improve rigor and transparency without constituting a clinical trial.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and local 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 other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The NOFO also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws clear boundaries around foreign participation: non-U.S. entities and non-U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant may include certain types of foreign involvement under NIH rules even though the applicant organization itself must be domestic.

Administratively, the opportunity is issued by the National Institutes of Health under the health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.853. The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-NS-24-020, and the original closing date is listed as 2025-10-17. The NOFO description does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the source text provided, so prospective applicants would need to consult the full announcement for budget limits, project period expectations, cooperative agreement terms (if applicable), review criteria, and any required program components or milestones.

Overall, STIRR is aimed at helping institutions create lasting, scalable approaches that improve the credibility and usability of neuroscience research outputs by embedding rigor and transparency into the institutional fabric where research happens, rather than relying solely on individual investigators to carry that burden on their own.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NINDS Sustainable Transformation of Institutional Research Rigor (STIRR) Program (RC2 - 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): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-05-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-10-17. (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 NS 24 020

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