Research Infrastructure Development for Interdisciplinary Aging Studies (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 20 070

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 070

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Research Infrastructure Development for Interdisciplinary Aging Studies (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-20-070; CFDA: 93.866) supports the creation of new, sustainable research infrastructure designed to move the science of aging forward in areas where progress depends on interdisciplinary collaboration. The main emphasis is not on running a single aging study, but on building the shared platforms, tools, partnerships, resources, and coordinated capabilities that multiple investigators or projects can use to tackle important aging-related questions that span more than one discipline. In other words, this program is aimed at strengthening the foundations that make high-impact interdisciplinary aging research possible, especially in scientific areas where isolated efforts are unlikely to be sufficient.

This opportunity uses the NIH Phased Innovation Award mechanism (R21/R33), which is structured to help applicants start with early-stage development and then scale up if initial milestones are met. The first phase provides up to 2 years of R21 funding for developmental work, such as planning, piloting, testing feasibility, establishing governance and workflows, building prototypes, creating or harmonizing datasets, or formalizing collaborative structures. If the project demonstrates adequate progress and successfully meets predefined goals, the award can transition to the second phase with up to 3 years of R33 support for expanded activities, such as broader deployment, maturation of the infrastructure, increased integration across disciplines or institutions, and steps to ensure the infrastructure can continue beyond the grant period. A key expectation across both phases is sustainability: NIH is looking for infrastructure that will remain useful and viable over time rather than something that disappears when the award ends.

The announcement is "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning applicants may propose work that includes a clinical trial if it is appropriate for the infrastructure being developed, but a clinical trial is not required. The focus remains on infrastructure development that enables or accelerates interdisciplinary aging research. Examples of what this could look like, in practical terms, might include creating coordinated networks or consortia, establishing shared cores or service capabilities, developing interoperable systems for collecting or harmonizing aging-related measures, building methods or tools that allow different fields to work together more effectively, or setting up collaborative pipelines that make it easier to translate insights across basic, clinical, behavioral, social, or population sciences.

A wide range of organizations can apply, reflecting NIH's intent to support broad participation and partnerships. Eligible applicants 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; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as specified in the listing); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), 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, U.S. territories or possessions, and certain tribal governments that are not federally recognized.

There are also clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed when they meet the NIH definition in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which means a U.S. applicant organization may include specific, justified foreign elements as part of the project if they are necessary and appropriately structured under NIH policy.

Administrative details from the source data indicate this is a discretionary grant opportunity from NIH in the health funding category. The original closing date listed for the opportunity was November 16, 2022, and the record creation date was December 9, 2019. The source information does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, suggesting applicants would need to refer to the full FOA text (or related NIH institute guidance) for budgeting norms, review considerations, and any institute-specific priorities.

Overall, PAR-20-070 is best understood as a capacity-building and collaboration-enabling program for aging research: it funds the development and scale-up of novel infrastructure that helps interdisciplinary teams answer important aging-related questions more effectively, with a strong expectation that the resulting infrastructure will be durable, broadly useful, and positioned to support multiple future projects rather than a single standalone study.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Infrastructure Development for Interdisciplinary Aging Studies (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-12-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-11-16. (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 PAR 20 070

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