Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 21 071

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 21 071

The NIH (with participation from the CDC) is offering administrative supplement funding under FOA PA-21-071, titled "Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed)." This opportunity is meant for current NIH/CDC-funded research projects that already have an active parent grant in one of the eligible activity codes referenced in the announcement. Rather than funding an entirely new, stand-alone project, the supplement adds funds to an existing award to help the research team recruit, support, and train people from backgrounds that are underrepresented in health-related research. In practical terms, it is a workforce development mechanism built into active research grants, designed to expand participation and strengthen the pipeline into biomedical and behavioral research careers.

The main purpose is to enhance diversity in the research workforce by supporting students, postdoctoral researchers, and eligible investigators from diverse backgrounds, including groups that have been shown to be underrepresented in health-related research. The supplement can be used to provide research experiences, mentorship, and salary or stipend support (as allowable under NIH supplement policies) so that these trainees or early-career researchers can meaningfully contribute to the ongoing aims of the parent project. Importantly, the work proposed under the supplement must stay within the scientific scope of the funded parent grant. That means the supplement should extend or deepen work already covered by the original approved research objectives, not introduce a new research direction that would require a separate peer-reviewed award.

In addition to diversity-focused support, the FOA also allows administrative supplements for a different but related need: helping a currently funded PD/PI who is or becomes disabled and requires additional support or accommodations to continue working on the existing research project. In that case, the supplement funds are intended to remove barriers to participation and productivity on the parent grant, again without changing the fundamental scope of the funded research.

The clinical trial policy is a major constraint of this particular announcement. This FOA is structured for supplement requests that do not involve the applicant leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. However, it does allow the supported individual (for example, a student or postdoc added via the supplement) to gain research experience in a clinical trial as long as the trial is led by a mentor or co-mentor rather than being led independently by the supplement-supported candidate. In other words, hands-on exposure to clinical trial research can be part of the training experience, but the supplement itself cannot be used to propose or run a new independent clinical trial led by the supplement applicant.

Eligibility is primarily aimed at domestic organizations with qualifying active awards, with the listing indicating public and state-controlled institutions of higher education as eligible applicants. The FOA also clarifies foreign eligibility limits: non-U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed, meaning the parent project may include certain foreign collaborations or performance sites if they meet NIH policy definitions and are justified, but the supplement application itself must be submitted by an eligible U.S.-based applicant organization tied to an eligible parent grant.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant mechanism using the administrative supplement process, meaning applications are reviewed and funded as additions to existing awards rather than as standard competing research project grants. The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (now commonly referred to through assistance listing numbers), reflecting that many NIH institutes and centers participate and that the parent grants can fall under a wide range of NIH/CDC research and training-related portfolios. The posting information provided lists an original closing date of 2023-06-29; however, supplement opportunities like this often operate with institute-specific submission windows or internal deadlines, so applicants typically need to confirm current dates, budget limits, and institute requirements in the full FOA and by contacting the parent grant's program officer.

Overall, PA-21-071 is best understood as a targeted, add-on funding opportunity for existing NIH/CDC research grants to (1) bring more researchers from underrepresented backgrounds into health-related research through mentored participation on an active project, and (2) provide additional support that enables a disabled PD/PI to continue contributing to the funded work. The key boundaries are that all proposed activities must remain within the parent award's scope and that the supplement cannot be used to lead an independent clinical trial, even though clinical trial experience under an established mentor-led trial can be included.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp 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): 93.113, 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.310, 93.350, 93.351, 93.361, 93.398, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.853, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867, 93.879, 93.989.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for PA 21 071

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