Emergency Award: Novel Insights through Cross-Site Analyses of Existing RADx-UP Data (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA OD 23 050

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 23 050

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Emergency Award: Novel Insights through Cross-Site Analyses of Existing RADx-UP Data (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (RFA-OD-23-050) is a discretionary grant program designed to generate new, actionable knowledge from data that already exist within the RADx-UP initiative. Rather than funding new data collection or clinical trials, this NOFO is focused on secondary analyses that ask genuinely new questions about SARS-CoV-2 testing and the inequities that shaped testing access, testing uptake, and downstream COVID-19 outcomes across different communities. The intent is to move quickly by leveraging established datasets and to produce insights that can inform public health practice, future outbreak responses, and strategies to reduce health disparities.

The core scientific emphasis is on cross-site analyses of existing RADx-UP data, meaning applicants are expected to look beyond a single study site whenever possible and examine patterns across multiple projects, populations, or geographic areas represented in RADx-UP. NIH is encouraging projects that propose novel hypotheses and analytic approaches to better understand (1) access to COVID-19 testing and what drives or blocks uptake, (2) social, structural, behavioral, and contextual factors that influence testing and related outcomes, and (3) meta-analyses or pooled analyses that evaluate specific COVID-19 response strategies or intervention approaches within and across different populations. In practice, competitive projects would likely focus on identifying what worked, for whom, under what conditions, and why, using rigorous quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods approaches suited to harmonized multi-site datasets.

This opportunity uses the NIH R21 mechanism, which generally supports exploratory or developmental research that can be completed in a shorter timeframe and is appropriate for high-impact analyses that may be innovative or somewhat higher risk, as long as the approach is well justified and feasible using available data. A key restriction is embedded directly in the title: "Clinical Trial Not Allowed." That means the funded work cannot include prospective clinical trial activities; it should remain within the lane of analyzing existing RADx-UP data (including potential cross-project harmonization, pooled analyses, or meta-analytic synthesis) rather than initiating new interventional testing.

The award ceiling listed for this NOFO is $275,000. The original closing date was July 3, 2023, and the opportunity was created on May 2, 2023. The program is administered by NIH and is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (including 93.113, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.350, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.879), reflecting NIH’s broad portfolio and the way awards may be managed across participating NIH components.

Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based public and private entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township 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; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The NOFO also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible agencies of the federal government, Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (other than federally recognized), and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, there are firm restrictions related to foreign involvement: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In other words, applicants must be U.S.-based, and the project’s performance and components must remain domestic.

Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a rapid, analytic push to extract deeper lessons from the RADx-UP investment, with a strong emphasis on equity-centered questions about COVID-19 testing. It is aimed at researchers and organizations that can work with existing RADx-UP datasets to produce cross-cutting, generalizable findings about disparities in testing access and uptake, the real-world factors tied to COVID-19 outcomes, and the comparative impact of response strategies across diverse communities, without conducting a clinical trial or launching new international components.

• 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 "Emergency Award: Novel Insights through Cross-Site Analyses of Existing RADx-UP Data (R21 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, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.350, 93.399, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-05-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-07-03. (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 $275,000.00 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 RFA OD 23 050

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