Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program FY 2020 (P2C Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HD 20 015

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HD 20 015

The Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program FY 2020 (P2C Clinical Trial Not Allowed), listed as RFA-HD-20-015, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity designed to strengthen the research infrastructure that supports population dynamics science. The core aim is not simply to fund individual research projects, but to build and maintain center-level capabilities that make population research more impactful and efficient. In practical terms, the program is meant to raise the overall quality and productivity of the field by supporting shared resources, coordinated research support, and training environments that help researchers, especially early-career investigators, do stronger work faster and with greater innovation.

A central emphasis of the announcement is advancing population dynamics research through three linked goals: increasing research impact, encouraging innovation, and improving productivity. The FOA also explicitly highlights the development of junior scientists as a priority, indicating that funded centers are expected to provide structured support that helps newer investigators build skills, access expertise, and produce high-quality outputs. Another major theme is maximizing the efficiency of research support, which typically points to centralized services and shared platforms (for example, data resources, methods consultation, administrative coordination, and other common supports) that reduce duplication and lower the barriers to conducting rigorous population-based research.

This opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the grant funding instrument. Its activity category is listed under Health, Income Security and Social Services, and it is associated with CFDA number 93.865. The program was created on July 10, 2019, and the original closing date for applications was August 30, 2019. The notice does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the supplied data, so applicants would have needed to consult the full FOA text and related NIH documentation for budget structure, limits, and the anticipated funding level.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts. Higher education institutions are eligible, including public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. Tribal entities are included as well, both federally recognized Native American tribal governments and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. Housing-related public authorities, including public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities, are eligible. Nonprofits are eligible whether or not they have 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education. For-profit organizations other than small businesses may apply, and small businesses are also eligible. The FOA also explicitly calls out 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 agencies of the federal government, regional organizations, Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the announcement draws a firm line around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. Taken together, those restrictions mean the work and the supported infrastructure must remain domestic in scope and implementation, without foreign components embedded in the proposed center activities.

The title includes an important compliance condition: "Clinical Trial Not Allowed." That designation signals that the proposed activities under this mechanism cannot include clinical trials as defined by NIH policy. Applicants would be expected to ensure that the center infrastructure activities, and any associated research components supported through the center, do not cross the NIH threshold for a clinical trial. This constraint shapes what kinds of projects and services the center can support and is especially important for institutions that also do clinical or intervention research, because they would need to keep this center program clearly aligned with non-clinical-trial population dynamics research and infrastructure.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as an NIH investment in the backbone of population dynamics research: the shared resources, training and mentorship environments, and coordinated supports that help a research community produce better science, develop the next generation of investigators, and operate more efficiently at scale, while remaining entirely U.S.-based and excluding clinical trial activity.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program FY 2020 (P2C 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): 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-07-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-08-30. (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.

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