Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR)(U54 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 265

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 265

The Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) opportunity (PAR 18-265) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding announcement designed to build and strengthen the practical, statewide capacity needed to carry out clinical and translational research in IDeA-eligible states. Rather than primarily paying for a single research project, this program focuses on creating shared infrastructure and resources that investigators across participating institutions can use to develop, launch, and compete more effectively for future clinical and translational research funding. The award mechanism is a U54 cooperative agreement, which generally means recipients should expect substantial involvement and collaboration with NIH program staff during planning, implementation, and oversight, and the opportunity is listed as "Clinical Trial Optional," allowing (but not requiring) clinical trial activities depending on what the center proposes.

A central expectation of an IDeA-CTR Center is that it provides added value beyond what typical, individual research grants can reasonably support. In practice, that means building capabilities that are hard to assemble piecemeal through standard R-series awards, such as shared cores, training and mentoring structures, research coordination services, regulatory support, community engagement capacity, biostatistics and informatics resources, and other enabling functions that make clinical and translational studies more feasible and higher quality. The intended outcome is a stronger pipeline of investigators and projects that can successfully attract additional external funding and elevate the overall competitiveness of the state or region in biomedical research that translates discoveries into improvements in patient care and public health.

Applicants are required to establish a statewide network that connects collaborating and partnering institutions and organizations. While the program is anchored in a statewide model, it also allows inclusion of partners outside the state when doing so meaningfully expands the reach or effectiveness of the network. A key constraint is that only one award will be made per IDeA-eligible state, and accordingly, only one application should be submitted per state. This pushes institutions within a state to coordinate, align priorities, and submit a unified proposal that represents the statewide approach rather than multiple competing applications.

Eligibility includes a broad set of domestic organizations involved in higher education and research, including public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (both those with 501(c)(3) status and those without). The announcement also highlights that certain institution types may be eligible as "other eligible applicants," including 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), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). Foreign participation is explicitly restricted: 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 under this program.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement instrument. The funding activity category is health, and the CFDA listing is 93.859. The source data lists an award ceiling of $4,000,000, indicating the upper bound referenced for funding under this announcement. The original closing date shown is 2019-10-02, and the announcement record reflects a creation date of 2017-11-30. Overall, the program is best understood as an NIH investment in shared clinical and translational research capacity: building a coordinated statewide network and the supporting infrastructure that makes it easier for investigators to initiate strong studies, improve research quality and efficiency, and compete for larger, project-focused funding in the future.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR)(U54 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.859.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-10-02. (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 $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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, Others.

Apply for PAR 18 265

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