BRAIN Initiative: Data Archives for the BRAIN Initiative (R24 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 20 600

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 20 600

The BRAIN Initiative: Data Archives for the BRAIN Initiative (R24 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (RFA-MH-20-600) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program in the health funding category (CFDA 93.242) focused on building and supporting web-accessible data archives that can capture, store, and curate data generated through BRAIN Initiative activities. The central purpose is to strengthen the broader neuroscience research ecosystem by creating community resource archives that make BRAIN-related datasets easier to find, access, understand, and reuse, ultimately accelerating discovery by enabling secondary analyses and broader collaboration across the field.

A key emphasis of the announcement is that the funded effort is meant to establish and operate the archive infrastructure and the accompanying curation workflows, not to invent entirely new technologies or standards. Applicants are expected to use appropriate standards to describe and organize the data, but the development of those standards itself is explicitly outside the scope of this FOA. Similarly, the archives are expected to work with the research community and incorporate tools that allow users to analyze and visualize archived data, but building those tools from scratch is not what this funding supports. In practice, this means the project should prioritize making data well-structured, well-documented, and interoperable, and should be designed so that existing or community-developed analysis and visualization tools can plug into the archive and work effectively.

The program’s overarching goal is to advance research by standing up a broadly available, accessible, and well-curated archive that serves as a durable community resource. That includes providing appropriate standards-based metadata and clear summary information so that researchers can interpret datasets correctly, evaluate whether the data fit their scientific questions, and reuse the data responsibly. Because the archive is intended for broad community benefit, the work typically involves sustained engagement with data generators and downstream users, careful attention to data organization and provenance, and a strong commitment to ensuring the archive remains accessible and useful over time.

The opportunity uses the NIH R24 mechanism (resource-related research projects) and is labeled “Clinical Trial Optional,” meaning applicants may propose a project that includes a clinical trial component if it is appropriate to the archive’s purpose, but a clinical trial is not required. The funding instrument type is a grant. The original application closing date listed for this FOA was 2023-07-14, and the FOA record indicates a creation date of 2020-08-07. The public summary does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based and certain non-U.S. organizations. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and 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 (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), 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, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities/foreign organizations, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Overall, the opportunity is geared toward organizations capable of delivering robust, web-accessible data archiving capacity for BRAIN Initiative-related data, with strong curation practices and community-facing accessibility, while leveraging (rather than creating) standards and user-facing analysis/visualization tools that help researchers make meaningful use of the archived information.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative: Data Archives for the BRAIN Initiative (R24 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-07-14. (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 RFA MH 20 600

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