Early-stage Biomedical Data Repositories and Knowledgebases (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 23 236

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 23 236

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Early-stage Biomedical Data Repositories and Knowledgebases (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-23-236) supports the creation and early development of new biomedical data repositories and knowledgebases. The focus is on building distinct, stand-alone resources that can serve the broader biomedical research community by organizing, preserving, curating, and enabling access to data or structured knowledge in ways that make the information more usable, discoverable, and reusable for scientific work. The mechanism is an R24 grant, which is commonly used by NIH to support resource-related projects that provide infrastructure or capabilities for the research community rather than testing an intervention in a clinical trial setting.

A key point in the title is "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning proposed activities must not include clinical trials as defined by NIH. Applicants should plan projects around data infrastructure, curation pipelines, knowledge representation, repository design, metadata standards, access and governance models, interoperability, and other resource-building elements. The intended outcome is an early-stage repository or knowledgebase that demonstrates clear value and practical utility, with enough structure and planning to show it can become a reliable community resource. This FOA is aimed at resources that are new or in early stages, rather than mature repositories seeking routine operations funding, and it emphasizes the development phase where the core foundation, tooling, and policies are established.

The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant program and spans several health-related CFDA numbers, reflecting that it can align with many NIH mission areas depending on the scientific domain of the repository or knowledgebase. The listing includes multiple CFDA numbers (for example 93.113, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.310, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.853, 93.866, 93.867), which signals broad applicability across institutes and centers where data resources can accelerate research.

Eligibility is expansive and includes many organization types that could plausibly build and maintain shared data resources. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and 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; other Native American tribal organizations (including those not federally recognized); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding higher education institutions when specified); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible 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, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This breadth suggests NIH is interested in drawing proposals from a wide range of institutions that can serve research communities, including organizations rooted in specific populations or regions that may have unique data assets and stewardship models.

The stated award ceiling is $350,000, which sets an upper bound on funding under this announcement. The source data provided does not specify an exact number of expected awards, indicating that the number of grants made may depend on annual appropriations, application volume, scientific merit, and program priorities across participating NIH components. The opportunity was created on 2023-08-30, and the original closing date listed is 2026-01-25, giving applicants a long planning horizon but also requiring attention to NIH submission schedules, internal review timelines, and any intermediate due dates that may apply in the full FOA.

In practical terms, competitive proposals under this program typically need to articulate what the repository or knowledgebase will contain, who will use it, and what makes it meaningfully different from existing resources. Strong applications usually outline concrete plans for data ingestion and harmonization, metadata and ontologies, quality control and curation processes, user interfaces and programmatic access (such as APIs), documentation and user support, and policies for access, privacy, consent alignment, and governance. Because NIH is funding an early-stage build, applicants generally need to show a credible path from initial development to a sustainable resource, including community engagement, adoption plans, and strategies for long-term maintenance, even if long-term operations are not fully funded by this particular award.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Early-stage Biomedical Data Repositories and Knowledgebases (R24 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, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.310, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.853, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-08-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-01-25. (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 $350,000.00 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 PAR 23 236

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