NIH Directors Pioneer Award Program (DP1 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA RM 23 004

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 23 004

The NIH Directors Pioneer Award Program (DP1 Clinical Trial Optional) is a discretionary NIH grant opportunity designed to support individual scientists who demonstrate exceptional creativity and who are willing to pursue bold, highly innovative ideas that could transform their fields and, ultimately, improve human health. It sits within the NIH Common Fund High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, which is specifically meant to back research that may be too unconventional or early-stage to fare well in more traditional funding mechanisms. A defining feature of this program is that the proposed work must genuinely qualify as "pioneering," meaning it should represent a substantially different scientific direction than what the investigator is already doing, and it should not simply extend existing lines of research already being pursued elsewhere.

In terms of scientific scope, the program is intentionally broad. NIH welcomes applications across the full range of areas that align with its mission, including behavioral and social sciences, biomedical and clinical research, applied sciences, and formal sciences. Projects may be basic, translational, or clinical in nature, and the funding announcement explicitly indicates that clinical trials are optional, so applicants can propose work that does or does not involve a clinical trial depending on what best fits the scientific question. The central expectation is that the research is highly innovative, potentially transformative, and aimed at advancing human health.

The opportunity also places strong emphasis on broad participation and diversity within the research workforce. NIH explicitly encourages applications from investigators of diverse backgrounds and from eligible institutions across all geographic locations. This emphasis is meant to ensure that the competition draws from the widest possible pool of talent and perspectives, improving the likelihood of truly novel approaches and breakthroughs.

Eligibility spans a wide variety of organization types. Eligible applicants include many levels of government (state, county, city/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, and other Native American tribal organizations. It also includes public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), as long as they are not institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

There are important limits around foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed under NIH policy definitions, meaning certain parts of a project may be conducted outside the U.S. if they meet NIH Grants Policy Statement requirements and are justified within the application.

Key administrative details from the source information include the funding opportunity title NIH Directors Pioneer Award Program (DP1 Clinical Trial Optional), funding opportunity number RFA-RM-23-004, and CFDA number 93.310. The agency is the National Institutes of Health. The opportunity was created on 2023-03-16, and the original closing date listed is 2023-09-08. The source data lists an award ceiling of 700,000, indicating the maximum funding level presented in the provided record.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIH Directors Pioneer Award Program (DP1 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-03-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-08. (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 $700,000.00 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 RM 23 004

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