National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Funding Opportunity Announcement

The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), part of NIH, has announced a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit exploratory and developmental research project grant (R21) applications that propose innovative and transdisciplinary interventions on health disparities, social determinants of health, health behavior and promotion, and disease prevention, that is jointly conducted with faith-based organizations or faith-motivated programs and the research community. The full funding announcement is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-10-004.html.

The total amount of funding that NCMHD expects to award through this FOA is approximately $2.5 million. The anticipated number of awards is up to 8. Letters of intent to apply for funding are due by February 9, 2010, and the application deadline is March 17, 2010. Direct costs are limited to $275,000 over a two-year period, with no more than $200,000 in direct costs allowed in any single year. Applications for this award should describe projects distinct from those supported through the traditional R01 mechanism. For example, long term projects, or projects designed to increase knowledge in a well-established area, will not be considered for this R21 award. Applications submitted under this mechanism should be exploratory and novel, involving studies that break new ground or extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications. Projects of limited cost or scope that use widely accepted approaches and methods within well established fields are better suited for the R03 small grant mechanism.