Limited Competition: RCMI Research Coordination Network (RRCN) (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA MD 18 011

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MD 18 011

This opportunity, titled "Limited Competition: RCMI Research Coordination Network (RRCN) (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-MD-18-011), is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement aimed at strengthening and expanding the coordination infrastructure that links institutions funded through the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program. The RRCN, originally launched in 2007 under the name RCMI Translational Research Network (RTRN), exists to deepen collaboration across the RCMI community and to make research efforts more connected, efficient, and impactful for minority populations and communities experiencing health disparities. The overall emphasis is on building a well-functioning network that actively engages stakeholders at RCMI institutions and improves how research is planned, conducted, and translated into real health improvements.

A central theme of the announcement is network-wide coordination. Funding is intended to support the infrastructure and activities that keep the RRCN operating as a cohesive, collaborative system rather than a set of isolated projects. The announcement highlights goals such as improving the quality and efficiency of basic biomedical research, behavioral research, and clinical research (while explicitly excluding clinical trials under this FOA); supporting better study participant recruitment and retention; and accelerating the implementation and dissemination of research advances so that findings more reliably translate into improved health outcomes. In practical terms, this is about strengthening the connective tissue of the RCMI research enterprise: shared processes, shared resources, shared standards, and shared platforms that reduce duplication, improve coordination, and help multi-site efforts move faster and with more consistency.

The FOA specifically calls for expanding the functions of two major components of the network: the Research Coordinating Center (RCC) and the Data Coordinating Center (DCC). These centers serve as the operational backbone for collaboration across multiple RCMI institutions. The RCC role is generally aligned with network organization and research coordination, such as facilitating cross-institution partnerships, supporting collaborative research planning, improving communication among stakeholders, and helping align network activities with RCMI priorities. The DCC role is geared toward data-related coordination, which commonly includes establishing data standards and governance, supporting data management approaches that work across sites, and enabling efficient sharing and analysis in ways that strengthen multi-institution research. The announcement frames these expanded RCC and DCC functions as essential for improving overall network coordination and collaboration and for ensuring the RRCN continues to be effective as it grows and evolves.

Eligibility is intentionally narrow because this is a limited competition. Only institutions that are already RCMI grantees funded in response to specific prior RCMI funding announcements (PAR-11-132, PAR-13-279, and RFA-MD-17-003) are permitted to apply. This restriction signals that the FOA is designed to build on established RCMI investments and maintain continuity within the existing RCMI grantee community, rather than opening competition to new institutions. The eligible applicant type listed includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, consistent with the RCMI landscape and the limited-competition approach.

The opportunity also includes strict limits on foreign involvement. Non-U.S. (non-domestic) 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. This means applications must be fully domestic in terms of applicant organization and project components, reinforcing that the program is focused on U.S.-based RCMI institutions and their coordinated work to address domestic minority health and health disparities.

From an administrative standpoint, the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement (U54), which typically indicates substantial NIH involvement in project oversight and coordination compared with standard grants. The activity area is health, and the CFDA number is 93.307. The original closing date listed is October 18, 2018, the opportunity was created on August 17, 2018, and the stated award ceiling is $1,300,000. The clinical trial policy is clearly stated in the title: "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning applicants must ensure proposed activities do not meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial.

Overall, the funding opportunity is best understood as an investment in network infrastructure and coordination capacity across existing RCMI-funded institutions, with the goal of making collaborative minority health and health disparities research more integrated, more efficient, and more likely to produce results that can be implemented and disseminated to improve health outcomes. The focus is less on launching stand-alone, site-specific research and more on strengthening the collaborative systems, coordination hubs, and data capabilities that allow the entire RCMI community to work together more effectively.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: RCMI Research Coordination Network (RRCN) (U54 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): 93.307.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-08-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-10-18. (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 $1,300,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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