Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-23-236
Deadlines
Letter of Intent: November 26, 2024
Submission: January 25, 2025, May 25, 2025
Research Resource Objectives
This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports the development of early-stage or new data repositories or knowledgebases that could be valuable for the biomedical research community. The overall goal is to support pilot activities that demonstrate the need and potential impact of the data resource. The NOFO will also support transitioning resources that are currently supported as investigator-initiated research efforts into quality controlled, standards-based resources that address governance, and efficiency of operations. Efforts to consolidate existing data repositories or independent knowledgebases are also in scope for this NOFO.
Each resource must: (a) deliver scientific impact to the communities served; (b) employ and promote good data management practices (as outlined by the FAIR Data Principles including adherence to the NIH desirable characteristics of repositories and efficient operations for quality and services; (c) engage with the user community and continuously address their needs; and (d) support a process for data life-cycle analysis, long-term preservation, and trustworthy governance.
The evaluation of the Data Repository will be based on the primary function to ingest, archive, preserve, manage, distribute, and make accessible the biomedical data related to a particular system or systems.
The evaluation of The Biomedical Knowledgebase will be based on the function to extract, accumulate, organize, annotate, and link growing bodies of information related to core datasets.
Both the data repository and the knowledgebase should provide publicly available documentation on the services offered; be responsible for providing quality services; demonstrate the utility of the data and offered services; demonstrate usage and utility; must commit to community engagement and needs, trustworthiness of stewardship, and governance.
Scope:
Initiatives supporting data resources differ from typical hypothesis-driven research (e.g., U01 or R01) grants. Data resources funded under this NOFO can support 1) creation of a new data resource or 2) propose activities required to combine/transition existing data resources. Projects have the potential to mature into an established data resource eligible for support via the established resources NOFO (PAR-23-237.
Applications appropriate for this NOFO can support data resources for biomedical research, spanning biological scales including molecular, cellular, tissue, organism, and/or population data, as well as social and behavioral data. Support for software and tool development must be limited to that which provides essential functions or significantly increases the efficiency of resource operations. An application should distinctly support either a data repository or a knowledgebase. Resources that desire to support both should submit separate applications to ensure their proper review per the distinct review criteria.
NIH ICs participating in this NOFO are interested in resources that apply to biomedical questions and diseases relevant to their own Institutes and Centers as outlined at https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/list-institutes-centers. Applicants are strongly encouraged to request consultation with ODSS and staff at the appropriate participating Institute/Centers when planning an application through submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI). Early contact provides an opportunity for NIH scientific/research staff to determine relevance and priorities of the ICs, provide guidance on program scope and appropriateness of the proposed resource, and for suitability to this NOFO. Applicants that do not consult with NIH prior to submission may be less likely to receive funding, as such applications may not align with the IC program priorities.
For more information, please see the opportunity webpage.