Competing Revisions to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 20 163

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 20 163

Competing Revisions to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Clinical Trial Optional) (Funding Opportunity Number PA-20-163) is an NIH grant funding opportunity that provides a path for current NIH award recipients to request additional support to expand the scope, activities, or impact of an already-funded project or program. The core idea is that NIH may have funds available for competitive revision applications, meaning these are not administrative supplements but peer-reviewed requests that propose scientifically and technically justified expansions to an active award. The opportunity is labeled "clinical trial optional," which signals that a proposed expansion may include a clinical trial if it fits the parent award and the relevant NIH policies, but a clinical trial is not required.

A key restriction is that applicants can only use this FOA when responding to a specific Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) issued by an NIH Institute or Center (IC). In other words, you cannot submit a competing revision under PA-20-163 on its own; the revision must be tied to a competitive revision NOSI published by the awarding IC. That NOSI effectively defines the scientific area of interest and the conditions for applying, and it also indicates which NIH IC is participating for that topic. The revision is expected to remain anchored to the parent grant or cooperative agreement, building on the original aims rather than turning the project into something unrelated.

Applications submitted under this opportunity are reviewed for scientific and technical merit through NIH peer review processes. NIH indicates that appropriate Scientific Review Groups will evaluate these revisions using standard NIH review criteria and procedures, consistent with NIH policy. Practically, that means the proposed expansion needs to be compelling on significance, innovation, approach, investigator capability, and research environment, while also showing a clear fit with the original funded project and with the NOSI that authorizes submission.

Eligibility is broad in terms of organizational types, but the intent is directed at entities that already hold NIH awards and are seeking to revise those existing awards competitively. Eligible applicants listed include many U.S. governmental entities (state, county, city or township governments, special district governments), education entities (independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education), and a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses). The FOA also highlights eligibility for several mission-relevant institutional 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), along with faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies.

International participation is explicitly allowed in multiple forms. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, including foreign organizations and foreign institutions, are eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also eligible. In addition, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are permitted. This makes the opportunity usable for awards that legitimately require international collaboration or include overseas sites, as long as the proposed revision is consistent with NIH policy and the requirements of the relevant NOSI and parent award.

From a classification standpoint, this is a discretionary grant mechanism under NIH, with activity categories spanning environment, food and nutrition, and health, and it is associated with CFDA numbers 93.113 and 93.847. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, which typically means the amount and volume of funding depend on the participating ICs, the specific NOSIs, and NIH budget availability at the time of submission and award. The original closing date shown is 2023-05-03, and the opportunity was created on 2020-04-03, but in practice applicants generally need to rely on the currently active NOSI and NIH submission windows and confirm whether the FOA is still open for the intended submission date.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a standardized NIH pathway for competitively reviewed revisions that expand existing NIH-funded work in areas where an NIH Institute or Center has announced targeted interest through a NOSI. It is aimed at strengthening and extending ongoing projects rather than initiating brand-new, unrelated research programs, while still requiring the same level of rigor and competitiveness expected in NIH peer review.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Competing Revisions to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-04-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 PA 20 163

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