Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 19 031
This grant opportunity, titled "Analytical Tools and Approaches for (Multidimensional) Scholarly Research Assessment and Decision Support in the Biomedical Enterprise (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)," is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) small business funding announcement focused on improving how the biomedical research ecosystem evaluates scholarship and makes decisions. The core aim is to spur the development of advanced analytical models, software tools, and quantitative metrics that can support better decision-making and more informed professional evaluation across life sciences management and administration. In practice, the NIH is looking for solutions that move beyond simplistic, one-dimensional indicators and instead provide more comprehensive, multidimensional ways to assess research activity, influence, productivity, collaboration, and other signals that stakeholders rely on when making funding, hiring, promotion, program, and policy decisions.
The intended impact is broad and explicitly tied to real-world use by organizations that shape biomedical research priorities and careers. The announcement highlights potential users such as non-governmental organizations and disease foundations, advocacy groups, the publishing industry, research funders, policymakers, and academic institutions. That framing suggests the tools should be designed not only to be technically sophisticated, but also to be practical for decision support in settings like grant portfolio management, institutional benchmarking, research strategy planning, program evaluation, and responsible assessment of scientists and teams. Because the FOA emphasizes professional evaluation and administrative decision-making, responsive projects would typically focus on transparency, interpretability, and usability, so that metrics and model outputs can be understood and applied appropriately rather than treated as black-box scores.
The funding mechanism is SBIR/STTR-oriented, using the R43/R44 activity codes, meaning it targets U.S. small businesses developing innovations with a clear pathway toward a usable product or service. The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant within NIH and sits within the health and education activity area (CFDA 93.279). As an R43/R44 solicitation, applicants would generally be expected to propose a phased effort consistent with small business innovation development, where early-stage feasibility and prototype development can mature into more robust, deployable tools. The announcement also makes clear that clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA, so proposed work should center on analytics, assessment methods, data integration, modeling, and decision-support systems rather than interventions tested in clinical trial designs.
Eligibility is limited to small businesses, and the FOA includes specific restrictions related to foreign participation. Non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, the notice indicates that foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, may be allowed in some circumstances, which typically means discrete foreign elements could be included if they are justified and meet NIH policy requirements, even though the applicant organization must be an eligible U.S. small business.
Key administrative details from the source information include the funding opportunity number RFA-DA-19-031 and an original closing date of March 4, 2019, with the opportunity created on January 2, 2019. The sponsoring agency is the NIH. The source excerpt does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards, so those particulars are not specified in the provided listing. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an NIH effort to catalyze commercially oriented, decision-ready analytical tools that strengthen how biomedical research contributions are assessed and how strategic choices are made across the broader life sciences enterprise, while explicitly excluding clinical trial work and limiting applicants to eligible U.S. small businesses.Apply for RFA DA 19 031
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Analytical Tools and Approaches for (Multidimensional) Scholarly Research Assessment and Decision Support in the Biomedical Enterprise (R43/R44 - 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): 93.279.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2019-01-02.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-03-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is the title of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled: "Analytical Tools and Approaches for (Multidimensional) Scholarly Research Assessment and Decision Support in the Biomedical Enterprise (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)."
2) Which agency is sponsoring this funding opportunity?
The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
3) What is the funding opportunity number (FOA number)?
The funding opportunity number is RFA-DA-19-031.
4) What kind of funding mechanism is this (R43/R44)?
This is an NIH small business announcement using the R43/R44 activity codes, which are associated with the SBIR/STTR-style phased small business innovation development approach (e.g., feasibility/prototype work maturing into more robust, deployable tools).
5) What is the main purpose of this grant?
The core aim is to spur development of advanced analytical models, software tools, and quantitative metrics that improve how the biomedical research ecosystem evaluates scholarship and supports decision-making. The emphasis is on moving beyond simplistic, one-dimensional indicators toward more comprehensive, multidimensional assessment approaches.
6) What kinds of problems is NIH trying to address through this FOA?
The FOA is focused on strengthening professional evaluation and administrative decision-making in the biomedical enterprise by enabling better assessment of research activity, influence, productivity, collaboration, and other signals used in real-world decisions (for example, funding, hiring, promotion, program planning, and policy decisions).
7) What types of solutions are NIH looking for?
Solutions may include analytical models, software tools, quantitative metrics, data integration approaches, modeling methods, and decision-support systems intended for scholarly research assessment in biomedical and life sciences contexts, with an emphasis on multidimensional measurement rather than single-score or single-metric evaluation.
8) What does "multidimensional" assessment mean in the context of this opportunity?
Based on the description, it means assessment approaches that consider multiple signals or dimensions of scholarly activity (such as productivity, influence, collaboration, and other relevant indicators) rather than relying on a single simplistic indicator.
9) Who are the intended users of tools developed under this opportunity?
The announcement explicitly references potential users across the biomedical research ecosystem, including non-governmental organizations and disease foundations, advocacy groups, the publishing industry, research funders, policymakers, and academic institutions.
10) What are some example use cases mentioned or implied by the description?
The description points to practical decision-support use in areas such as grant portfolio management, institutional benchmarking, research strategy planning, program evaluation, and responsible assessment of scientists and teams for professional evaluation and administrative decisions.
11) Does this funding opportunity allow clinical trials?
No. The FOA explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so proposed work should not include clinical trials and should instead focus on analytics and decision-support related development.
12) If clinical trials are not allowed, what kind of work is appropriate?
Appropriate work (as described) centers on analytics, assessment methods, data integration, modeling, and decision-support systems intended to improve scholarly research assessment and decision-making within the biomedical enterprise.
13) Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to small businesses. The FOA is positioned as an NIH small business funding announcement aligned with SBIR/STTR-style innovation development.
14) Are non-U.S. entities eligible to apply?
No. Non-U.S. entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply based on the provided information.
15) Are non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations eligible?
No. Non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply, according to the provided description.
16) Are any foreign components allowed at all?
The information indicates that foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) may be allowed in some circumstances. In other words, the applicant must be an eligible U.S. small business, but discrete foreign components could potentially be included if justified and consistent with NIH policy.
17) What is the intended impact of projects funded by this FOA?
The intended impact is broad: to support better decision-making and more informed professional evaluation across life sciences management and administration, improving how biomedical research contributions are assessed and how strategic choices are made across the research enterprise.
18) Does the FOA emphasize any particular qualities for the tools (for example, interpretability or usability)?
Yes, the description suggests responsive projects would typically emphasize transparency, interpretability, and usability so that outputs can be understood and applied appropriately in real decision settings rather than being treated as black-box scores.
19) What is the CFDA number and activity area for this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with CFDA 93.279 and is described as sitting within the health and education activity area.
20) What type of grant is this described as (discretionary or mandatory)?
It is categorized as a discretionary grant within NIH, based on the provided information.
21) When was the opportunity created, and what was the original closing date?
The opportunity was created on January 2, 2019, and the original closing date listed is March 4, 2019.
22) Does the provided information include the award ceiling or the expected number of awards?
No. The source excerpt does not provide an award ceiling or an expected number of awards, so those details are not specified in the provided listing.
23) What kinds of decisions could these tools support in practice?
The description ties the tools to decision-making contexts such as funding decisions, hiring and promotion evaluations, program and portfolio decisions, institutional planning, benchmarking, and policy-related decisions in the biomedical research ecosystem.
24) Is this opportunity more research-oriented or product-oriented?
Based on the R43/R44 small business mechanism and the emphasis on deployable decision-support tools, it is oriented toward small-business innovation with a clear pathway toward a usable product or service, not purely academic research.
25) What is the overall theme of the FOA in plain terms?
Build decision-ready analytics and tools that help the biomedical community assess research contributions more responsibly and comprehensively, using multidimensional measures rather than simplistic one-number metrics, with clinical trials excluded and eligibility limited to U.S. small businesses.
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