Overview
The following provides resource-limited institutions (RLIs) with information and resources regarding research capacity building funding opportunities that NINDS participates in. Broadly defined, RLIs are institutions that do not receive substantial funding from NIH and often also serve a diverse student body, including those from groups underrepresented in biomedical research.
- Varied goals include supporting the purchase of instruments to enhance research of NIH-funded investigators or providing funding for PIs who do not have prior or active funding and are developing projects for trainees.
- Applicants should carefully read Section III of each notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) to determine exact eligibility, as each NIH program has specific eligibility requirements for the institution and/or the primary investigator.
- Section VII contains agency contacts that can answer questions prior to application. You can also use the Find Your NINDS Program Officer tool which provides resources to help find a Program Officer to help determine if your application falls within the NINDS mission and what opportunities might be a good fit.
This page provides resources that applicants should use to navigate RLI programs, to learn how to apply, and to get started in determining eligibility.
Not Sure Where to Start?
NIH provides resources to help prepare your application:
- Preparing your Application: Learn about the process from planning and preparing an application to receiving a Notice of Award.
- NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: NIH’s official publication of notices of grant policies, guidelines, and funding opportunities.
- NIH RePORTER: Details about NIH funding such as funding by state and active projects by institute/center. The Matchmaker tool can also help find potential program officials, ICs, and review panels for your research.
- Engagement and Access for Research-Active Institutions (EARA): Provides resources to enhance outreach and connections between for research-active institutions (RAIs) and NIH ICOs.
Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15)
To support small scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from the NIH, with an emphasis on providing biomedical research experiences primarily for undergraduate students and enhancing the research environment at applicant institutions.
Learn More and Apply
Funding Opportunities:
- PAR-21-154 (Clinical Trial Required): projects are limited to prospective basic science studies involving human participants that fall within the broad NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research as described in NOT-OD-18-212.
- PAR-21-155 (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
Due Dates: Accepted three times a year in February, June, and October
PD(s)/PI(s) Eligibility: If proposing multiple PD(s)/PI(s), each PD/PI must be at an AREA-eligible institution. Each PD(s)/PI(s) may not be the PD(s)/PI(s) of an active NIH research grant, including another R15 grant, at the time of award of an AREA grant, although he or she may be one of the Key Personnel for an active NIH grant held by another PD/PI.
Institutional Eligibility: Does not provide support for research from Health Professional Schools and colleges and accredited institutions that provide education and training leading to a health professional degree. At the time of application submission, all of the non-health professional components of the institution combined must not have received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 years. Please refer to Section III. Eligibility for additional information.
Contact: Letitia Weigand, PhD, NINDS Office of Training & Workforce Development.
Additional Information:
Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools & Graduate Schools (R15)
To support small scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from the NIH, with an emphasis on providing biomedical research experiences primarily for health professional, undergraduate and graduate students and enhancing the research environment at applicant institutions.
Learn More and Apply
Funding Opportunities:
- PAR-21-357 (Clinical Trial Required): projects are limited to prospective basic science studies involving human participants that fall within the broad NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research as described in NOT-OD-18-212.
- PAR-22-060 (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
Due Dates: Accepted three times a year in February, June, and October
PD(s)/PI(s) Eligibility: If proposing multiple PD(s)/PI(s), each PD/PI must be at a REAP-eligible institution. Each PD(s)/PI(s) may not be the PD(s)/PI(s) of an active NIH research grant, including another R15 grant, at the time of award of an REAP grant, although he or she may be one of the Key Personnel for an active NIH grant held by another PD/PI. Each PD(s)/PI(s) may not be awarded more than one R15 grant at a time, although he or she may hold successive New or Renewal grants.
Institutional Eligibility: At the time of application submission, all components of the institution combined must not have received support from the NIH totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 years. For institutions composed of multiple schools and colleges, the $6 million funding limit is based on the amount of NIH funding received by all of the schools and colleges within the institution as a whole.
Contact: Letitia Weigand, PhD, NINDS Office of Training & Workforce Development.
Additional Information:
Support for Research Excellence First Independent Research (SuRE-First) Award (R16)
To support research grants for faculty investigators who have not had prior independent external research grants. The SuRE-First Award allows these investigators to develop their independent research programs. The program also provides support and must include student participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research.
Learn More and Apply
Funding Opportunity:
- PAR-24-145 (R16 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Due Date: September 28 of each year
PD(s)/PI(s) Eligibility: Postdoctoral fellows, part-time or adjunct faculty, emeritus/retired investigators/professors, and individuals on appointments contingent on securing his/her salary from grants are not eligible to apply. Eligibility is limited to applicants who, at the time of submission, have not been or are not the PD/PI of any NIH SC1, SC2, or SC3 grant or any peer-reviewed, externally funded federal or non-federal research award. Research project grants that name the SuRE-First applicant as a Co-Investigator, project leader, collaborator, consultant, or to a position other than PD/PI do not disqualify an applicant from applying for SuRE-First support.
Institutional Eligibility: At the time of the application, the institution should have received no more than $6 million dollars per year (total costs) from NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) in each of the preceding two fiscal years, calculated using NIH RePORTER and enroll at least 25% of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants based on the most recent two years of data available from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics, or are an accredited medical/health professional school with a historical mission statement that explicitly states that it was founded to educate students from nationally underrepresented backgrounds. Applicant institution must demonstrate a commitment to build its research capacity and support the PD/PI of the award.
For NINDS mission relevance and post-review questions: Joshua Sanchez, PhD, NINDS Health Program Specialist.
For eligibility and review questions: Irina Krasnova, PhD, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
The SuRE Program is managed by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), which determines eligibility and reviews all applications. After review, if chosen for funding, applications will be transferred to NINDS for management.
Additional Information:
Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) Award (R16)
To provide research grant support for faculty investigators who have prior experience in leading externally-funded, independent research but are not currently funded by any NIH Research Project Grants with the exception of SuRE or SuRE-First awards. The program also provides support and must include student participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research.
Learn More and Apply
Funding Opportunities:
- PAR-24-144 (R16 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Due Date: May 26 of each year
PD(s)/PI(s) Eligibility: Postdoctoral fellows, part-time or adjunct faculty, emeritus/retired investigators/professors, and individuals on appointments contingent on securing his/her salary from grants are not eligible to apply. The PD/PI of an active SCORE, SuRE or SuRE-First grant may apply in the last year of funding. Grants in no-cost extension are considered active grants. NIH research project grants that name the SuRE PD/PI as a co-investigator, collaborator, consultant, or to a position other than PD/PI do not disqualify an applicant from applying for SuRE support. Please refer to PAR-21-169 for additional eligibility requirements.
Institutional Eligibility: This funding opportunity announcement is open to all institutions of higher education that have received no more than $6 million dollars per year (total costs) from NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) in each of the preceding two fiscal years, calculated using NIH RePORTER and enroll at least 25% of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants based on the most recent two years of data available from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics, or are an accredited medical/health professional school with a historical mission statement that explicitly states that it was founded to educate students from nationally underrepresented backgrounds.
For NINDS mission relevance and post-review questions: Joshua Sanchez, PhD, NINDS Health Program Specialist.
For eligibility and review questions: Irina Krasnova, PhD, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
The SuRE Program is managed by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), which determines eligibility and reviews all applications. After review, if chosen for funding, applications will be transferred to NINDS for management.
Additional Information:
Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions (S10)
The Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-limited Institutions supports the purchase of state-of-the-art scientific instruments to enhance the research and educational missions of resource-limited institutions. Proposed instruments may support scientific projects in basic, translational, clinical, or biomedically-related behavioral fields. Students and trainees may also benefit from access to the instrument in formal courses. The requested instrument should invigorate current research, contribute to opportunities for new research projects, stimulate collaborations, and/or enhance education.
NINDS is interested in supporting applications for the purchase of instruments that are aligned with the NINDS mission. NINDS expects to support instrumentation for existing NINDS-funded projects and/or catalyze future NINDS-relevant projects at resource-limited institutions or other collaborative partnerships for neuroscience research or education.
Learn More and Apply
Funding Opportunities:
Due Dates for New Applications: July 03, 2023; June 03, 2024; June 02, 2025
Eligibility: Applicant institutions eligible for funding through this NOFO must be domestic, located in the United States or its territories, and meet these criteria:
At the time of application, have received less than $6 million dollars per year (total costs) from NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) in each of the preceding three fiscal years, calculated using NIH RePORTER; and
Award undergraduate (B.S. or B.A.) and/or graduate degrees in biomedical sciences; and
Enroll at least 35% of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants (calculated as a yearly average from the past three academic years based on data available from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics); or belong to one of the following categories:
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), (see 20 U.S.C. 1061(2))
Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), (i.e., institutions described in section 5(e) of Executive Order 14049)
For questions related to NINDS mission relevance and post-review: Contact Marguerite Matthews, PhD, NINDS Program Director.
Related Resources
- Link to NINDS OPEN website/podcasts:
- NINDS OPEN Stage Webinars: YouTube playlist and News and Events
- NINDS OPEN House Webinars News and Events
- NINDS’s Building Up the Nerve Podcast
- Listservs and Other Media Pages
- Other Related Grant Information:
- Other Helpful Resources:
- Navigating the NIH
- Provides information about funding opportunities, tips for scientists, grant writing and reviewer training opportunities, and other resources that an applicant might need to prepare a successful grant application.
- Grant Writing Webinar Series for Institutions Building Research and Research Training Capacity
- This webinar series provides suggestions for navigating the process of seeking NIH funding.
- How to Apply – Application Guide: Provides instructions that can be used along with the guidance in the funding opportunity to submit grant applications.
Contacts/Inquiries
- R15: For eligibility and review questions: Letitia Weigand, PhD, NINDS Office of Training & Workforce Development.
- R16:
- For eligibility and review questions: Contact: Irina Krasnova, PhD, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
- For questions related to NINDS mission relevance and post-review: Contact Joshua Sanchez, PhD, NINDS Health Program Specialist.
S10: For questions related to NINDS mission relevance and post-review: Contact Marguerite Matthews, PhD, NINDS Program Director.