Key Dates

Related Announcements

• November 23, 2022 - NIAID Resource-Related Research Projects (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PAR-23-065

Issued by

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Purpose

The objective of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to solicit applications for Resource-Related Research Projects, including a Coordination, Consultation, and Data Management Center (CCDMC) and Regional Consultation Hubs (RCHs), that will support ongoing implementation science research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to address the goals of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative. The EHE initiative was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2019 with the overall goal of reducing the number of new HIV infections in the United States by at least 90% by 2030, compared to the baseline infection rate in 2017. The CCDMC and RCHs will provide scientific leadership and technical assistance to support the NIH EHE research portfolio and will synthesize findings across research projects to create generalizable and actionable implementation knowledge. Recipients will work closely with program officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will communicate regularly with staff at other HHS agencies, with the goal of accelerating dissemination of best practices to federal and local implementing partners involved in EHE.

Background

Despite remarkable biomedical advances to address HIV, over 30,000 new infections occur in the United States annually. Persistent social and structural barriers contribute to stark inequities in HIV infection rates and disease outcomes across demographic groups and geographic locations. The EHE initiative is a coordinated federal response led by the HHS Office of the Assistance Secretary for Health to accelerate HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outbreak response efforts in key U.S. localities with a disproportionate burden of HIV. HHS implementing agencies involved in coordinating and expanding HIV services in these localities include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Indian Health Service (IHS), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The role of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the EHE initiative is to support implementation research to identify innovative, evidence-based approaches to reach communities disproportionately impacted by HIV.

Between fiscal years 2019 – 2023 (FY19-FY23), the NIH has funded over 240 implementation research projects through administrative supplements to the NIH Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs) and NIMH AIDS Research Centers (ARCs). As the HHS EHE initiative has progressed, the NIH is building on this portfolio by supporting R-series (e.g., R01, R21, R34) grants to support research on the implementation and scale-up of innovative service delivery strategies (see for example, NOT-AI-23-070).  

Research Objectives

This NOSI seeks applications to the NIAID Resource-Related Research Projects (R24) Notice of Funding Opportunity for one Coordination, Consultation, and Data Management Center (CCDMC) and multiple Regional Consultation Hubs (RCHs) to support the NIH EHE research portfolio. Resource-Related Research Project grants will provide funding for investigator-initiated research projects that will develop resources to serve biomedical research. A resource is a non-hypothesis-driven activity to provide data, materials, tools, or services that are essential to making the most timely, high quality, and cost-efficient progress in a field. NIAID will fund one Coordination, Consultation, and Data Management Center (CCDMC), and multiple Regional Consultation Hubs (RCHs). Applications to this NOSI should propose either a CCDMC or an RCH. Principal Investigators may submit separate applications for both a CCDMC and RCH but will only be eligible to receive funding for one of the two projects if both applications are meritorious. The CCDMC will support NIH EHE-funded projects, particularly around data harmonization and reporting. The RCHs will develop webinars, workshops, technical assistance, and other resources for researchers and practitioners, and will collaborate with the CCDMC to synthesize and disseminate progress and outcomes from EHE-funded projects. The major objectives of these resource-related projects are to (1) synthesize findings across the NIH EHE portfolio to create generalizable and actionable implementation knowledge, and (2) accelerate the dissemination of best practices to federal and local implementing partners involved in EHE. The following sections provide additional details on expected functions for the CCDMC and RCHs. However, applicants are encouraged to propose additional creative approaches to support these goals.

Expected functions of the CCDMC include, but are not limited to:

Data coordination and harmonization

• Coordinate harmonization of methods, metrics, and data collection procedures, and establish common data elements, when appropriate, for NIH-funded EHE projects starting in FY24 and funded during the R24 project period.
• Continue follow-up and reporting to track outcomes of NIH-funded EHE projects, including ongoing projects and projects funded in previous years (e.g., CFAR/ARC EHE Supplement Awards).
• Maintain a publicly accessible database of EHE project characteristics and outcomes.
• Develop and house publicly accessible resources, including data harmonization tools available for EHE-funded research teams and other HIV implementation researchers to utilize as needed for analyses, publications, and grant applications.

Scientific leadership

• Foster collaboration and regular interaction of research teams and RCHs through scheduling and organizing conference calls, workshops, and webinars.
• Plan meetings or panels in conjunction with relevant HIV and implementation research conferences. This should include meetings and conferences organized by implementing organizations such as (but not limited to) the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) Annual Meeting and the National Ryan White Conference.
• Provide scientific leadership and technical assistance in implementation science methods and protocol development across sites, in partnership with the RCH teams.
• In collaboration with the RCHs and NIH program officials, organize a virtual kick-off meeting with EHE-funded research teams after they receive their Notices of Award.
• In collaboration with the RCHs and NIH program officials, plan a 2-day in-person annual meeting for research teams and community partners for ~200-300 attendees.
• Support professional development and capacity-building of Early-Stage Investigators, as well as secondary and post-secondary students, local implementers, community leaders, people living with HIV, and policymakers, as appropriate. Compile and disseminate relevant educational opportunities and resources related to implementation science for Early-Stage Investigators. Provide mentorship opportunities for Early-Stage Investigators in best practices for implementation science and community-engaged research.

Dissemination and Research to Practice

• Collaborate with EHE-funded research teams and RCHs to plan for dissemination of research to communities, HHS implementing agencies, local policymakers, HIV service providers, and other relevant stakeholders. This should include plans for how to involve leadership from implementing organizations from the beginning of the research process, how to communicate progress during midpoint milestones, and how to work with organizations in the hand-off of successful strategies/programs.
• Evaluate innovative approaches for disseminating and sharing research findings, in collaboration with RCHs. This should include the organization of a dissemination ‘think tank’ that convenes experts, practitioners, community members, federal staff, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with EHE-funded research teams and RCHs to publish articles, systematic reviews, white papers/policy documents, and implementation toolkits/guides highlighting findings and best practices generated by the NIH EHE portfolio.

Expected functions of the RCHs include, but are not limited to:

• Provide support for a defined set of EHE research projects. Provide details on coaching and technical assistance services available to EHE research teams, including support around data harmonization and reporting requirements. Specific assistance should also be provided to the research teams around planning for dissemination. This should include plans for how to involve leadership from implementing organizations from the beginning of the research process, how to communicate progress during midpoint milestones, and how to work with organizations in the hand-off of successful strategies/programs. Hubs should also work with the CCDMC and NIH officials to identify promising projects that could help to inform the best practices of HHS implementing agencies.
• Collect data on characteristics, measures and outcomes from awarded projects based on established criteria from the CCDMC from all EHE projects receiving consultation and technical assistance from the RCH.
• In collaboration with the CCDMC, conduct systematic review of promising strategies identified in first phase of EHE, including reviewing published work and convening meetings/workshops with relevant project investigators and implementing partners to assess common outcomes and findings across different geographic sites and organizational settings. The goal of these activities will be to develop evidence-based policy/practice recommendations. Output from these efforts should include the creation of implementation toolkits or guides that readily translate research-based recommendations into practice.
• Develop webinars, workshops, and other resources for EHE research teams, EHE implementers, and the HIV implementation research field broadly.
• Collaborate with the CCDMC and other RCHs on cross-network activities, including meeting planning, data harmonization and coordination activities, and planning and evaluation of dissemination approaches. Collaborative meeting planning could include an in-person annual meeting organized by the CCDMC, as well as sessions at meetings and conferences organized by implementing organizations such as, but not limited to, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) Annual Meeting and the National Ryan White Conference.
• Support professional development and capacity-building of Early-Stage Investigators, as well as secondary and post-secondary students, local implementers, community leaders, people living with HIV, and policymakers, as appropriate. Compile and disseminate relevant educational opportunities and resources related to implementation for Early-Stage Investigators. Provide mentorship opportunities for Early-Stage Investigators in best practices for implementation science and community-engaged research.
• Propose activities to develop generalizable knowledge and disseminate best practices. These activities could include supporting EHE-funded research teams in coordinating multi-site studies across different settings and EHE geographic priority areas, conducting assessments or analyses across the portfolio of NIH EHE-funded work, and assessing innovative approaches for effective dissemination to relevant stakeholders.
• The RCH team’s available expertise and resources in implementation science, community-based research, and partnership building should be defined in the application. Investigators are encouraged to strengthen their applications through the creation of multidisciplinary research teams, including collaborations across multiple institutions. NIH encourages applications led by or that include collaborations with a variety of institutions, including, for example, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).

Expectations around communication and reporting

• The CCDMC is expected to engage with NIH program officers at minimum once per month to report on progress, challenges, and opportunities of the EHE portfolio.
• All recipients (CCDMC and RCHs) are expected to engage with HHS implementing agencies, and regularly communicate research progress, challenges, outcomes, findings, and best practices to NIH officials and HHS implementing agencies through summary reports, quarterly meetings, and other channels as requested.
• Recipients will be expected to participate in an annual meeting which will include other NIH-funded researchers working on implementation science to support ending the HIV epidemic, as well as federal staff and community partners.

Application and Submission Information

This notice applies to due dates on or after May 7, 2024, and subsequent receipt dates through January 7, 2025.

Submit applications for this initiative using the following notice of funding opportunity (NOFOs) or any reissues of these announcements through the expiration date of this notice.

• PAR-23-065: NIAID Resource-Related Research Projects (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-AI-24-031” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to the contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity with the following additions/substitutions:

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Rebecca Mandt, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 301-435-7695
Email: rebecca.mandt@nih.gov

Eric Refsland, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 301-761-7193
Email: eric.refsland@nih.gov

Peer Review Contact(s)

J. Bruce Sundstrom, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 240-669-5054
Email: sundstromj@niaid.nih.gov