Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for National Research Mentoring Network Resource Center (U24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Notice Number: NOT-RM-18-004

Key Dates

Release Date: December 7, 2017
Estimated Publication Date of Funding Opportunity Announcement: 04/08/2018
First Estimated Application Due Date: 06/08/2018
Earliest Estimated Award Date: 07/01/2019
Earliest Estimated Start Date: 07/01/2019

Related Announcements
NOT-RM-18-002
NOT-RM-18-003
NOT-RM-18-005
NOT-RM-18-006
NOT-RM-18-007

Issued by
Office of Strategic Coordination (Common Fund)

Purpose

The Office of Strategic Coordination (Common Fund) intends to publish funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) to solicit applications for Phase II of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), a component of the Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-Funded Workforce Program. This program, known as the Diversity Program Consortium (DPC), consists of three integrated initiatives: Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD), the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and the Center for Evaluation and Coordination (CEC).

Continued Common Fund support for the DPC will provide the time and resources needed to (1) gather additional data to test site-specific and consortium-wide interventions; (2) transition into sustainable models for enhancing diversity in biomedical research fields; and (3) disseminate effective strategies to a broad range of institutions to have a lasting national impact. NIH intends that institutions not currently part of the DPC will have the opportunity to apply for funds to implement a DPC training, mentoring, or research capacity intervention in collaboration with funded BUILD or NRMN sites (see NOT-RM-18-007).

The NRMN FOAs will be an open competition to allow current awardees along with a variety of investigators from institutions and professional societies across the country to prepare applications to take a scientific approach to measuring the effectiveness of mentoring interventions.

This Notice is to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop collaborations and responsive applications.

The FOA is expected to be published in April 2018 with an expected application due date in June 2018. Details of the planned FOAs are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

NRMN will expand the scientific scope of the program by splitting the current NRMN consortium (a single U54) into multiple U01s and two U24 cooperative agreements to allow for the infusion of new ideas, approaches, and mentoring interventions.

One U24 cooperative agreement will be awarded in response to a funding announcement (described in this Notice) for the development and management of a NRMN Resource Center, which will provide a web-based mentoring tool to facilitate real-time mentor/mentee engagement and networking. This awardee will also oversee the management of the NRMN website, report on outputs from NRMN components, and serve as a repository for publicly available mentoring resources and tools. Sustainability plans will depend on the structure of the Resource Center and the level of demand for the services it will provide.

One U24 cooperative agreement will be awarded in response to a funding announcement (see NOT-RM-18-003) to develop a NRMN Coordinating Center. This Coordinating Center will build and improve upon the current structure of the NRMN Administrative Core. Like the current Administrative Core, it will be designed to coordinate trans-NRMN activities. This Coordinating Center will provide infrastructure and expertise surrounding data collection, storage, de-identification, and reporting. In addition, the Coordinating Center will be responsible for managing relationships among NRMN awardees. It will work in conjunction with the CEC see (NOT-RM-18-006).

The U01 component (see NOT-OD-18-002) of NRMN Phase II will focus on interventions across three thematic areas: The Science of Mentorship, Professional Networking, and Navigating Critical Career Transition Points. Within these areas, applicants will propose individual projects to develop mentoring interventions using randomized control trial approaches, case controls, matched pair design, or other rigorous designs appropriate to the research questions, to explore one of these three thematic areas. The Program Directors/Principal investigators of these awards will synergize their efforts in conjunction with the NRMN Coordinating Center and the NRMN Resource Center. The purpose is to build the knowledge base to inform the scientific community about the science of mentoring, developing interventions focused on critical career transition points, and expanding the effectiveness of professional networks. Applications are expected to use robust experimental designs and include a plan for post-grant sustainability, such as transitioning to research grants or developing a self-sustaining business model.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Funding $750,000 direct costs per year
Expected Number of Awards One
Estimated Award Ceiling $750,000
Primary CFDA Numbers 93.310

Anticipated Eligible Organizations

Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Nonprofit without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Small Business
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business)
State Government
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
U.S. Territory or Possession
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized)
Regional Organization

Applications are not being solicited at this time.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Mercedes Rubio, Ph.D.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
301-594-3900
rubiome@mail.nih.gov