Collaborative International Research Project  (PF5)

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Purpose

NIH no longer accepts applications that request funds for foreign components using the traditional grant subaward/consortium structure. The PF5 activity code facilitates an application and award structure that allows NIH to track the expenditure of federal funds at foreign components and meet federal reporting and oversight needs.  

Organization Eligibility

• Eligibility: U.S. domestic institutions

The primary applicant organization must be domestic (located in the U.S.) and PF5 applications must have at least one foreign subproject.

Project Director/ Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Eligibility

The leadership structure for the PF5 must include at least one PD/PI from the primary applicant organization, and at least one individual from each of the International Projects, who will serve as the PD/PI of the disaggregated Linked International Research Project award.

Award Information

• Funding Instrument: Grant
• Budget Mechanism Code: RP - Research Projects

Applications are reviewed as a whole. Following merit review, PF5 applications identified by an NIH Institute or Center for funding consideration will be disaggregated. The International Project components will be pulled from the PF5, and each will be provided a distinct grant number with an RF2 activity code. The foreign organization will be considered the applicant/recipient of the Linked International Research Project Grant (RF2).

Just-in-Time Information (e.g., IRB Approvals, IACUC Approvals, Current and Pending (Other) Support for key personnel), will be requested from both the PF5 and RF2 organizations independently. At this point in the process, if not already completed, the RF2 applicant must verify registration in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons, to ensure accurate awarding information moving forward.

Should a project be selected for funding, NIH will issue a PF5 award to the domestic organization and an RF2 award to the foreign organizations. Each organization will be responsible for ensuring the terms and conditions of their Notices of Award are met.

Note that the system disaggregation of a PF5 application should not be considered a commitment to funding. NIH has the ability to fund all, none, or some of the components of the PF5 application, based on the assessment of the technical merit, materials submitted through the JIT process, and agency priorities.   

Application and Submission Information

PF5 uses a multi-component application structure. At a minimum, PF5 applicants are expected to provide an Overall Component that addresses the project's overall objectives as a collaboration, a Research Project component that addresses the scientific and technical directions of the project, and an International Project component that addresses the foreign collaborator's role on the project. Each funded foreign component must have a unique International Project component. An application with multiple foreign collaborators at different institutions would submit an application with multiple International Project components.

Applications must include a letter from each foreign organization's AOR acknowledging that they will fill the role of recipient organization for the disaggregated award. 

After identifying a funding opportunity, follow guidance in the How to Apply – Application Guide including any Multi-Project (M) instruction call-outs, except where instructed to do otherwise in the funding opportunity or related notices.