Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Accelerating Behavioral and Social Science through Ontology Development and Use (U24)

Key Dates

None

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), with other NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs), intends to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) soliciting applications to establish a Dissemination and Coordination Center (DCC) for a U24 Research Network on Behavioral and Social Science Ontology Development. DCC teams must include subject matter experts in one or more fields of behavioral or social science, ontology-related informatics and computational approaches, and Team Science or the Science of Science.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. 

The FOAs are expected to be published in Spring 2023 with expected application due dates in Fall 2023.

The DCC supported through this initiative will have four primary responsibilities: 1) Coordinating and providing logistical support to facilitate collaboration and cross-U01 project learning; 2) Providing ontology-related technical, computational, and informatics expertise and support; 3) Facilitating dissemination of resources and training to support ontology expansion, development, and use; and 4) Providing active outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders to increase understanding of and demand for BSSR ontology-related tools and resources.

Tasks of the DCC are varied, and consequently it is expected that the team will include appropriate experience and expertise in such areas as: one or more BSSR sub-fields (see https://obssr.od.nih.gov/about/bssr-definition), biomedical informatics, knowledge representation languages and semantic web standards (such as OWL), statistics, computational modeling, team science and/or the science of science, scientific and health communications. Because ontologies should advance relevant knowledge for all populations, including those currently underrepresented in behavioral and social science research, teams should also include members with expertise on culturally-diverse behaviors and/or social determinants of (behavioral) health. Approaches and specific use cases of individual U01s are likely to vary. As such, the DCC should be prepared to bring on additional ad hoc or full-time staff or consultants after the network is established.

The DCC structure will be expected to encompass the following functions: 

• Logistical and Administrative support for the U01 Research Network, including but not limited to establishing an executive committee, coordinating communications, convening external advisory groups, establishing cross-project working groups, conducting landscape reviews, maintaining a website hug, tracking and reporting on Network and DCC activities. 
• Technical expertise in informatics, programming, quality control, and team science. DCC technical support will include, but not be limited to: ensuring data exchange, facilitating interoperability, quality assurance, promoting FAIR and FHIR principles, providing visualization tools.
• Dissemination: The DCC will conduct broad outreach activities to disseminate information to the wider BSSR community, especially transdisciplinary and trans-disease research communities. Dissemination activities will include, but not be limited to: developing stakeholder engagement strategies, promulgating best practices, outreach to diverse communities, ensuring equitable access of resources developed, education and training opportunities, scientific publications and symposia, fostering communication and collaboration with national and international biomedical ontology resources.

TBD

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)
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business)
State Government
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
County governments
Independent school districts
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
Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Applications are not being solicited at this time. 

Janine Simmons, M.D., Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Email: [email protected]

Christine Hunter, Ph.D.
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
Telephone: 301-402-1147
Email: [email protected]