Limited Competition: Pediatric Heart Network for the Data Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HL 24 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 24 002

This funding opportunity is a limited competition cooperative agreement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the Pediatric Heart Network (PHN). The PHN is a long-standing multi-center research network focused on improving outcomes for people with congenital heart disease (across childhood and adulthood) and for children with acquired heart disease. The award mechanism is a U24 (cooperative agreement), and the FOA is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning the DCC award itself is intended to provide coordinating infrastructure and support functions for the network rather than directly proposing an independent clinical trial under this specific application.

A central feature of this FOA is that it is restricted to a single eligible applicant: only the current PHN Data Coordinating Center awardee can apply. In practice, that means the competition is not open to new institutions seeking to become the DCC for the network during this cycle. While the listing includes broad categories of organizations that can be eligible applicants in general NIH contexts (for example, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits, for-profits other than small businesses, small businesses, and various levels of government), the limited-competition language controls eligibility here. The FOA also makes clear that foreign involvement is not allowed: non-U.S. (foreign) institutions cannot apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement) are not permitted.

The purpose of the DCC under this opportunity is to serve as the operational and scientific coordination hub for PHN studies carried out across multiple Clinical Research Centers (CRCs), which are supported under a companion FOA (RFA-HL-24-001). The DCC and CRCs are expected to work closely as an integrated network, along with other stakeholders, to enable collaborative, multi-site clinical research. In concrete terms, the DCC role typically includes study coordination, data management and quality control, development and maintenance of shared data systems, statistical design and analysis support, harmonization of protocols across sites, and ensuring consistent procedures for data collection and reporting. Because PHN research spans medical, interventional, and surgical approaches, the coordinating center is positioned to help standardize definitions and outcomes, facilitate rigorous comparative evaluation across sites, and support the development and testing of new methodologies and treatment techniques.

Beyond core coordination functions, the FOA emphasizes broader network goals that the DCC is expected to help advance through collaboration with the CRCs and stakeholders. These include identifying and trying to address equity gaps in outcomes, which signals an expectation that studies and analyses will consider disparities and access issues and that network processes will be attentive to inclusive recruitment, measurement, and interpretation. The announcement also highlights the network as a training platform, indicating that PHN infrastructure should support the development of fellows, junior faculty, and nurses through involvement in multi-center research, exposure to high-quality study operations, and opportunities to participate in dissemination and implementation efforts. Finally, the FOA underscores the importance of translating results into practice by promoting dissemination and implementation of study findings, with the aim of strengthening the evidence base that informs care for patients affected by congenital and acquired pediatric heart disease.

Administratively, the opportunity is identified as RFA-HL-24-002 and uses a discretionary cooperative agreement funding instrument, reflecting NIH's substantial programmatic involvement typical of cooperative agreements. The CFDA/Assistance Listing numbers associated with the opportunity include 93.233 and 93.837 through 93.840, which broadly correspond to NIH and NHLBI-related assistance listings. The posted award ceiling is $2,105,263. The original closing date listed is 2023-05-12, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of 2023-01-10.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Pediatric Heart Network for the Data Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-01-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,105,263.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA HL 24 002

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: