Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AR 21 016
This NIH funding opportunity (RFA-AR-21-016) supports the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) program focused on autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases by funding shared infrastructure rather than stand-alone hypothesis-driven research projects. The core idea is to build and operate centralized, high-capacity "Technology and Analytic Cores" (TACs) along with a "Research Management Unit" (RMU) that can coordinate, standardize, and accelerate the generation and analysis of complex biomedical data across the AMP consortium. The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement (UC2), which usually means NIH staff will have substantial programmatic involvement during the project period, with awardees working in close coordination with NIH and other AMP partners. Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed under this announcement, so the emphasis is on enabling platforms, analytics, and management capabilities that support discovery and translational pipeline work without running interventional clinical studies.
The TACs portion is intended to provide specialized, shared services and expertise that can be used by multiple project teams within AMP. In practical terms, these cores typically handle advanced technology workflows (for example, standardized sample processing, high-throughput assays, or other specialized experimental and computational pipelines) and the analytic side needed to convert raw outputs into usable, harmonized datasets and insights. While the specific technologies are not detailed in the text you provided, NIH "core" language in consortium settings usually implies rigorous standard operating procedures, quality control, reproducibility practices, data harmonization, and the capacity to support multiple sites and investigators in a consistent way. The goal is to reduce duplication, ensure comparability across studies, and speed up identification of disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets by making data generation and analysis more uniform and scalable.
The RMU component is essentially the operational backbone for a multi-organization collaboration. Its function is to keep a large consortium running smoothly by handling coordination, timelines, communication, reporting, meeting logistics, and cross-team integration. In a program like AMP, the RMU often acts as the central point for project tracking and governance support, helping different cores and research teams stay aligned on deliverables, data release expectations, and common standards. This sort of unit can also be responsible for managing documentation, facilitating decision-making processes, and ensuring that consortium activities remain on schedule and compliant with NIH expectations. Even when it is not explicitly stated, an RMU in this setting commonly supports consistent data stewardship practices, including organizing how results and datasets move from generation to analysis to sharing within the partnership.
Eligibility is broad across many U.S.-based organization types, reflecting NIH's intent to allow participation from academic, nonprofit, government, and industry performers capable of delivering large-scale core services. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The opportunity also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (other than federally recognized), regional organizations, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible agencies of the federal government, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-U.S. (foreign) institutions cannot apply as the main applicant, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S. applicant may be able to include certain foreign collaborations or performance components if they meet NIH's definition and are appropriately justified and approved.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program run by the National Institutes of Health, and it sits within the broad health funding activity category. The CFDA numbers listed (93.121, 93.313, 93.846, 93.855) indicate the funding streams through which the awards may be tracked, spanning NIH institutes and programs that support arthritis and musculoskeletal/skin diseases, research infrastructure and comparative medicine components, and other related health research areas. The original closing date was July 15, 2021, and the notice was created March 31, 2021, which is helpful context if you are looking at this as a historical or archived opportunity rather than an open solicitation. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not provided in the excerpt, but because this is a cooperative agreement for consortium cores, budgets are often structured around defined deliverables, staffing, platform operations, and consortium support needs rather than small investigator-led project budgets.
In short, this opportunity is aimed at organizations that can run high-reliability technology and analytics operations and/or provide centralized consortium management for AMP's autoimmune and immune-mediated disease efforts. The intent is to create shared, standardized capabilities that make large, multi-site biomedical research programs move faster and produce more consistent, integratable data, while staying outside the scope of clinical trials.Apply for RFA AR 21 016
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Accelerating Medicines Partnership Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases: Technology and Analytic Cores (TACs) and Research Management Unit (RMU) (UC2 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): 93.121, 93.313, 93.846, 93.855.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-31.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- 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.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this NIH funding opportunity?
This funding opportunity is NIH RFA-AR-21-016, which supports the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) program focused on autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases. It is designed to fund shared consortium infrastructure rather than stand-alone, hypothesis-driven research projects.
What is the main purpose of the award?
The purpose is to build and operate centralized, high-capacity shared resources that can accelerate and standardize complex biomedical data generation and analysis across the AMP consortium. The emphasis is on platforms, analytics, and coordinated operations that reduce duplication and improve comparability across participating teams.
What types of activities are being funded?
The announcement funds two major infrastructure components: (1) Technology and Analytic Cores (TACs) and (2) a Research Management Unit (RMU). These components provide shared technology workflows, analytic pipelines, and consortium-wide coordination/operations.
What are Technology and Analytic Cores (TACs)?
TACs are centralized cores that provide specialized, shared services and expertise used by multiple project teams within AMP. They are meant to support advanced technology workflows and the analytic processes needed to convert raw outputs into harmonized, usable datasets.
What kinds of services might TACs provide?
Based on the core infrastructure framing, TACs commonly support standardized sample processing, high-throughput or otherwise specialized assay workflows, and computational/analytic pipelines. In consortium settings, these cores typically emphasize standard operating procedures, quality control, reproducibility, and data harmonization so results are comparable across sites.
Does this opportunity fund hypothesis-driven research projects?
No. The opportunity is focused on enabling shared infrastructure for the AMP consortium rather than funding individual, stand-alone hypothesis-driven research projects.
What is the Research Management Unit (RMU)?
The RMU is the operational backbone that helps a multi-organization consortium function smoothly. It supports coordination, timelines, communication, reporting, meeting logistics, project tracking, and cross-team integration so consortium activities remain aligned with shared deliverables and expectations.
What kinds of tasks are typically handled by an RMU in a consortium program like AMP?
In this context, the RMU commonly serves as a central coordination hub for governance support, documentation, decision facilitation, and schedule/deliverable tracking. It may also help organize how outputs and datasets move from generation to analysis to sharing within the partnership, consistent with consortium standards and NIH expectations.
What award mechanism is used for this opportunity?
The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement (UC2). This generally means NIH staff will have substantial programmatic involvement during the project period, and awardees are expected to work in close coordination with NIH and other AMP partners.
How is a cooperative agreement (UC2) different from a standard grant?
Under a cooperative agreement, NIH typically has more direct involvement in programmatic coordination compared to a standard grant. Awardees should expect closer collaboration with NIH staff and coordination across AMP partners, consistent with running shared consortium infrastructure.
Are clinical trials allowed under this announcement?
No. Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed. The supported work is focused on enabling platforms, analytics, and management capabilities that support discovery and translational pipeline efforts without conducting interventional clinical studies.
What disease area does this AMP program focus on?
The AMP effort described here focuses on autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based organization types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses.
Are there additional eligible applicant categories specifically called out?
Yes. The opportunity also calls out Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs); faith-based or community-based organizations; Hispanic-serving institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (other than federally recognized); regional organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); eligible agencies of the federal government; and U.S. territories or possessions.
Can non-U.S. (foreign) institutions apply as the main applicant?
No. Non-U.S. (foreign) institutions cannot apply as the main applicant under this opportunity.
Are non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations eligible to apply?
No. Non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply.
Are any foreign activities allowed at all?
Yes. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. This means a U.S. applicant may be able to include certain foreign collaborations or performance components if they meet NIH's definition and are appropriately justified and approved.
What federal agency administers this program?
This is a discretionary grant program administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the broad health funding activity category.
What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA numbers listed are 93.121, 93.313, 93.846, and 93.855.
What do the CFDA numbers indicate?
They indicate the funding streams through which awards may be tracked, spanning NIH institutes and programs that support areas such as arthritis and musculoskeletal/skin diseases, research infrastructure and comparative medicine components, and other related health research areas.
When was this opportunity created, and what was the closing date?
The notice was created on March 31, 2021, and the original closing date was July 15, 2021.
Is this opportunity likely to be open or archived?
Based on the provided dates (created March 31, 2021; closing date July 15, 2021), it may be a historical or archived opportunity rather than an open solicitation.
Is the award ceiling provided in the information shown?
No. The award ceiling is not provided in the excerpt.
Is the expected number of awards provided?
No. The expected number of awards is not provided in the excerpt.
How are budgets typically structured for this kind of consortium core award?
The excerpt suggests that, because this is a cooperative agreement supporting consortium cores, budgets are often structured around defined deliverables, staffing, platform operations, and consortium support needs rather than small investigator-led project budgets.
What is the overall goal for data and analytics in this program?
The goal is to generate and analyze complex biomedical data in ways that are standardized, high-quality, reproducible, and harmonized across sites so outputs are more easily integrated, compared, and used across the AMP partnership.
What types of organizations are a good fit for applying?
Organizations that can run high-reliability, high-capacity technology and analytics operations and/or provide centralized consortium management are a strong fit, especially those able to support multiple teams and sites with consistent processes and coordinated execution.
What is the relationship to the broader AMP consortium?
The infrastructure funded here is intended to serve multiple project teams within AMP. Awardees should expect their TAC and/or RMU functions to integrate with consortium-wide standards, timelines, and coordination needs, working closely with NIH and other AMP partners.
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