Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa): Research Education Program (UE5 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 22 022

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 22 022

Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa): Research Education Program (UE5 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity that uses the UE5 cooperative agreement mechanism to support research education, specifically to strengthen data science-related skills that advance health discovery and innovation across Africa. The program sits within the broader DS-I Africa initiative, which aims to accelerate new health discoveries and spur practical innovation in healthcare delivery, public health, and health research by applying modern data science approaches to African health priorities. In plain terms, the opportunity is designed to build and expand a well-trained, diverse workforce that can do high-quality biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research using data science methods relevant to the African context.

The central focus of this announcement is “Courses for Skills Development.” NIH is looking for creative, hands-on, up-to-date educational offerings that fill real training gaps within the existing DS-I Africa consortium. Competitive proposals are expected to be more than lecture-only training; they should emphasize practical learning experiences such as applied workshops, real-world datasets, modern analytical workflows, and skill-building that participants can immediately use in research or implementation settings. While the grant is categorized as a research education program rather than a standard research project, it is still aimed at strengthening research capability, so course content should clearly map to the kinds of data science competencies needed for health discovery and innovation (for example, data management, analytics, machine learning, reproducible research practices, responsible data sharing, and related areas aligned with health research needs).

A defining requirement is that the proposed courses must be tied directly to DS-I Africa consortium needs, meaning applicants are expected to identify specific educational gaps or unmet needs among DS-I Africa participants and build training around those priorities. Because of that consortium-driven emphasis, applications must have support from current DS-I Africa awardees. This effectively means applicants should be coordinating with existing DS-I Africa-funded groups to ensure the training is relevant, complementary, and integrated with ongoing DS-I Africa activities rather than duplicative or disconnected.

Eligibility is restricted in a way that keeps leadership anchored in Africa. Applications must be submitted by African academic institutions or other African non-profit organizations. The announcement also states that non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are eligible to apply, but non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. At the same time, foreign components as defined by NIH policy are allowed, which generally means collaborations and certain cross-border components can be included when justified, even though the applicant institution must meet the eligibility rules and the core purpose remains focused on building capacity within Africa.

Several administrative and funding details help frame the scale and structure of the opportunity. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means NIH will have substantial involvement during the project period compared to a standard grant. The opportunity is listed under NIH with CFDA number 93.310 and falls under the “Health” activity category. The original closing date shown for the opportunity was September 28, 2022, and the listed award ceiling is $200,000. The funding opportunity number is RFA-RM-22-022, and it was created on May 27, 2022.

Finally, as stated in the title, clinical trials are not allowed under this UE5 program. The intent is education and skills development rather than conducting clinical trial research. Applicants would be expected to design training activities that strengthen the ability of learners to contribute to DS-I Africa-relevant research and innovation, without proposing a clinical trial as part of the award.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa): Research Education Program (UE5 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): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-05-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-09-28. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for RFA RM 22 022

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