Recovery Act Limited Competition for NIH Grants: Research and Research Infrastructure “Grand Opportunities” (RC2)

About Common Fund “Grand Opportunities” Applications

The purpose of the Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities program is to support high impact ideas that lend themselves to short-term, non-renewable funding, and may lay the foundation for new fields of investigation. Applicants may propose to address a specific research question or to create a unique infrastructure/resource designed to accelerate scientific progress in the future. The program will support large-scale research projects that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multi and interdisciplinary research teams.

This initiative is one of several being offered by the Common Fund to help fulfill the goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help stimulate the economy through support of biomedical and behavioral research. Additional information on the Recovery Act and related NIH opportunities is available through the Office of Extramural Research.

Scientific Priorities

The highest priorities for the Common Fund are projects that have the potential for groundbreaking discoveries, exceptionally high impact, and address needs that cut across the mission areas of many Institutes and Centers. Applicants whose proposals address these criteria, and who would like to be considered for Common Fund support, are encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent to the program implementation contact (Brenda Weis) listed below, and to indicate their desire to be considered for Common Fund support in the cover letter submitted with their application.

Funding Priorities

The Common Fund expects to allocate $20 million to the ”Grand Opportunities” program.

Application Receipt Dates

The deadline for receipt of these “Grand Opportunities” applications is May 27, 2009. All applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. For details regarding the requirements of the applications, please refer to funding announcement RFA-OD-09-004.

Peer Review

For general information regarding the Peer Review process for applications, please refer to funding announcement RFA-OD-09-004. Although the Common Fund will support applications that address research that spans NIH mission areas, peer review and awards will be administered, on an application-specific basis, by the NIH Institutes and Centers.

Contact Information

For general information on Common Fund implementation of ”Grand Opportunities,” contact:

Brenda Weis, Ph.D.
Operations Team Leader
OD/Office of Strategic Coordination
National Institutes of Health
301-435-5840
weis@mail.nih.gov

For general information on Common Fund Financial or Grants Management questions, contact:

Up to Top