Infrastructure Development Training Programs for Critical HIV Research at Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (G11 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) | PAR 19 285

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 285

Infrastructure Development Training Programs for Critical HIV Research at Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (PAR 19-285) is a Fogarty International Center (FIC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity designed to strengthen HIV research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The central aim is not to fund HIV clinical trials, but to build the underlying institutional systems and skilled workforce needed for high-quality, compliant, and sustainable HIV research in settings where the epidemic is evolving and local research leadership is essential.

The program specifically promotes collaborative applications that link U.S. institutions with LMIC institutions. These partnerships are meant to deliver structured training that improves the technical skills and the administrative and financial management capabilities required to run a strong research enterprise. Rather than focusing on training individual scientists in a narrow discipline alone, this opportunity emphasizes research infrastructure functions that make research possible at scale and at high standards. The intent is to help LMIC institutions develop reliable internal processes, oversight, and services so they can conduct rigorous HIV research and also serve as hubs that can train others in their own countries and across other LMICs.

Applications are expected to concentrate on building expertise in one of six research infrastructure functions that NIH identifies as critical to a successful research environment. These functions include: (1) research administration and management, which covers the operational backbone of grants and research programs; (2) research integrity oversight, which supports responsible conduct of research and helps prevent misconduct and poor research practices; (3) ethical review of research for the protection of human subjects, strengthening Institutional Review Boards or equivalent ethics committees and their procedures; (4) laboratory animal welfare oversight, ensuring humane care and use of animals in research and alignment with accepted welfare standards; (5) health sciences library and information services, improving access to scientific literature, knowledge management, and research support resources; and (6) information and communications technology (ICT) systems for research, which can include data systems, connectivity, secure storage, and other enabling digital infrastructure and support.

A key theme of the opportunity is sustainability and broader impact. These training programs are positioned as a way to maximize prior investments in LMIC research capacity and to extend the benefits beyond a single institution. In practice, that means creating training approaches, materials, and local expertise that can be reused and shared, enabling LMIC institutions to provide more accessible research infrastructure training to additional organizations in-country and regionally. The overall result NIH is aiming for is stronger institutional capability to design, oversee, manage, and support HIV research that meets international expectations for quality, ethics, compliance, and accountability.

The funding mechanism is a grant under an education and health-related activity category, with CFDA numbers 93.279 and 93.989. Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations such as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), and other eligible entities. The opportunity explicitly notes additional eligible applicant types that often play major roles in capacity-building and workforce development, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), reflecting the program’s emphasis on inclusive partnerships and direct engagement with LMIC institutions.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on May 14, 2019, and it listed an original closing date of August 20, 2021. It is identified as “G11 Clinical Trials Not Allowed,” signaling that the funded activities should focus on training and infrastructure-development functions rather than conducting clinical trials. Overall, this FOA is best understood as an institutional capacity and systems-strengthening program for HIV research: it targets the less visible, but essential, components that determine whether research programs can operate efficiently, ethically, and sustainably in LMIC settings.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Infrastructure Development Training Programs for Critical HIV Research at Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (G11 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279, 93.989.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-05-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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, Others.

Apply for PAR 19 285

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