Limited Competition: Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA MD 20 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MD 20 007

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released a limited-competition funding opportunity to create and operate a national Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Coordinating Center (CC). This award uses a U24 cooperative agreement mechanism (meaning NIH will have substantial involvement in the project), and it explicitly does not allow clinical trials. The purpose of the Coordinating Center is to serve as the central hub that connects all NIMHD-funded RCMI sites, strengthens cross-site coordination, and helps the network function more effectively as a national program focused on minority health and health disparities research capacity.

The opportunity is anchored in the broader goals of the RCMI Specialized Centers program. Those goals include building and expanding institutional research capacity in basic biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research; improving the success of investigators at all career stages in securing competitive external funding (especially NIH awards), with particular attention to conditions that disproportionately affect minority and other health disparity populations; creating environments that support career growth, with a strong emphasis on early-career investigator development; raising the overall quality of scientific inquiry while advancing research directly relevant to minority health and health disparities; and establishing durable, mutually beneficial relationships with community-based organizations that partner with RCMI centers. In practice, the Coordinating Center is intended to help RCMI sites work as a connected national enterprise rather than as isolated centers, making it easier to share approaches, coordinate activities, and collectively advance the program mission.

The Coordinating Center is expected to work closely with key personnel at each RCMI site as well as NIMHD staff. Its role is largely facilitative and service-oriented: promoting and enabling communication across sites, encouraging collaboration, and organizing network-level activities that help centers meet RCMI program objectives. The CC is also expected to be responsive to requests and needs that come from multiple stakeholders, including RCMI site leadership, NIMHD and NIH, the broader scientific community, and the general public. This implies a strong emphasis on coordination infrastructure, dissemination, and network support functions rather than conducting independent hypothesis-driven clinical trials.

Eligibility is intentionally restricted. Applications are limited to institutions that are already funded through the RCMI program under specific prior funding announcements (RFA-MD-17-003, RFA-MD-17-006, or RFA-MD-18-012), reflecting the "limited competition" nature of the FOA. The listing of other eligible applicant types includes institutions and organizations commonly associated with serving underrepresented populations and supporting community-engaged work, such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and certain tribal governments and tribal organizations. However, the FOA also clearly bars non-U.S. entities and foreign components: non-domestic (non-U.S.) organizations and institutions cannot apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary health-related federal assistance opportunity under CFDA 93.307, offered by NIH/NIMHD. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means the awardee and NIH program staff will collaborate on planning, priorities, and implementation for the national coordinating functions. The original application closing date was May 5, 2020, and the FOA is identified as RFA-MD-20-007. The public summary does not specify an award ceiling or the number of expected awards, but it frames the effort as establishing a single national coordinating center to support the full RCMI network.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) 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): 93.307.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-02-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-05-05. (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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