Coordination Center for Programs to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE) (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HL 19 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 19 001

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through a cooperative agreement mechanism (U24; clinical trials not allowed), is seeking a single institution or organization to serve for five years as the Coordination Center (CC) for the Programs to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE) Summer Institute programs. This opportunity is designed to run in parallel with a separate funding announcement that supports the PRIDE Summer Institutes themselves, meaning the Coordination Center is not a Summer Institute site but the program-wide hub that ties multiple Institute awardees together and ensures consistent operations, support services, and evaluation across the PRIDE network.

At its core, PRIDE Summer Institutes are research education programs intended to strengthen the research capabilities of junior faculty and postdoctoral scientists who are transitioning into academic careers and who come from backgrounds underrepresented in the biomedical sciences. The long-range goal is to help these investigators build the skills, knowledge, mentoring support, and research development trajectory needed to become competitive NIH grant applicants and successful independent scientists. The Coordination Center exists to complement and amplify the Summer Institutes by providing centralized infrastructure that makes recruitment, mentoring, training activities, and evaluation more coordinated, efficient, and consistent across sites.

The Coordination Center is expected to take on several major operational responsibilities that support the full lifecycle of a PRIDE cohort. This includes facilitating outreach and recruitment of participants, coordinating candidate selection processes, and handling program-wide organization so that multiple Summer Institutes can work from aligned timelines, expectations, and shared procedures. The CC also plays a central role in strengthening mentorship across the program by supporting the identification of Summer Institute mentors, assisting with mentor orientation, and developing additional mentor skill-building activities. In practice, this means the CC helps ensure mentors are prepared, expectations are clear, and mentoring approaches are aligned with PRIDE goals rather than varying widely by site.

Another key responsibility is direct support of participant training experiences beyond what any single Summer Institute provides. The CC is expected to support matriculants through webinars and in-person learning activities that cut across sites, extending training opportunities and creating shared learning communities. The CC is also tasked with administering and facilitating equitable distribution of research-related resources and activities across the program, which is meant to prevent uneven access to developmental supports based on geography or institute-specific capacity. Coordination with NHLBI (the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) is built into the structure as well, with the CC facilitating alignment between the Summer Institute awardees, enrolled participants, and NHLBI expectations.

A substantial part of the Coordination Center role is evaluation and continuous improvement. The CC must conduct cross-site and cross-program evaluations, including leveraging data from previous PRIDE cohorts to document accomplishments, identify trends, and track career trajectories over time. This is more than basic reporting; it is intended to generate a coherent picture of what the program is achieving across multiple institutes, what elements appear to drive outcomes such as grant submissions and awards, and where the program design may need adjustment. The CC also supports participant mentoring structures by helping Summer Institutes form mentorship committees for participants, adding a layer of accountability and breadth to the guidance participants receive.

In addition to day-to-day coordination and evaluation, the CC is responsible for convening the program. It must plan, arrange, support, and facilitate the Annual PRIDE Program-wide Meetings, as well as monthly Steering Committee meetings and other PD/PI (Program Director/Principal Investigator) meetings needed to manage the initiative as a whole. Because this is a cooperative agreement, the NIH (including NHLBI) is expected to have substantial involvement, and the CC functions as the organizing backbone that keeps communication, governance, and shared decision-making moving on a regular cadence.

Eligibility includes a range of domestic applicant organizations such as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status). The announcement also highlights categories of “Other Eligible Applicants” that include Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). Foreign institutions are not eligible, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; foreign components as defined by NIH policy are not allowed, reinforcing that all program infrastructure and supported activities must remain domestic.

Key administrative details indicate this is a discretionary funding opportunity under the health activity category, using the U24 cooperative agreement mechanism. The funding opportunity number is RFA-HL-19-001, with CFDA numbers listed as 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, and 93.840. The original application due date was April 6, 2018, and the listed award ceiling is $320,000. The announcement anticipates making one award, consistent with the intent to fund a single Coordination Center that serves the entire PRIDE Summer Institute network.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Coordination Center for Programs to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE) (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): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-01-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-04-06. (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 $320,000.00 in funding.
• 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 RFA HL 19 001

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