Diabetes Research Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DK 20 025

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 20 025

The Diabetes Research Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (RFA-DK-20-025) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) center grant run through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Its purpose is to strengthen and accelerate the national diabetes research enterprise by funding institution-based centers that make diabetes and related metabolic and endocrine research more efficient, more collaborative, and more productive. Rather than primarily paying for a single research project, a P30 Diabetes Research Center is built to support a broad community of investigators by providing shared resources, expertise, and structured internal funding that help multiple research teams move faster and work across disciplines.

The FOA emphasizes two central components that every funded center is expected to deliver. The first is a set of Research Core services. These cores are shared, centralized resources that investigators can use to conduct high-quality, cutting-edge diabetes research without each lab having to independently build and maintain the same expensive infrastructure. In practice, cores often include specialized technical platforms, consultative services, and standardized methods that increase rigor and reproducibility, reduce duplication, and lower barriers for both established and early-stage investigators to pursue ambitious questions in diabetes, its complications, and related endocrine or metabolic conditions. The second required component is a Pilot and Feasibility (P and F) program. This is a structured internal mini-grant mechanism the center uses to seed new ideas, support early-stage projects, and help investigators generate preliminary data that can later be leveraged into larger external grants. The P and F program is meant to stimulate innovation, bring new investigators into diabetes research, and encourage creative, high-impact directions that might be difficult to fund through traditional pathways without initial proof-of-concept results.

A major through-line of the announcement is that all center activities should improve the efficiency and effectiveness of diabetes research at the applicant institution while also promoting multidisciplinary work. The goal is to create a research environment where clinicians, basic scientists, population researchers, engineers, and other relevant experts can work together using common resources and coordinated programs. The FOA situates this within the broader NIDDK Diabetes Research Centers program, noting that as of 2020 the program consisted of 16 centers at research institutions with strong records of excellence in diabetes-related research. The announcement points applicants to diabetescenters.org for general program context, which signals that this FOA is part of an established national network with shared expectations about what a successful center looks like and how it contributes to the field.

The opportunity is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning the center grant mechanism itself can accommodate clinical trial activity when appropriate, but a clinical trial is not inherently required for an application to be responsive. The program is focused on supporting the infrastructure and developmental funding that make high-quality research (including, when relevant, clinical studies) more feasible, rather than acting solely as a clinical trial award.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of domestic organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible categories such as 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), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws a clear boundary around foreign involvement: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, "foreign components" as defined in NIH Grants Policy are allowed, which typically means that while the applicant organization must be U.S.-based, certain scientifically justified parts of the work may be conducted abroad under NIH policy and oversight.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the health and nutrition area (CFDA 93.847). The FOA was created on 2020-11-19, and the original closing date listed is 2021-05-20. An award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which often means prospective applicants need to consult the full FOA and any NIH notices for budget guidance, allowable costs, and the anticipated scale of awards.

Overall, the funding opportunity is aimed at institutions that already have a substantial base of diabetes-related research and want to formalize and expand it through a coordinated center structure. The strongest applications are typically those that can show an existing community of diabetes investigators who will actively use shared cores, a compelling plan for how the cores will tangibly improve research quality and throughput, and a well-designed Pilot and Feasibility program that will reliably produce new projects, new investigators, and new external funding in diabetes and its complications.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Diabetes Research Centers (P30 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-20. (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.

Apply for RFA DK 20 025

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