High-Priority Behavioral and Social Research Networks in Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA AG 19 016

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AG 19 016

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "High-Priority Behavioral and Social Research Networks in Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-AG-19-016) supports the creation or strengthening of research network infrastructure focused on behavioral and social science priorities in Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD). Rather than funding large standalone research studies or clinical trials, the emphasis is on building the connective tissue that helps a field move faster and more coherently: coordination, shared resources, training, pilot efforts, and dissemination activities that collectively expand capacity and accelerate progress in targeted high-priority areas.

The FOA is specifically designed to fund infrastructure that enables research networks to function effectively and to grow. Supported activities include organizing meetings and conferences to convene investigators and stakeholders, running small-scale pilot projects to spark new collaborations or test early-stage ideas, offering short-term educational opportunities such as intensive workshops, summer institutes, or visiting scholar programs, and developing dissemination efforts to spread methods, tools, and findings. The intent is to create durable resources and a stronger community of researchers, ultimately advancing aging-relevant research more broadly while staying anchored in AD/ADRD behavioral and social research needs.

Applications are restricted to two network focus areas. The first is AD/ADRD care and services research, which broadly covers how care is delivered, organized, financed, improved, and implemented for people living with dementia and their care partners, across settings such as home and community-based care, clinical systems, long-term services and supports, and other service environments. The second is the coordination of international studies conducting the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP), a standardized approach used across studies and countries to improve comparability of cognitive measurement and dementia-related outcomes. In practice, this second area is about enabling cross-national collaboration and alignment so data, methods, and findings can be compared or combined more reliably across populations.

This is an R24 mechanism, meaning it is aimed at research-related infrastructure and resource development rather than traditional hypothesis-driven research grants, and it explicitly does not allow clinical trials. The opportunity falls under the Health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.866. The listed award ceiling is $250,000, indicating the program is structured around relatively modest, targeted investments intended to catalyze coordination and field-building rather than fully funding large research programs. The original application closing date shown in the source information is 2019-02-01, and the FOA record creation date is 2018-06-21.

Eligibility is broad across government, academic, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations. Eligible applicants 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; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types 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, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, Indian/Native American tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign eligibility is more limited and nuanced. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) and non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. However, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. This typically means a U.S.-based applicant can include certain foreign collaborations or project elements when justified and permitted under NIH policy, even though a foreign institution cannot serve as the primary applicant.

Overall, the FOA is best understood as a capacity-building and coordination grant aimed at strengthening the national and international ecosystem for behavioral and social research in AD/ADRD. Its central goal is to help research communities cohere around shared priorities, develop common methods and resources, train and connect investigators, and lay the groundwork for stronger, more scalable research efforts in dementia care/services and internationally harmonized cognitive assessment.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "High-Priority Behavioral and Social Research Networks in Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (R24 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): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-06-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-02-01. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• 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 AG 19 016

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