Genomic Variation and Function Data and Administrative Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HG 20 046

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HG 20 046

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this funding opportunity (RFA-HG-20-046) to create a Genomic Variation and Function Data and Administrative Coordinating Center (DACC) for the Impact of Genomic Variation on Function (IGVF) Consortium. In plain terms, the award is meant to stand up a central hub that keeps the IGVF Consortium running smoothly and makes sure the data and outputs produced across the consortium become a well-organized, usable community resource. The activity is in the health category (CFDA 93.172) and uses a U24 cooperative agreement mechanism, which generally means the NIH will have substantial involvement in ongoing oversight and coordination rather than operating as a fully hands-off funder. Clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement.

The core mission of the DACC is twofold: (1) data and resource coordination and (2) administrative and scientific coordination across the consortium. On the data side, the DACC is responsible for establishing and maintaining a resource that brings together consortium-generated data, metadata, methods, and tools. That implies building (or operating) systems and standards so that outputs from multiple IGVF projects can be consistently submitted, described, validated, tracked, and accessed. The emphasis on metadata, methods, and tools signals that NIH is not looking for a simple file repository; the DACC is expected to capture the context needed for reuse, including experimental details, processing pipelines, quality metrics, and software or analytic approaches that allow other scientists to interpret and reproduce results.

On the consortium coordination side, the DACC serves as the operational backbone for IGVF activities. This includes coordinating consortium meetings and communications, supporting cross-site planning, aligning data collection strategies, and helping different consortium components work toward shared milestones. The FOA also makes clear that the DACC is expected to facilitate consortium-led analyses, meaning it should help enable integrative or comparative analyses that span multiple datasets and projects. In addition, the DACC must support outreach to the broader research community, which usually involves activities like documentation, user support, training materials, webinars or workshops, and generally making sure the resource is discoverable and usable beyond the immediate consortium members.

The scientific purpose behind all of this coordination is to accelerate understanding of how genomic variation affects biological function and, ultimately, human health and disease. IGVF is aimed at moving from variant discovery to functional interpretation, so a central coordinating center is critical for harmonizing how functional data are generated, represented, and analyzed. By working closely with all IGVF Consortium components, the DACC is positioned to promote consistent standards, reduce duplication, and make it easier to combine results across sites, assays, and analysis methods.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common U.S.-based applicant types: state, county, and local 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized governments; 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 explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant 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, Indian/Native American Tribal Governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign eligibility is more restrictive. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S. applicant may include certain foreign collaborations or performance sites when they are well-justified and meet NIH policy requirements.

Key administrative details included in the posting are that the sponsoring agency is NIH, the opportunity is discretionary, and the original closing date listed was November 4, 2020, with a creation date of August 3, 2020. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the excerpt provided, but it does clearly define the central deliverable: a functioning, consortium-integrated Data and Administrative Coordinating Center that can manage IGVF data resources, coordinate consortium operations, support cross-consortium analyses, and engage the broader research community with high-quality, reusable genomic variation and functional genomics resources.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Genomic Variation and Function Data and Administrative 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): 93.172.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-04. (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 HG 20 046

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