HEAL Initiative: HEALthy Brain and Child Development Data Coordinating Center (U24) | RFA DA 21 023

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 21 023

The HEAL Initiative: HEALthy Brain and Child Development Data Coordinating Center (U24) opportunity (RFA-DA-21-023) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement designed to support the data backbone of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a large, multi-site research effort funded under the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative. Multiple NIH Institutes and Offices are participating in the funding, including NIDA, NINDS, NIMH, NIAAA, NICHD, OBSSR, ORWH, NIEHS, NIMHD, and the ECHO Program. The central purpose of this award is to establish and operate a Data Coordinating Center (DCC) that can coordinate, harmonize, manage, and facilitate the flow of data across the entire HBCD Consortium, ensuring the study produces high-quality, standardized, shareable data that can support rigorous analyses of early brain and child development in the context of exposures relevant to substance use and related health outcomes.

This FOA uses the cooperative agreement mechanism (U24), which means the awardee is not working in isolation. Instead, the funded DCC is expected to collaborate closely with NIH scientific staff and other consortium components, with NIH taking an active role in assisting, guiding, coordinating, and participating in key activities. In practical terms, the DCC functions as a hub that supports common protocols, consistent data standards, cross-site coordination, and centralized infrastructure so that data produced by different research project sites can be integrated and compared. The announcement explicitly notes that this opportunity runs in parallel with companion FOAs for research project sites (RFA-DA-21-020 and RFA-DA-21-021) and for a single Consortium Administrative Core (RFA-DA-21-022). Together, these coordinated awards are meant to create a unified consortium where sites collect data, the administrative core manages consortium operations and governance, and the DCC ensures the data ecosystem is reliable, secure, and usable.

The funding opportunity is categorized as discretionary and falls under the broad activity area of education, environment, and health, reflecting its public health and research infrastructure focus. It is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.113, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.313, 93.853), which indicates contributions and alignment across several NIH programs and institutes. While the provided source text does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, it does make clear that this is intended to fund a major coordinating function rather than a single-site research project, and that the awardee will be embedded in ongoing, consortium-wide operations.

Eligibility is broad and intentionally inclusive, allowing applications from many types of organizations that can credibly run large-scale data coordination and management for a national research consortium. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments. The FOA also allows nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses, along with a catch-all “other” category. In addition, the opportunity highlights a range of other eligible applicants 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, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. (foreign) entities. This breadth signals an intent to encourage strong technical and organizational capacity wherever it exists, while also supporting participation from institutions that serve populations historically underrepresented in biomedical research.

Key administrative details from the listing include the agency (NIH), the opportunity number (RFA-DA-21-023), the original posting timeframe (created January 11, 2021), and the original closing date (March 31, 2021). Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a specialized infrastructure award: the DCC’s role is to make the HBCD Study’s multi-site science possible at scale by providing shared data systems, coordination, and standards, while operating in close partnership with NIH staff and the rest of the HBCD Consortium through the cooperative agreement model.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: HEALthy Brain and Child Development Data Coordinating Center (U24)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.313, 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-01-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-31. (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 DA 21 023

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